It's (LinkedIn) Makeover Time!

Last week I hit a bittersweet milestone - I got enough subscribers to this newsletter that I had to upgrade to a paid plan! 😭

OK, that’s mostly sweet, not bitter - I’m glad that this newsletter is adding value for y’all, and the paid plan gives me access to some cool features…including a referral program and user polls!

You’ll see both at the bottom of this issue. The prizes include things like resume reviews, 1:1 career chats and more! The very first prize (for just 1 referral) is a link with my hotlist of products I love.

I appreciate all of your support so much, and hope that this adds some value for you too!

This is one of the cooler things I’ve tried out this week

The powers of AI keep growing, and I for one am obsessed.

This week’s awesome example of using AI in your job search and personal branding?

Holly Fosher shared this post in which she used the magic edit feature in Canva to turn a photo from a cute picture at the beach to a professional headshot! You don’t need a professionally taken headshot, but you DO need professional-looking picture, and this is a free way to do it. And it’s fun.

Here’s a Tiktok I made with a few examples as well.

Let’s get those LinkedIn profiles looking 💯

This week, I ran a poll asking y’all what you needed to support you in your search - you said, a guide to optimize your LinkedIn profile!!

So I made one that I think is pretty awesome - and I hope it’s helpful for you! While this is developed with a jobseeker in mind, I tried to include some ideas that would be useful to you no matter what your goals are on LinkedIn.

This week's issue is sponsored by James Cooper, founder of The Jobseeker's Gazette and Final Draft Resumes.

The Jobseeker's Gazette has become one of the newsletters I most look forward to - many go unread, but I ALWAYS open this one when it lands in my inbox on Saturday mornings! James Cooper answers your questions and provides practical, relevant tips and resources to help any jobseeker in their search. As someone who has been in recruiting for a decade myself, I know a lot, but always learn something new from James.

I also recommend checking out his resume writing services - especially for those who are making a career transition or are in more senior level roles and need a true expert to power their search.

🙋Answering Your Questions🙋

Each week, I’ll answer a few of your questions in this section. You can submit your questions here.

How do we handle answering disability questions? Sure companies promote no bias. But is there a bias - If I have a disability that’s not visible, should I just lie and say no disability? Do candidates with disability get pooled into a separate section? Eg: If a company has policy 15% hire should be disabled people - am I getting pushed to that pool?

This is a question that affects so many people - thanks for asking.

First, a clarification: there is a section at the end of many applications which indicates that it’s for EEOC compliance. Recruiters/companies DO NOT have access to these responses for individuals. They can be used to show the make up of the candidate pool as a whole, but your responses can’t be viewed.

Answering them is optional of course; I answer them personally but you’re under no obligation to do so.

If they do NOT indicate that the questions are for compliance, and are not visible to the recruiting team, I would personally not respond. I would also personally not disclose a disability unless I had a lot of evidence that the employer had a lot of supports in place.

I mean the answer I WANT to give here is that you should be honest - that employers won’t hold this against you, and also that if this affects their decision, it wouldn’t be a great place to work.

But the reality is that I don’t know that for any employer. There’s just no guarantees and I would avoid giving a company any reason to think hiring me might make things more challenging for them.

Once you’re at the offer stage, I would then let them know what kind of accommodations you might need to help you excel there. At this stage, they are really invested in you so they are more willing to make accommodations, and they are legally required to provide accommodations if you have a qualifying disability.

What’s your opinion on resumes and how long they should be?

Regardless of length, in my experience, recruiters mostly pay attention to the first page - so make sure it stands out!!

In general, I suggest:

1 page if you’ve had just 1-2 jobs
2 pages for pretty much everyone else
If you do more than 2, it should be because you have 20+ years of experience that is highly, highly relevant to whatever job you’re applying to.

Also it’s worth noting that my perspective is based on best practices for US-based companies - I know in some countries, longer resumes are common!

🛫 Community Connections 🛬

Products worth checking out.*

Last week, I got several questions about online scams after sharing flags about scams in the job search, as well as a product recommendation! I’m currently trying out Aura - I’m in a trial period now, but I appreciate that it’s a pretty reasonable price point and they have coverage for not just preventing fraud but also insurance coverage/fraud resolution support if you ARE a victim of identity threat. If you have fallen for a scam and shared any personal information online, please consider a service like this. Protect yourself now

I recently subscribed to International Intrigue, a newsletter written by former diplomats, that covers international news and how it affects business and technology. It helps me stay informed around what’s going on the world, and how it affects us in the work place. Check it out!

If you’re like me, you WANT to read all the business books, but don’t have time. Blinkist solves that - their library of over 5500 non-fiction books and podcasts condenses the content down to the big ideas so you can get all the most important take aways from a book in just 15 minutes! Let’s read together!

_{*This section may include ads/affiliate links}

🍱The In-Flight Amenities 🍱

Jobs you need to check out:
Zapier is hiring as always!
If you’re based in Chicago, a friend posted several openings here!
For anyone with non-profit growth and development experience, this role is open and remote with travel!
Looking for jobs in recruiting? Here’s a whole list!
Here’s a HUGE list of companies hiring for remote-first roles!
My transitioning educators (or anyone - many of these jobs don’t require an education background) - lots of amazing ed tech jobs here!
Here’s an opportunity for a Business Analyst.
And here’s one for a Digital Marketer!
Interested in entry level sales roles? Check these out!
Here’s a Program Associate role if you’re in DC!
Lots of jobs at startups in data posted here - I often see the hiring teams comment on these posts too!
I have several former colleagues at Bezos Academy and they have finance and people ops roles open.
For my educator friends, lots of more senior roles in education here.
And whether you’re a transitioning teacher, a career educator, or open to moving into the education/non-profit space, Josh’s job board is amazing!!
And as always, I share jobs regularly in my Talent Collective! (If you’d like to share jobs, we’d love to have you!)

A jobseeker you need to hire: Meet Sonia Vargas Moso!
Here’s what Sonia shared:
After working for 10+ years at Mexico in Project Management related positions, I moved to California with my husband in pursuit of his dream job. Now, after taking two certification programs at UC Irvine (one in Project Management and the other in Creativity and Product Development), it's time for me to find my dream job. I’ve always been passionate about Environmental issues and finding ways to solve them, so my prefect job would be as a Project Manager or Project Coordinator in a company that develops environmental solutions for any of the current problems that the humanity is facing right now. I’m open to remote or hybrid positions, because back in Mexico I managed multi-cultural teams that worked in different parts of South America and enjoyed learning from their culture and creating a multidisciplinary working environment.

Sonia is interested in roles like Project Manager, Product Analyst, or Sustainability Analyst.

Think you might have a role that’s a good fit for Sonia, or be able to help make a connection? Add her on LinkedIn, or email her, and let’s get Sonia hired!

Interested in having your story shared? Sign up here!

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