Sprint to a New Job in 2025: Week 1

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Starting 2025 off strong!

With the year coming to a close, hiring will slow down, so you may find yourself waiting until the new year. Two tips:

1. This is definitely a good time to prepare yourself…

2. At the same time, companies see lower volume due to people being less willing to navigate interviews amidst travel schedules, wanting to finish out the year for bonus eligibility, etc.

So if you see a great opportunity, APPLY!

All that said, for the next 6 weeks, each newsletter will focus on one theme for job hunting:

Week 1: Finding great jobs

Week 2: Networking

Week 3: Applications and Resumes

Week 4: Interviews

Week 5: Compensation and Offers

Week 6: A final wrap-up/remaining questions that have emerged from you all!

Make sure to submit your questions as well - I’m going to cover at least 2 per week!

If you think this sprint will be helpful to your network, invite them!

So where do we find REAL jobs?!

If you’ve been following me for a while, you already know that I won’t apply to jobs on LinkedIn and Indeed - there’s too much that can go wrong with integrations not removing jobs that companies are no longer hiring for, or with apps getting pushed through.

So let’s get into some of the places you might find great opportunities.

Search with in your networks

• Make sure people in your network know you’re looking for a job. Post on Facebook, in your community group, email old colleagues. Be clear about what industry, what job titles, etc. would be a good fit to make it easier for them to advocate for you.

• On LinkedIn, you can search for posts about jobs (I share how to do that here) which will help you find jobs AND a direct contact at the company.

• Make a stellar “Open to Work” post on LinkedIn to encourage more connections and networking. Here’s a fantastic one I shared last month from Eddie Coronado. My pro tip is always to do this alongside the “Open to Work” banner so that your post gets pushed out to a larger audience! If you prefer not to use the banner, you can always take it down after the post goes out.

• You can also get creative - I’ve seen people share videos about job searching on Tiktok or Instagram to get their message out for example.

Find Interesting Companies

• I think it’s helpful to have some companies you know you’re interested in that are relevant in terms of industry. You can follow them, show you’re interested on LinkedIn, and connect with relevant recruiters and employees. This can help you spot relevant jobs quickly, and be a familiar face once you apply!

• I always suggest smaller less familiar companies given that they don’t get inundated with the app volume big companies do. LinkedIn’s 50 Top Startups can be helpful as an example.

• This list of VC funded start-ups has lots of opportunities you likely won’t find on the popular job boards.

And what about job boards?

• Over 600 jobs on my job board with CollabWork. These are recently posted jobs, often with smaller employers.

• And you should already have this but here’s a big list of job boards that may be helpful!

So, by the time you receive next week’s issue, I would encourage you to:

1. Share that you’re job hunting in one space (if it’s LinkedIn, feel free to tag me and I’ll engage with it!)

2. Explore various job boards that you can bookmark and check at least 3x a week for new postings.

3. Build a list of at least 10 target companies so you can start building those networks intentionally at places you want to work.

Next week, we’ll talk about what to do with that network!

🙋Answering Your Questions🙋

Each week, I’ll answer one (or more!) of your questions in this section. You can submit your questions here.

I totally understand this dilemma! I honestly think most recruiters will understand that looking at your resume so I wouldn’t worry too much about this - we know people do temp work during a long search!

There are a few places you could explain this:

1. You can note “temp job while job searching” under the job.

2. You can use the summary section to explain that you have X years doing X, and are currently working in an unrelated field but are eager to get back into your area of expertise.

3. Many applications have a section to add extra info so you could simply share there that you know it can look odd, but you took this job as a short-term job to hold you over while job hunting.

One other thought - if you love the job and see room for growth, there’s also nothing wrong with pursuing it! Most retail businesses also need tech talent so you could potentially transition into something corporate over time that marries your previous experience with your understanding of the business.

Hmmm, I’m sorry they’re having a hard time. It’s really hard to say as the job market is tough and that could be a bigger factor. I don’t know of any service that could find this out for them.

Backchannels typically happen for more senior roles and at later stages in my experience. One thing they could do is ask directly if backchannels are part of the process. It’s not a common question, but hopefully they’d be honest! Then if they are, she could let them know that she left an employer after reporting harassment, and has dealt with retaliation from the individual so she just wants them to be aware. She could say she typically does not use anyone from the employer as a reference due to the painful experience, but if they need to talk to someone, she can identify a few people.

This might help contextualize the information they might receive.

They could reach out to the companies that declined them and ask directly if backchannels were involved and contributed to the decisions. They may or may not get an answer but never hurts to ask!

They can also reach out to HR at their previous employer to request their personnel file, and also request to know if they’ve received any reference checks and how they’ve navigated it. This could help signal their concerns and allow them to address it.

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