Pathfinder Coaching

Traditional career advice wasn’t built for ADHDers—especially mid-career professionals navigating pivots, identity shifts, and burnout.

They’re handed rigid frameworks.
Told to “network more.”

They’re left overwhelmed by:

— Tabs.
— Dumb to-do lists.
— Advice that never sticks.

I created the Core 4 Framework™, a system designed for clarity, momentum, and sustainable job search success.

Together, we focus on:

• Clarity – Clarifying strengths and direction
• Cohesion – Building a brand that feels authentic
• Connection – Making networking natural, never forced
• Communicate – Creating original content that builds authority

Wins include:

• 100+ ADHDers coached through mid-career pivots
• LinkedIn profiles that draw leads and recruiter outreach
• Clear personal brands that open doors to roles that finally fit

This isn’t about fitting in—it’s about finally aligning with what works.

📅 Book a free chemistry call: www.pathfinder.coach/connect
✉️ david@pathfinder.coach

Career Coach

White Path Search

At White Path Search I leveraged an extensive network of professionals to help talented executive-level support find their way to the right career path. 

Through building deep relationships with my clients, I helped employers find and connect with top executive-level talent. My recruiting approach was relationship-centric, which was essential for building long-term, trusting, and open relationships.

Executive Recruiter

Green Key Resources

I led Green Key Resource's IT Division and, as Director, assisted in defining the firm's broader strategy for continued growth of the team in NYC.

Director

Career Group Inc.

Vice President, Full Time Division

Strategic Moves

Staffing firm specialized in placing telecommunications professionals with manufacturers, re-sellers, ISPs, and the financial services industries.

Recruiter

Royal Air Force (RAF)

Human Resources

ADHD Career Coach | Founder of Momentum — the 8-week coaching program built to get ADHD brains off the overthinking line and into a rhythm of task execution (even on low-energy days)

Starting was always the hardest part. I could see the work in front of me and knew what needed to get done. 

But getting off the line always felt impossible.

The more tasks piled up, the heavier it got.
I’d stall, not because I didn’t care, but because I wasn’t sure I could finish.
That stall cost me a promotion.

They gave it to someone from the outside.
I smiled through it, but inside, I knew I hadn’t done enough.
I didn’t know how to change it.

I spent 20 years in recruiting and HR. Running a full desk. Building teams. Closing searches from kickoff to offer.

Edtech. Martech. Hedge funds, PE, and asset managers who expected results yesterday.

That pace? I could handle it.
Last-minute scrambling was my superpower.

But longer timelines and steady execution?
Total kryptonite.

Then in my 50s, I got diagnosed with ADHD.
And suddenly, everything made sense.

Once I stopped trying to “just focus” and started building around my brain, everything shifted.

✅ Timers
✅ Systems
✅ Boundaries
✅ Automation

Not hacks. Just stuff that works.

Now I coach mid-career professionals with ADHD who are stuck at the starting line.

That’s why I built Persona™ — the world’s first AI job search engine for ADHDers.

It takes 80% of the work off your plate so you can get off the line, into motion, and all the way to completion.

For most of us, the real stall isn’t starting. It’s the dread of not finishing.
That fear is rooted in past failures and impostor syndrome.

Persona changes that. 

It builds in structure and support to see things through.
Small wins stack up, the dopamine hits, and finishing becomes the new normal.

And here’s the part that matters most. Persona is built around your actual speaking voice.
Everything you touch — your resume, LinkedIn profile, comments, content — it all sounds like you.

By the time interviews roll in, they already know what it’s like to talk to you.
You’re not walking in cold.

Through my 8-week Momentum program, I combine Persona with one-on-one coaching to help you get clear, get visible, and off the line — without burning out or pretending to be someone you’re not.

Because ADHD isn’t a flaw.
It’s just a different operating system.
Once you learn how to run it, momentum feels possible.

📩 DM me "Momentum" if you’re ready to stop staring at the starting line and finally move forward.

David Hannan

Just crossed 60,000 followers on LinkedIn.

Want to know what I'm actually proud of?

I didn't buy a single one of them.

No engagement pods. No $200/month growth gurus. No trading reach through 'mutual' comment spam.

And still, every month...

Someone with a big following slides into my DMs with an invitation to some exclusive club to '10x my reach.'

Latest one? 

Claimed they went from 2K to 155K followers in 15 months. Had the balls to call it 'authentic visibility.'

They all lead with follower count like it matters.

It doesn't.

You can't control who follows you. 

But you can control who you connect with. 

You can control the quality of what you create. 

And you can damn sure control where you show up and who you engage with every day.

Took me four years to go from 5,000 to 60,000. 

Four years of being real, showing up, and writing what I actually think instead of what performs.

- No hacks. 
- No shortcuts. 
- And no bullshit.

Just consistent, organic, human content.

If you're building something that matters, you don't need a pod to prop it up. 

You need patience. 
You need clarity. 

And you need to trust that quality compounds faster than tricks ever will.

The followers came because the work was real.

That's the only metric worth celebrating.

P.S. Who's still doing this the real way?

I help senior leadership build clarity, visibility, and authority for their next career move | Founder of Momentum | Ex-recruiter | Girl dad

"I can't say no to people who need me."

That's what he told me during our second call.

Smart guy. Former VP. Built teams. Coached juniors.

Always the guy people called when things got hard.

And now?

Six months into his own job search.

Still hasn't finished his resume.

Here's what was happening:

Every week, someone would reach out.

→ "Can you review my LinkedIn profile?"
→ "Can you hop on a call to discuss my search?"
→ "Can you intro me to someone in your network?"

And every week, he'd say yes.

Because that's what good leaders do, right?

Except now he wasn't leading a team.

He was unemployed.

And his "helpfulness" was costing him momentum.

If you've got ADHD, you know this pattern. 

You feel people's pain like it's your own.

Someone asks for help, and your brain absorbs the urgency. Suddenly their problem is your problem.

So you say yes.
Again. And again.

Until you realize you've been everyone's coach, connector, and therapist…

…but you haven't sent a single application this week.

Here's the lie your brain tells you:
"If I don't help them, I'm selfish."

But here's the truth:
You can't pour from an empty cup.

Every time you put someone else's career first?

You're practicing self-abandonment.

The boundary phrase that changed everything:

"I want to help you, but I need to finish this round of my own search first. Can we reconnect next week?"

