- Landed!
- Posts
- The Case for Optimism
Tons of free tools + an auto applier!!
A few quick goodies from LinkedIn!
I saw this post offering LinkedIn Premium subscriptions - check out the post and respond to the poster! But move quickly - they have 9 to give away.
What do recruiters think of the “green banner”? Well this sums it up!
And I love this easy tip to help you stand out in interviews!
The Case For Optimism
Below is a guest post from Colton Sakamoto - give him a follow and check out his newsletter, Office Party!
It’s no secret that 2023 has been a tough year for layoffs. 1049 different companies have laid off 239,883 employees. Startups have closed their doors. Large companies like Google, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft all conducted mass layoffs.
Companies that were once thought of as “safe” were the first ones to cut ties with thousands of employees.
There was a massive push across all of tech to drastically reduce spend and headcount as cutting spend and racing towards profitability became the norm in 2023.
Every day on LinkedIn, it seems like more and more companies are letting employees go. More open to work profile pictures, more announcements of layoffs…it seems never ending.
But the data tells a different story.
Every month since January, layoffs have been trending downwards. And while some major companies (Airtable, Meta, and more) have recently conducted layoffs, it appears that the worst is behind us. September had the lowest number of tech layoffs since April of 2022. It’s early in October, but the trend appears to be continuing this month.
Many companies such as Salesforce have even begun rehiring some of their employees they let go. Others have started to open up recruiting again. Nature (or tech) appears to be healing.
In fact, thousands of companies in tech are still actively hiring. (Check out stillhiring.today for companies actively hiring in tech).
More positive news also came in with the recent JOLTS report. 690,000 new jobs were added in August, an increase from the expected number of added jobs.
It has certainly been a crazy year in tech. From late 2020 to early 2022, companies went on hiring frenzies. But 2023 flipped that trend upside down.
The worst of the layoffs certainly appear to be behind us. As companies begin to take inventory leading up into the new year, many more will begin actively recruiting again.
For those that have been affected, and are still looking, keep going. You got this!
Ramped has been one of the best new services I have been recommending for job seekers who are looking for additional support in their job search. For my cost-conscious followers (you know I love a good deal), they have a 100% free AI job search platform that can help you explore new career / job opportunities, create your resume and cover letters, and prepare for upcoming interviews.For those looking for more active support to reduce your time and effort (we all know how draining the job search can be), they have an Automatic Applier Program that provides guidance for all aspects of your job search and will apply to jobs on your behalf! Success stories like Rodney’s and Josh’s are examples of the impact the program can have on your job search.The Automatic Applier Program currently has a waitlist due to demand, but if you tell them I sent you at the link below today, you’ll get a $50 discount AND be on the shortlist to get selected off the waitlist ASAP. Click here to join the waitlist.
🙋Answering Your Questions🙋
Each week, I’ll answer a few of your questions in this section. You can submit your questions here.
I have been in a marketing role for more than 15 years. I was transitioned/promoted from a senior director of product marketing into a senior director of sales ops and program manager role. I've been actively looking for a new role prior to this change. How do I handle the new title on my resume and LinkedIn? I don't want to fall out of search results on Linkedin or change my headline with different keywords.
In terms of LinkedIn searches, your previous roles will show up in searches so adjusting your title shouldn’t adjust that. That said, you could do something like putting both titles on the line for that employer (Sr. Dir, Product Marketing/Sr. Director Sales Ops). I would also make sure your headline reflects the roles you’re targeting.
That said, if you don’t want to be considered for any sort of sales role or think that’s in any way relevant to the work you want to do, I don’t think there’s any harm in leaving it off and just leaving your previous title up. Once in an interview, you can share that for the last 6 months, you’ve been in a Sales Ops role based on company needs and your deep product knowledge and strategy skills, but that your passion is PM work which is why you’re focused on roles in this space.
You have spotlighted services which prepare documents and submit applications for candidates like Ramped, but are there any that conduct networking via email/linkedin/etc in order to get informational interviews with the goal of referred applications? I've had particular challenges as I'm targeting cities I don't live in (Austin and NYC) while living in a rural city (Tampa) with very low local visibility and network of the tech nationals and MNC's I'm targeting.
I don’t know of any services that facilitate networking. There are some services that connect you with referrals, but I don’t know of anyone who has used these successfully. One if Refer.me - again, I have never used it, and personally don’t recommend or like these services as the referrals are inauthentic, and I’ve heard of people charging for these referrals regardless of the outcome. But feel free to check it out.
My approach would be to be intentional about using your existing networks - ask people you know to make intros within their networks - LinkedIn will show you mutual connections!
🛫 Community Connections 🛬
Products/services that I think will support you in your job search.*
Secta is currently offering subscribers of Landed! a 20% discount. You MUST use this link - good until 10/24 - to receive this discounted rate.
P.S. Curious if they’re any good? Here’s a screenshot of just a few of the 400+ headshots I generated last week!
Traveling or using public wifi? NordVPN allows you to connect to over 5000 servers in 56+ countries safely helping to protect your privacy AND bypass geographic restrictions for different websites. Start your free trial today!
Motion helps you get more done by leveraging AI to organize your calendar and tasks, schedule meetings, and maximize your productivity. Start your trial for free.
*This section may include ads/affiliate links
The In-Flight Amenities 🍱
Each week, I share job openings within my network and a featured jobseeker that I hope we can all support in their job search.
Jobs you need to check out:
Zapier has a few openings!
Quite a few openings at Handshake!
Remote PM and UX roles here!
Remote communications/operations role in the financial services industry.
Remote senior partnerships role at Alight.
Remote customer advocacy roles at Designit.
Remote program manager role focused on emergency management at Nordstrom.
Remote benefits manager role!
Remote roles for those transitioning educators at Imagine Learning!
Remote recruiting opportunity with the University of Michigan!
Jobseeker you need to hire/support:
Give these recently open to work folks a like/comment/share - or better yet, a job!!
Bryce Celotto’s visual resume here is super creative!
Jaimie Mohan is looking for a new role after being laid off, and I love how they’d encouraged folks to share testimonials!
Mike Braca was laid off, and this post does an amazing job of outlining their contributions!
Serenity Griffin is seeking graphic design roles and I love that they included their website in their post!
Katrina Tan is seeking opportunities, and I love the use of a picture to grab people’s attention as well as their insights into what they are looking for.
For more resources to support you in your search, check out my Linktree.
My content is seen by over 4 million people each month. Need help getting the word out about your brand? Let’s connect!