What’s up, party people! …. and a nod of respect and mutual understanding to the non-party people. If you haven’t already caught my recent podcast episode— I had the pleasure of getting to chat with Alex Reyes, a Vets Who Code board member and Inclusive Recruiting Specialist at a little place you may have heard of, Meta.

Quick tip from Alex: the world of reality is slowly shifting– we’re seeing lots of new startups and companies emerging in the AR/VR space with a focus on accessibility and tools to use within the Metaverse. So if that’s something you’re interested in, my tech people, maybe that’s a new route for you.

Tune in if you want to hear the tips and tricks of the job search from a corporate recruiter’s perspective:

Spotify Link

Or if you just want the gist of our conversation— intentionality rules all. Whether it’s including something on your resume or even how you’re approaching the job search, make sure that you slow down and think things through. It’s impossible to get exactly what you want if you can’t identify what that thing is and take conscious steps to get there, right?

I always love giving you guys an alternate recruiter perspective because agency recruiters aren’t the only voice with a useful opinion out there. One of the most pressing things we talked through was how to address layoffs and short stints at companies during interviews. Alex and I both agree that it doesn’t have to be awkward, folks. Just be upfront, honest and most importantly be able to talk about it. You might as well walk in carrying a bucket of red flags if you can’t talk about why you chose to leave somewhere after three months. And if you were laid off, welcome to the club of literally thousands of people. That doesn’t mean that you don’t have value. It means the new company you’re interviewing for just stumbled across an amazing opportunity to add you to the team that might not have otherwise happened. Call it destiny.

But back to being intentional in the job search… You can walk around slinging your resume at every open job and hoping something will fall in your lap, but the odds of that actually happening AND you liking the job are pretty slim. Put it in reverse Terry! Slow down and ask questions, do the research, hop on LinkedIn and see if you have any mutuals at the company that you could use for a referral. A thoughtful, prepared and confident candidate is always going to shine just a little bit brighter.

How many recruiters does it take to get a follow-up email? Now listen, we’re really busy people and, from the looks of it, this job is never slowing down. If I’m meeting 500 candidates a year, I’m only placing about 50 of those. Read the rest of this then take five minutes to open your calendar and set a quarterly reminder to check in with your recruiter. It’s our job to help land you the perfect placement, but it’s going to fall on you to take the initiative to stay in touch— whatever method that may be. Engage with us on socials, come to our networking events, shoot us a DM, send us a carrier pigeon. Find something that works for you and be consistent.

That being said, if you don’t land a job please take that rejection with grace. If you burn all your bridges you’re going to be stuck on an island talking to a volleyball. Unfortunately, we’re not miracle workers but we are here to help you. If there’s no privacy policy stopping us, we can give you feedback on ways to improve and maybe even land a job at that company at a later date.

Okay, last piece of advice from Alex— don’t fall into the trap of “if I work hard someone’s going to notice.” Nah, probably not happening. Sometimes you have to shout it from the rooftops, guys. Repeat after me: Hi I’m (your name), and I kick ass at (something you’re great at). Maybe polish that up a bit for the interview, but you get the point. You’re doing amazing sweetie.