That's it.

→ Not "no." 
→ Not "I'm too busy."
→ Just honest resource allocation.

Most people said, "Of course. Good luck."

A few disappeared.

The ones who respected his boundary stuck around.
The ones who didn't were just looking for free labor.

Here's your permission:

→ You're allowed to prioritize yourself.
→ You're allowed to safeguard your energy.
→ You're not selfish for choosing yourself first.

Because the best way to help people long-term?

Get yourself across the finish line first.

Where are you still helping before you heal? 

Drop it in the comments... or just sit with it.

Either way, you already know the answer.

——
♻️ Share if someone in your network needs to hear it.

Follow me, David Hannan, if you're done sacrificing your own career to fix everyone else's.

I got something wrong this past year, and it's been sitting heavy for a while.

A lot of people who need help never reach out.

Not because they don't want support.

Because they don't want to label themselves to get it.

Some are dealing with ADHD, but it's not the same for everyone.

Some aren't.
Some aren't sure.
Some never want to say it out loud.

I've shared a lot about my recent diagnosis, and I'm comfortable talking about it.

But that doesn't mean everyone else is.

That's something I didn't fully appreciate until recently.

I used to think narrowing my focus to ADHD was the inclusive move.

I see now that I was wrong about that.

It ended up having the opposite effect.

And for that, I'm deeply sorry.

Over the last few weeks, I've had long conversations with clients, coaches, and people in the ND space.

Some of those talks were heavy.

They made me realize something I should have understood from the start.

For a lot of people with ADHD, the struggle isn't the brain.

It's the label.
It's the stereotype.
It's the fear of being boxed in.

It's the pressure to explain yourself before you can even ask for help.

The last thing I ever wanted was to add to that.

So I'm widening the front door.

The work isn't changing. 

My clients still get the same structure, support, clarity, and steady path forward.

The shift is simple.

People shouldn't have to decide what to call themselves before they ask for help.

Nobody should feel boxed in by a label just to start a conversation.

That's the part I'm fixing.

This isn't about turning away people who don't have ADHD.

It's about making sure people with ADHD aren't forced into a corner just to get help.

They deal with enough already.

Widening the doors makes the room bigger so people get to ask for help without feeling boxed in.

More people get to feel safe.

That's the goal.

Let me be honest. LinkedIn can mess with your head if you're not careful.

You scroll long enough and it starts to look like:

— Everyone else has their sh*t together
— Their week seemed to make sense
— You're the only one stuck in the drafts

I see this every week with ADHD clients.

They look at somebody's clean, final version and forget there was a messy middle.

Probably the same kind of week you just had.

The real pressure isn't posting, it's:

— Trying to make your week look "cleaner"
— Worrying the finished draft won't "succeed"
— Feeling like you need to polish the whole thing

That's usually the moment everything tightens and you stop sounding like yourself.

Here's what helps when the overthinking kicks in.

One-Line Audit:
"Is this real, and does it help?"

If yes, that's enough.

❌ You don't need shiny.
❌ You don't need clever.
❌ You don't need perfect.

You just need something honest and useful to the next person who thinks the way you do.

Authenticity isn't a brand play. 
It's authority.

People trust what feels lived, not polished.

PS: What kind of post feels most real for you lately?

The one thing that gets my ADHD brain into a dopamine loop isn't what you think.

Some people meditate or journal in the morning.

But I needed something with guaranteed results.

The best way I've found isn't some fancy hack.

It's posting insightful comments on LinkedIn.

— The thing is, good comments get answered.
— Because I'm adding value people can use.
— And that's my built-in feedback loop.

That loop hits every switch in my head.

Connection. Movement. A quick win.

And it's enough to get me going.

— After school drop-off, I'm 20 comments in.
— And by late morning, I'm closer to 100.
— All from my phone, just my thumbs.

People think this is discipline.

It isn't.

— It's me giving my brain something that works.
— Most ADHDers wait for motivation.
— I can't do that.

I built a loop that rewards me before anything slips.

And here's why commenting feels easy for me.

I stick to posts that matter to me.

— Stuff I relate to.
— Stuff I can actually add value to.
— That's when ideas flow, even on low-energy days.

The question that keeps it simple?

"What opinion can I share, and how can I add something useful to the thread?"

That's the whole thing.

— One question.
— One intention.
— Zero pressure.

And that's enough.

— Some mornings I'm sharp.
— Some mornings I'm cooked.
— But that tiny prompt still works.

It warms up the quiet parts of my brain and turns LinkedIn into a place where I show up, not hide.

If you want visibility without the overwhelm.

Don't worry about posting content.

Start by posting comments.

— Make it light.
— Make it daily if you can.
— Let it feel good enough to repeat.

Consistency comes from the reward.

Not the grind.

P.S. What gets you moving?

Tried to take it easy last night in front of the telly.

Ended up sorting my sock drawer instead.

I swear my brain can’t just “rest.”

It needs a mission.
Any mission.
Even a stupid one.

Been binging The Man in the High Castle recently, so I figured I’d put on an episode and switch off for a bit.

Next thing I know, I’m standing over the drawer rearranging every folded sock bundle.

⬅️ ➡️ From left to right.
⬆️ ⬇️ To top to bottom.

Like some deranged Marie Kondo fanboy who can’t follow his own advice.

ADHD rest works like this for me.
I go looking for calm.

My brain finds a tiny project it can finish before it loses interest.

And honestly, I’m learning to roll with it. It’s harmless.

It settles my head in a way “relaxing” never does, and it gives me a quick win without asking for much.

So if tonight’s “rest” turns into rearranging something that didn’t need rearranging, I'm cool with it.

At least it gets me out of my own way.

You got a version of this?

She made more progress on Tuesdays than the rest of her week combined. 

I didn't notice it at first.

But when we charted her week during our weekly Momentum check-in, the pattern was unmistakable.

𝗧𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆? 
☑ Comments left.
☑ Applications sent. 
☑ Conversations started. 

𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆? 
☒ Total collapse.

Here's what struck me:

She wasn't inconsistent.
She was predictably consistent.

Her energy had a rhythm. She just didn't know it yet.

Most people with ADHD think they're chaotic.

They're not.
They're 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱.

The brain craves certainty. 

When you can't predict your own capacity, you assume you don't have any.

But the second you start tracking momentum instead of tasks, something shifts.

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴:
"𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺?"

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴:
"𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?"

Here's what we did.

I told her to stop logging what she accomplished.
Instead, log days in motion.

Not hours worked. Not tasks completed.
Just: Did I move forward today? Yes or no.

No judgment. No shame spirals.
Just data.

𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟭: 3 days in motion.
𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟮: 4 days.
𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟯: 5 days (one of them was a Friday)

By Week 4, she wasn't asking me for motivation.

𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴:
"𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘛𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴? 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?"

That's the shift.

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺:
"I'm broken and unpredictable."

𝗧𝗼:
"I have patterns I can work with."

Quantifying momentum doesn't just reduce self-doubt.

It replaces guessing with evidence.
And evidence is calm.

Here's my challenge for you.

Stop tracking tasks for one week.

𝗔𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
"𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺?"

Yes or no. That's it.

By the end of the week, you'll know more about your actual capacity than any to-do list ever told you.

What would you learn if you tracked motion, not minutes, for a week?

Drop a comment. I'm curious.

And if this hit ♻️ repost it.

Someone in your network needs permission to stop lying to themselves about "consistency."

A marketing SVP joined a call with a plan for her next chapter.

I asked her to print it out. Then rip it in half.

She smiled for the first time in weeks.

Like a lot of people I meet, she’d turned “career clarity” into a side project.

Every night:

— Job boards filled with roles she could do.
— Browser full of "maybes" that never felt right.
— Spreadsheets for tracking apps and salary bands.

By Friday, she’d built a case study instead of a plan.

That’s what happens when the smartest people I work with start overthinking their next move.

They research to feel safe.
They gather data to calm the noise.

And it works, until it doesn’t.

Chasing proof while ignoring what was clear all along.

At that point, the work is about doing less.

— So we slowed it down.
— No ten-step plans.
— No frameworks. 

Just a few simple questions:

— What parts of the week still feel solid?
— Where does energy show up without effort?
— What’s been quietly pushing you the whole time?

Twenty minutes in, her tone shifted.

— No more lists.
— No more rehearsed logic.
— Just honest proof of what actually fits.

That was the moment it clicked.

Her voice changed and you could hear the weight come off.

Clarity isn’t about finding something new.

It’s about finally noticing what’s been steady underneath everything else.

PS: Sometimes the next step starts with ripping up the first one.

Many creators won't see me in their comments soon.

I'm seeing a shift I'm not okay with.

I’ve been on this platform a long time.
Long enough to know when something's off.

And the comments lately?
They're turning into a landfill of AI slop.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹.

You know the deal. You leave something real, and the author hits you with an AI echo.

- same tone
- same phrasing you used
- same "thanks for the valuable insight" garbage

It's everywhere. 
And from people I've followed and admired for years.

Here's what it tells me:

- you didn't write it
- you didn't read my comment
- you didn't give a shit enough to be yourself

And look, I get using AI to draft, explore, brainstorm, whatever. I literally build GPTs for a living. 

That's not the issue.

The issue is outsourcing your presence.
The part that's meant to be you.

Because when someone takes the time to comment on your work, that's effort.

That's attention they didn't have to spend on you.

That's a moment of connection you just handed to a VA or to a ChatGPT agent with a copy-paste prompt.

It cheapens the whole thing.

I'm not feeding into it anymore.
And I'm done pretending it's fine.

So here's what I'm doing this month:

- blocking people who "bot" their replies
- stepping out of spaces that don't feel human
- tightening my circle to folks who show up as real

If you’re one of the real ones, you’ll still see me.
If not, don’t take it personally.
You already checked out before I did.

And let's be honest.
A lot of you won't even read this.

You'll have your AI tool skim it for "sentiment" and spit out a nice little reply.

Which is exactly the point.

I still believe in actual people.
That's who I'll be showing up for.

PS: What’s your read on all this?

Three days before Thanksgiving, and I’d make the same list four times.

Couldn’t find any of them.

Monday, I felt ready. Wrote it out.
Tuesday, it disappeared. Started again.
Wednesday, back to ShopRite for the 2nd time.
Thursday morning, arrival texts lighting up my phone.

It came together. Sort of.

The turkey was okay. The sides were fine.
Everyone said it was good.

I nodded along even though the cranberry sauce sat in the fridge until someone asked where it was.

This is the part I didn’t understand for years.

Holiday chaos is grim because the whole week is built for people who plan three steps ahead. 

That setup burns through anyone whose brain runs hot or needs more space to ramp up. 

I’m in that camp. You might be too.

So stop trying to feel ready.
That feeling never shows up.

Prep one dish the night before. One.
Take a break when you need it.

Even if that means hiding in the guest room for ten minutes so your brain can have a bit of a breather.

One thing I’m thankful for this year?

Having it at someone else’s house.

What’s one thing that gets you through holiday prep?

Most weeknights used to follow the same pattern in my house. 

Olivia would walk over with glitter nail polish in her hand and say, “Can you play with me, Daddy?”

And there I’d be, still trying to knock out something work-related I should’ve finished earlier.

— I’d tell myself it’d take a minute.
— Then another minute.
— Then another.

My brain grabbed onto whatever I was working on and refused to let go. 

I was off the clock, but I was still “finishing” things. 

Meanwhile, she’d stand there, glitter ready, already deciding what color she wanted to paint my nails.

(blue, every time)

And after a bit, she’d skulk back to the living room.

By the time I finally closed my laptop, she’d be curled up on the couch, convinced I didn't want to play.

That sat with me longer than anything in my inbox.

After-work hours can get messy with ADHD because your head keeps running long after the day’s over. 

If you stop too fast, you lose your place, and that jump between tasks can be absolutely brutal. 

Which makes it far too easy to stay stuck. 

You think you’re trying to protect tomorrow, but you end up stealing from the moment right in front of you.

I saw that pattern more clearly the more it happened.

The drifting, the coming back, all those moments where my body was in the room but my mind wasn’t.

And I hear this from a lot of other parents with ADHD. 

— You want to be present. 
— You’re trying to be in the moment. 
— But unfinished tasks follow you around the house.

And remote work only amplified this nonsense.

Home ends up being as noisy as your job. You close your laptop, but the work sticks around if you let it.

I don’t live in that pattern anymore. 

Dad time comes first now, and nothing in my inbox wins over glitter nails or Barbie doll pool time.

That shift didn’t happen overnight, but it changed everything about how we spend our weeknights.

Yesterday, I went deeper into why this hits harder for ADHD brains and how easy it is to get pulled away from the moments you care about most.

I also shared the 3 things that help me let go without getting pulled back into the day’s leftover noise.

If you’d like to dig in a bit with me and 5,126 others who read it, I’ll drop the link in the comments.

Success opened more doors than I ever imagined.

That's when things went sideways.

After recruiting, I saw four clear paths ahead of me.

– I could stay in the game with in-house recruiting
– I could go the Learning & Development route
– I could slide into a corporate training role
– I could build a coaching practice

All four looked doable, something I'd be good at.

But that's what made it harder.

It wasn't confusion. 

Just too many options at once.

So I tried to think my way through it.

– Pros and cons
– Writing out two columns
– Even walking around the block with it

None of it moved anything.

What helped was a question I didn't see coming:
"Name the one part of your career you'd miss most."

My answer was immediate:
"Working with job seekers."

It told me more than any spreadsheet ever could.

And it made the path in front of me clearer.

Coaching wasn't some grand idea, but it was the only lane that kept the part I cared about most.

And once I saw that, I could move again.

Nothing dramatic.

Just a quiet sense of "this feels real enough to start."

If you're staring at a few different versions of your next move, shrink the question.

What's the one thing you'd actually miss if you lost it?

Start from that.

PS: What’s the one part you’d miss the most?

Every Friday around 2pm, my brain starts narrating my life like David Attenborough.

"And here we see the coach. Staring at his laptop. Cursor blinking. Zero thoughts happening."

Yep. Friday.

All week I'm fine. 

- Sharp.
- Making sense. 
- Juggling six things at once.

Then Friday rolls around and I'm reading the same email three times like I've never seen words before.

I used to think something was wrong with me.

Nope. Just what happens when your ADHD brain spends five days running on fumes.

Here's the deal.

When you have ADHD and work with people all week, you're not just doing your job.

You're also doing this whole other job in the background:

- Manually staying on topic every 90 seconds
- Not blurting out the weird thing mid-meeting
- Pretending your brain isn't playing the Bluey theme

That takes energy.

So by Friday you're not tired from work. 

You're tired from managing your brain 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 you work.

Eventually you just stop.

I used to fight it. Now I just let it happen.

I do three things:

𝟭. 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗸.
Just clear it. Two minutes.

𝟮. 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱. 
That's the win.

𝟯. 𝗟𝗼𝗴 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜'𝗺 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝗼𝗳. 
"Didn't bail on anything" counts.

Five minutes total, and it keeps me from spiraling.

The Friday fog isn't you failing, it's your brain going: 
"We worked hard. Can we stop now?"

Yeah. You can stop.

Brain running at 40% and beating yourself up? 

Stop.

People with ADHD burn hot all week just to keep up with a world that wasn't built for us.

By Friday the tank's empty.

Let it be empty.

Mine showed up on schedule today. 

- Cleared my desk. 
- Wrote my sentence. 
- Logged my tiny victory.

Done. 

Not because I finished everything, but because I'm allowed to be done.

So are you.

P.S. How does your brain tell you it's Friday?

Bogdan Zlatkov 👈

Growth Hack Your Career

GrowthHackYourCareer.com
At GHYC I teach mid-career professionals how to:
- Optimize their resumes with our data-backed approach
- Network the right way to land more interviews 
- Improve their interview skills with guided coaching
- And ultimately land their next job faster!

Book a free call and let's chat about your job search (see link in the header section)

Founder & Lead Instructor

Aurora Solar

Aurora is the #1 solar software to design and sell advanced solar systems.
- Grew marketing-influenced pipeline from $2m to $23M 
- Scaled webinar program from 7 webinars to 125 webinars per year
- Hired and managed a team of marketers
- Surpassed lead goals y/y for 3 consecutive years

Sr. Content Marketing Manager

Crypto Safari

Every week we bring you two new crypto currencies, answer your listener questions, and cover the latest cryptocurrency news. Listen at cryptosafari.us

Co-Host

LinkedIn

LinkedIn Learning is the leading online learning platform with 14,000+ courses taught by industry experts.

- Leveraged LinkedIn data to create content that ranked as the #4 highest performing asset of 2019
- Worked with sales enablement team to improve activations by 19% resulting in 105,000 additional learners joining the platform in 60 days.
- Led multi-channel campaign based on influencer course across 14+ channels and surpassed our lead-gen goal by 140%
- Led video shoots with Fortune 500 partners to create customer story videos that humanize the LinkedIn Learning brand

Content Marketing Manager, Enterprise - Linkedin Learning

NextRoll, Inc. (formerly AdRoll Group)

RollWorks is a B2B marketing platform enabling precision targeting, account-based marketing, sales-cycle acceleration, and transparent reporting.

- Created multi-channel content including guides, webinars, blog posts, and interactive campaigns
- Built the RollWorks blog from scratch to ranking as the #1 result on Google in 3 months
- Took on Product Marketing responsibilities to develop new product messaging
- Collaborated on the RollWorks rebrand to define voice and tone guidelines

Content Marketing Manager & PMM, RollWorks

Pixel Press Digital

Pixel Press is a Telly award-winning content agency for SaaS & Tech companies that want the best return from their content marketing campaigns.

- Coordinated multi-channel campaigns for social media, email marketing, and content platforms
- Developed and ran webinars with influencers and partners
- Created content and SEO strategies for multiple SaaS and tech companies
- Sourced and managed creative teams who could execute on strategy set forth by executive team

Director of Content Strategy

Miles

Miles Media is one of the leading agencies in the tourism industry with a focus on creating forward-thinking online, mobile, and email content marketing solutions. 

- Produced over 200+ videos for multi-channel international markets
- Developed new pre-production system for consistent results
- Created derivative assets for social media and external distribution channels
- Coordinated post production teams to complete deliverables on time

Director of Photography

Label Creative

Label Creative is a branding agency that produces crowdfunding and brand identity content along with educational tutorials

- Managed in-house creatives and writing team
- Led organic growth team on facebook, twitter, and instagram
- Improved existing systems to help streamline content
- Created crowdfunding campaign assets to fund projects

Content Marketing Lead

Risking Gravity

The Risking Gravity Campaign is a non-profit campaign promoting youth health awareness. The video series is about extreme-sport athletes in 3 cities throughout Europe who push the limits of what other’s consider to be possible. The campaign tells the athletes’ stories, why they choose to take risks, what excites them about their sport, and how it’s helped them with the rest of their lives.

We want this campaign to inspire young people to get up and go after what they admire. We want to show that these athletes aren’t daredevils, they’re just regular people who choose not to limit themselves to the standards set by others.

Production Lead

The John Kerwin Show

The John Kerwin Show is multiple-award winning talk show with guests such as Brian McKnight, Steve Wozniak, Tom Bergeron, and many more.

- Solved production problems in real time during live-tapings
- Coordinated live camera crew during show and intermissions
- Helped manage studio audience participation
- Attended pre-production meetings to improve preparation

🏆 LinkedIn Top Voice | Join the Guaranteed Hire Program (yes really!) | Contributor: Wall Street Journal, FastCompany, MSNBC, Thrive Global, HR Dive, HR.com

"There are decades where nothing happens and then there are days where decades happen."

My story begins when I had just $60 in my bank account. I didn't have any savings stashed away. No 401k to fall back on. Just broke and jobless.

That day I went down to Uber in downtown San Francisco and signed up to be a driver. For the next 9 months I drove Uber from 6am-12pm and then job searched from 12pm-5pm every single day.

I didn't land a job for 9 months. It wasn't the bad economy or the ATS, it was because I was doing what everyone else does: Updating my resume over and over again. Messaging people on LinkedIn.  Sending 100 applications a week.

Eventually I decided to do something different. 

I messaged every friend of mine who was a recruiter. Not to ask for a job, but to ask for advice.

I was shocked at what they told me. 

"I only spend 10 seconds reading a resume. How long is your resume? 850 words? That's too long. Cut it down to 450."

After a few weeks of listening to them and applying their advice I started landing interviews & jobs.
That first job search took me 14 months.
The next job search took me 4 months.
The next job search took me 3 weeks.

Hi 🖐 My name is Bogdan. Today I help mid-career professionals land better jobs faster at GrowthHackYourCareer.com (GHYC). 

👉 I've helped over 162,285+ job seekers through my FREE courses. 
👉 I've also helped hundreds of other job seekers through my coaching program. 
👉 I'm also the author of the Ultimate Guide to Job Hunting, ranked #1 on Google. 

Over the last 7+ years I've learned the best job search strategies and inside my community I'll share them with you so you can get hired faster too.

At GHYC you'll find help with:
✍ Writing a resume (that actually lands interviews)
🧙‍♂️ Understanding the myths of the ATS
👀 Crafting eye-catching bullet points
🤓 Mastering the 4 stages of the interview process
💻 Networking (without being spammy)
💲 Negotiating (without being salesy)
And much, much more!

Take a look at our free courses, get a free resume review, or sign up for some 1-on-1 coaching at growthhackyourcareer.com and I look forward to seeing you in our community!


P.S. Send me a DM mentioning this LinkedIn bio and I'll send you my Interview Toolkit 😉 




_

Aurora is the #1 software to design and sell advanced solar systems.

My job search schedule saved me.

I had applied to 325 jobs. I landed 7 interviews, but didn't get an offer.

I noticed I was starting to become robotic. Just churning out application after application without being thoughtful.

I was pushing, but not pushing forward anymore.

Then I decided to create a batching system. Here's what it looked like:

1️⃣ SEARCH | 7pm-8pm
 ↳ Sit on the couch in my post-dinner coma
 ↳ Look at jobs & save them to my tracker (I used Teal)
 ↳ Rank them in order of priority (3 categories)

Then the next day...

2️⃣ APPLY | 9am-11am
 ↳ Take my Priority 1 jobs
 ↳ Customize my resume (15 min for each)
 ↳ Send the application
 ↳ Move on to Priority 2 jobs, repeat.


🌮 11am-1pm
 ↳ Rest & Lunch


3️⃣ NETWORK | 1pm-2pm
 ↳ Find an EMPLOYEE at each company (not a recruiter)
 ↳ Send a networking message

🌳 2pm-8pm
 ↳ Go do something other than job search


By batching my activities I was not only able to speed up my applications, but I was also sending better QUALITY applications out.

Your schedule doesn't have to look like this. 

What matters is having a schedule (and sticking to it).

This job market is a marathon, not a sprint.

We need to pace ourselves accordingly.




______
P.S. I'm doing a free workshop on this technique next week. Just give my profile a follow and I'll share the invite.


P.P.S. If you're not sure what to say for your networking messages, let me know below and I'm happy to send you the template I used.






_

🏆 LinkedIn Top Voice | I help mid-to-late-career professionals bounce back fast, land better jobs, and earn more | Learn about our Guaranteed Hire Program at growthhackyourcareer.com

After 7 long hard months...

I finally landed an offer😊 I owe it to 3 questions that helped me stand out from the 50+ other candidates...


1️⃣ PROBLEM DISCOVERY
"What’s the biggest problem you’re facing that you’re hoping the person taking on this role to solve?"

☝ This question will reveal more in 3 minutes than doing 3 hours of "research" on the company. 


2️⃣ PRIORITIES
"This role seems to include both (Skill #1) and (Skill #2). How would you say those two responsibilities are split up for this role? 50/50? 70/30?

☝Every role can be done 100 different ways. Asking this helped me figure out which parts of my skillset to focus on.


3️⃣ POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
"What’s your favorite thing about the team you work on?"

☝ This one seems simple, but it taps into deep human psychology. When someone has a positive conversation, they associate that positive feeling with you.


I failed my first 17 interviews partly because I was so focused on answering every question "correctly."

I didn't realize that the questions I asked were MORE important than the answers I was giving.

Once I added these to my arsenal, everything changed.

My method became:
 ↳ Find the problem
 ↳ Focus on one skillset
 ↳ Leave on a positive note

Rinse, repeat, and rock that interview 😉 



_______
P.S. Do you have any favorite interview questions you like to ask? Share them below and let's make a list of great interview questions!





_

Let me re-introduce myself.

Hi, I'm Bogdan🖐 Some things you might not know about me:

💡1) I'm originally from Bulgaria...
 ...We moved to California in 1994 when my mom was invited to share her research at Stanford. We spent 8 (stressful) years living on visas.

💡2) My mom was an amazing woman...
 ...She was a single mom, raising 2 wild boys by herself. She was always underpaid (because she was an immigrant) and worked 3 jobs at a time. I learned a lot of my work ethic from her.

💡3) We grew up in Palo Alto...
 ...during the tech boom I met incredibly smart people who wanted to improve the world. This grew my ambitions to do something big someday.

💡4) I went to school in San Diego...
 ...where I discovered my love for storytelling and helping people. I decided to move to L.A. to do both.

💡5) L.A. was not what I imagined...
 ...I worked on some big shows for History Channel & MSNBC, but while the job was a dream, the culture wasn't. I learned: Culture > Job Title.


💡6) I moved to San Francisco...
 ...to start a new career. It took me 14 months to make a pivot from entertainment into tech. It was a brutal job search. I learned a lot about humility.

💡7) I finally landed a job...
...and decided to write up my learnings from my job search. Over 35k people said it was helpful. So I decided to make a course (you can get it for free on my site).

💡8) I created GrowthHackYourCareer in 2017...
 ...to help more job seekers who were struggling like me. The first 3 years, no one really came to my site. I was reaching another low point.

💡9) In 2019 my mom was fighting cancer for a 3rd time...
...I wanted to shut everything down, but she wouldn't let me. She told me the work I was doing was important. She said I can't help her, but I can help others. In 2020 she passed away.

💡10) In 2024 my daughter was born...
...but when I got back from paternity leave I was laid off. I realized life was pushing me away from tech and pulling me in another direction.

💡11) So that year I launched The Guaranteed Hire Program...
...I hired a team of 9 incredible coaches. We started landing people better jobs faster than anyone else. We've helped over 1,500 job seekers so far.

What will happen next? I'm not sure.

👉 But there's one quote that consistently helps me:
"There are decades where nothing happens.
And then there are days where decades happen."

Things can feel hard.
Things can feel stagnant.
Things can feel impossible.

And then one day, everything changes.

I'm sure you've had this happen in your life too.
Remember that feeling.

Don't give up. Your day is coming.



_______
🖐P.S. If you haven't introduced yourself, send me a message, I'd love to meet you too.





_

I recently opened a role, here's what I saw
 ↳ 789 people applied to the job
 ↳ 124 met the basic requirements
 ↳ 23 were highly qualified

Our recruiter looked through their LinkedIn profiles and determined 13 were a great fit.

💡 TAKEAWAY #1
Many recruiters prefer your LinkedIn profile MORE than your resume.

↳ 13 went to the recruiter phone screen
↳ 7 hadn't prepared at all
↳ 6 went to the hiring manager interview (aka me)
↳ 3 stood out

💡 TAKEAWAY #2
The hiring manager interview isn't about checking the boxes, it's about standing out from the other qualified candidates. Here's how:
1️⃣  Go to the company page on LinkedIn
2️⃣ Click "Insights" and see their trends
3️⃣ Prepare thoughtful questions

Those 3 candidates went on to the team interviews.

2 of them were incredible so...

We changed plans and hired them both! 🎉 


💡 THE BIG LESSON
Don't self-disqualify yourself from jobs.

The truth is that the numbers you're seeing on LinkedIn aren't actually accurate.

👉 You're not competing against 786 people, it's more like 23.

Here's what I recommend:
✅ ALWAYS apply to a job if you meet 70% of the requirements
(aim for 10-20 applications per week)

✅ Make sure your LinkedIn Profile is in great shape
(many recruiters prefer it as a "source of truth" vs a resume)

✅ Do real research for your interviews
(use LinkedIn/Glassdoor data vs what's on the company website)

This market is tough, but it definitely not impossible.

You just need to stand out from 23 candidates.

You can and WILL get hired! 



______
P.S. If you're not sure how to update your LinkedIn profile, I'm doing a free LinkedIn workshop next week. Just give my profile a follow and I'll share the invite later this week.






___

750 Total Candidates.
140 Qualified Candidates.
17 1st Round Interviewees.
8 2nd Round Interviewees.
4 3rd Round Interviewees.
2 Final Round Interviewees.
     
1 Person Hired.

I made $30k in 30 seconds.

My mind was 🤯 I used the same exact script 5x and each time it worked...

Here's the thing...

Most people think a salary negotiation has to be this long drawn out chess match.

But the truth is it can be as simple as asking one question.

Here's the exact script I used (feel free to steal it)

🙋‍♀️ Recruiter: We'd like to offer you $120k, plus blah, blah, blah.

🙋‍♂️ Your reply...
"Thank you so much for the offer. I really enjoyed meeting the team and I think I can have a big impact in this role. The only thing is, $120k is a bit lower than the range of $130k-$150k I was targeting for my next role. What do you think we could do to get within that range?"

Here's why it works:

1️⃣ GRATITUDE & FIT
To de-risk the negotiation, open with gratitude. Remember, the recruiter isn't your adversary, they want to make this deal happen too. 

💡Getting your hired is their success metric (and is often tied to their salary/bonus).

2️⃣ RANGE > EXACT NUMBER
Giving a range allows for flexibility. They may come up to $125k, $135k, or even $150k. You leave yourself open to more upside.

💡Adjust this range to start at $10k higher than whatever they offer you. You WILL NOT LOSE THE OFFER. 


3️⃣ OPEN QUESTION
This is a subtle psychology trick.

If you ask "do you think we could..." it triggers the safety part of the brain. "No" is always the safe answer.

💡Instead ask, "what do you think we could do..." this triggers the problem solving part of the brain.

And that's it!

This system means there's...
 ↳ No need to back it up with data (it doesn't work)
 ↳ No need to haggle back and forth
 ↳ No need to risk your offer


Bookmark this post and save it for when you go on your next salary negotiation. It'll be the easiest $10k-$30k you ever make 😉 




_______
P.S. If you're struggling to get to the offer stage, I'm doing a free Interview Workshop next week. Just give my profile a follow and I'll post the invite next week.





_

Salary negotiation script. "Thank you so much for the offer. I really enjoyed meeting the team and I think I can have a big impact in this role. 

The only thing is, $120k is a bit lower than the range of $130k-$150k I was targeting for my next role. What do you think we could do to get within that range?"

I had 0 interviews in 5 months.

Then I landed 7 interviews in 2 weeks. I didn't change any of my qualifications.

Instead, I changed my approach (and it only took 5 minutes)


1️⃣ DECODING JOBS
I used to spend hours customizing my resume to every aspect of the job description.

Then I found out that most of it was fluff. 

💡 I found two better ways:
1) Order - the first 30% of bullet points are their true priorities
2) Frequency - anything mentioned 3+ times is a priority

This cut my customization time to 15 minutes. 

Which is important because...


2️⃣ TIMING > QUALIFICATION
A study found that 90% of candidates who landed interviews had applied within the first 24 hours of the job being posted.

💡 I started applying within 12 hours of the job being posted. My interview rate doubled!


3️⃣ QUESTION EARLY
I kept failing my interviews for roles I was clearly qualified for.

Then I decided to try something new. Instead of saving my questions until the end, I started asking them at the beginning.

💡 My favorite:
"What's the biggest problem you're hoping the person taking on this role will solve for you?"

This focused our conversation on the present problem, rather than just my past experience.


☝ All 3 of these changes took me minutes to implement, but they saved me months of job searching.

This market is tough, but hiring is still happening.

To get different results, sometimes we just need a slightly different approach.



________
P.S. Thank you to everyone who reached out about the Resume Workshop! I'll post the invite this Friday, so just give my profile a follow and you'll get notified when it goes up 😊 








_
#resume #hiring

I wrote my first resume with AI...

It landed me 0 interviews. Then I rewrote it using this template and I landed 5 interviews every month!

The problem with AI resumes isn't that they're bad...
it's that everyone is doing them.

👉 It blends in with everyone else.

Here are the 5 best ways I've found to stand out:

1️⃣ TARGET TITLE
Write the title of the job you're applying to (use their exact verbiage) at the top of your resume.

💡This let's the recruiter know, "hey, I made this resume just for you."


2️⃣ RESUME HOOK > RESUME SUMMARY
Everyone writes a boring paragraph here. Instead, I went with a short, punchy "hook" and immediately saw more interviews as a result.

💡Here's the formula I recommend:
Target title + skill #1 + skill #2 + impressive accomplishment + fun fact

💡Here's mine:
"Content Leader, master of scaling, analytical decision maker, worked at Emmy award-winning production studio, beat Mark Zuckerberg at hockey"


3️⃣ HIGHLIGHTED SKILLS
This was a game changer. Use a "combinational" resume format to create a highlighted skills section at the top.

💡This also makes tailoring your resume super fast and is great for people with 10+ years experience


4️⃣ COMPANY DESCRIPTIONS
I learned this one directly from a recruiter. Recruiters hate having to look up what each company does to see if its relevant.

💡Add a RELEVANT description below each company


5️⃣ WORD COUNT > PAGE COUNT
350-550 word resumes tend to land the most interviews.

To see if you're overwriting your resume:
 ↳ Ctrl+F (cmd+F on Mac)
 ↳ Search for the word "and"
 ↳ Never have more than one "and" per bullet point


Doing these changes landed me 3x more interviews than any AI "hack" I've come across.

Remember, you're already qualified, you just need someone to see it!




__________
P.S. If you like this "combinational resume" template I'll be sharing it during the free Resume Workshop I'm doing this week. To get it, just give my profile a follow and I'll share it after the workshop!







_
#resume

4 areas of your resume you should try to improve

A hiring manager finally gave me...

FEEDBACK! And it was the greatest 🎁 ever. What surprised me was that it had nothing to do with my qualifications.

After the interview she called me and said...
"You're definitely qualified for this role. But we had another candidate who had (X, Y) and also experience in (Z)..."

At first, the feedback crushed me.

I didn't apply to jobs for 4 weeks.

But then a💡turned on...

The BEST candidate doesn't get hired.
The candidate who STANDS OUT the best does.

I revamped my entire resume with this in mind.

One of the parts I ditched was my resume summary (that long paragraph at the top).

I switched it out for the resume "hook" you see below.

And guess what...

👉 5x more interviews started rolling in! 

Some questions that can help you write your own hook:
 ↳ What industries have you worked in?
 ↳ How would your friends describe you?
 ↳ What was an early career job you had?
 ↳ What interesting thing happened to you at work?
 ↳ What's a unique hobby you have that others might not?

In THIS market it's not enough to be qualified.
There are simply so many qualified people.
You have to show how you're different.

You ARE unique. That's your secret to getting hired. 

So stop hiding it and start embracing it!




______
P.S. I'm doing a resume workshop on Thursday where I'll share more examples on how to write your hook. To join just follow my profile and use the invite I posted a few days ago.

P.P.S. I may tell the Mark Zuckerberg story at the end if we have time 😉 



_____
#resume #hiring

I landed 7 of my last 9 jobs...

...without networking! I applied online, but instead of futzing with my resume constantly, I focused on these 3 things:


1️⃣ LINKEDIN PROFILE
78% of recruiters use LinkedIn to source candidates and many say they PREFER it over your resume.

💡 Start with your headline:
Target role + Skill #1 + Skill #2 + Skill #3 + Achievement

Content Marketing Manager | B2B | SaaS | Lead-gen | Grew blog traffic by 347% in 3 months with zero budget


2️⃣ WEEKLY QUOTA
When applying online, it's very easy to get burned out.

That's why I set a weekly quota for myself and I didn't apply to more jobs once I hit. Breaks are key.

💡 I recommend starting with 10-20 jobs per week


3️⃣ TIMING
90% of candidates who are landing interviews right now apply within the first 24 hours of the job being posted.

💡 Don't overthink your resume. Customize your "core 5" (see my post from last week) and send it!


Doing these things it only took me 3 months to get hired (my previous search took me 14 months 😅)

So remember...
 ↳ Get your profile in order
 ↳ Set a weekly goal
 ↳ Apply quickly

You can 100% get hired right now!

Please don't give up!



_____
P.S. I'm doing a free LinkedIn Workshop next week where I'll go over exactly how I editing my profile. Just give my profile a follow and you'll get the invite when I post it.




_

Bookmark this post 👇 

📊 "90% of candidates who landed interviews applied within 24 hours of the job being posted."

In this market: Early > Perfect

This is the guide I used to customize my resume in less than 15 minutes (and land 3 offers)

Here's how it works:

1️⃣ TARGET TITLE & HOOK
💡 I add the title from the JD under my name (this instantly tells the recruiter "I made this for you.")

💡 I use a resume "hook" instead of a resume summary (I'll share how to write one on Monday)


2️⃣ SKILLS
💡 I use a "Highlighted Skills" section to showcase my best work right at the top

💡 I use the regular skills section to add my keywords quickly (don't add keywords in your bullet points)


3️⃣ JOB TITLES
💡 This is a bit of a controversial one. If possible, I'll modify my job title to better match the job I'm applying to.

💡 Remember, you don't owe your previous company anything! Make your title reflect what you actually did at your job.


4️⃣ BULLET POINTS
💡 I only modify the bullet points on my most recent job.

💡 Why? Most recruiters will read the first job in more detail and then skim through the rest. Focus on the first job, leave the rest alone.


And that's it!

Remember, it's better to send a good resume that lands at the top of the pile rather than a "perfect" resume that gets lost in the pile.

Quick + Customized = Hired!

You've got this!



_______
P.S. I'm doing a free Resume Workshop next week where I'll go into all of these in more depth. If you'd like to join, just give my profile a follow and I'll post the invite on Monday.







_
#resume #hiring

15 minute resume customization guidelines

We have 51 days until January...

To get hired 🙋‍♀️ here are 3 ways to make the most of them...


1️⃣ GET AGGRESSIVE
Nov/Dec are two of the BEST months to apply to jobs.

That's because everyone takes this time off. Application volume drops and there's less competition. 

💡 Set a weekly application goal (10 apps/week is good)


2️⃣ APPLY QUICKLY
A study found that 90% of people who landed interviews applied within 24-48 hours of the job being posted

Being quick is better than being "perfect."

💡 Spend no more than 15 minutes customizing your resume
 ↳ Adjust your keywords
 ↳ Change your target title
 ↳ Change your "resume hook"
    ⛔Do not rewrite your bullet points


3️⃣ LINKEDIN PROFILE
78% of recruiters use LinkedIn to vet candidates and many prefer a LinkedIn profile OVER a resume.

If your interview rate is <5% it's probably not your resume, it's your LinkedIn profile. Start by rewriting your headline.
 
💡 Use this formula:
Target role + Skill 1 + Skill 2 + Skill 3 + Achievement

💡 Example
Customer Success Manager | B2B | SaaS | Fintech | Reduced ticket times by 34% in less than 6 months


If you're on a long job hunt, this is your opportunity.

Remember:
"There are decades where nothing happens,
and then there are days where decades happen."

Your day is coming.



______
P.S. Thank you for everyone who joined the free Resume Workshop last week. If you missed it, just give my profile a follow and I'll post the replay as soon as it's ready.









_

Ideal number of job apps per week across seniority levels

Had a blast talking about the 5 resume strategies that are working IN THIS MARKET. 

Hope this helps speed up your job search! 🎉

I read 57 job search studies this year

The big takeaway? This market is different in 3 ways...


1️⃣ TIMING > PERFECTION
A study found that 90% of people who landed interviews had applied within 24-48 hours of the job being posted.

💡 Being an early applicant will boost your interview rate higher than ANYTHING else. Aim to apply within 12-24 hours.


2️⃣ LONG GAME > SHORT GAME
The average job search is taking 6-9 months right now. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

A lot of people aren't doing networking because it takes too long. But the truth is, you have time. 

💡Start planting those seeds of conversation today to turn them into interviews in January.


3️⃣ DIFFERENT > BEST
The average job post receives 750+ applications. Of those, about 20% are high quality.

We can't rely on our "years of experience" anymore. We have to find ways to tell our unique story.

Standing out means:
 ↳ Don't only apply LinkedIn
 ↳ Don't use AI to write your resume
 ↳ Don't make your resume exactly like the job description


To be clear, you 100% can get hired right now.

But it takes a different approach.

Remember...
Timing > Perfect
Different > Best
Long game > Short game



______
P.S. I did a resume workshop yesterday that covered how to adapt to these 3 trends. If you missed it, just give my profile a follow and I'll post the replay on Monday






_

This may be controversial but...

You should change your job title to whatever you want.

Why? How? Wait what?

💡 A recent study found that "Title Match" was the #1 factor that determined if candidates landed interviews or not.

📊 Matching titles increased interview rates by 10.6x 🤯 

"But what if my previous employer gave me a title that didn't reflect what I actually did?"

Change it!

Now there is some nuance here. Here are 3 examples of what I mean...


1️⃣ NON-TRADITIONAL
If your previous company gave you a silly title, it's okay to change it.

💡Chief Happiness Officer --> Director of Customer Success


2️⃣ SYNONYMS
If you were the only person running an entire program, you can change your title to reflect that.

💡Content Marketing Manager --> Head of Content Marketing


3️⃣ VERBIAGE
You can take a generic title and make it more specific to fit the jobs you are applying to.

💡Software Engineer  --> Data Engineer


You want the new title to... 
 ↳ Reflect your previous work 
 ↳ And the new jobs you're applying to

So take this as your permission slip.

You don't owe your previous employer anything.

This is YOUR job search.

You own it.




______
P.S. Thank you to everyone who reached out about the LinkedIn Workshop. If you missed the invite, just give my profile a follow and I'll repost it again on Monday.

P.P.S. What do you think about this? Have you ever changed your title without your employer's permission?





_

You don't owe your previous employer anything. Change your job title.

🔴 My longest job search was 14 months.
🟢 My shortest was 3 weeks.
Here are the 5 changes that made the biggest difference...


1️⃣ 24 HOUR APPLY
Applying within 24 hours of the job being posted increased my interview rate 3X. 

Fast > Perfect
☝This was the biggest difference maker.


2️⃣ MAKE IT EASY
I tried to make the recruiter's job easy by...
✅ Shortening my resume to 437 words (350-550 words is best)
✅ Keeping my bullets brief (180 characters max)
✅ Reordering my skills to match the JD


3️⃣ MAKE THEM SMILE
In this market, I realized you can't just be qualified, you have to stand out. So I wrote a unique resume summary. 

💡 Here's what it said...
"Content marketing leader, master of scaling, analytical decision maker, worked at Emmy-award winning production studio, beat Mark Zuckerberg at hockey."


In this market...
✅ Fast > Perfect
✅ Short > Long
✅ Unique > Qualified

You already have what it takes to land a job,
it's just about presenting it in a better way.



_________
👉 P.S. Do any of these surprise you? If so, which ones?

👉 👉 P.P.S. I'm writing a guide on how to write a "resume hook" like the one above. If you'd like it, just give my profile a follow and I'll post it next week.






_
#resume #hiring

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