Job Search Experts Ask Me Anything AMA: 11 Top Questions Answered

Looking for a job today isn't like it was even a year ago. Things are moving quickly and job seekers need to learn the new landscape or they will be stuck looking for their next role for a long time. Our job search experts put together some of the top questions we were asked recently and provided expert answers. You aren't alone in these questions, so keep reading and find the answers that may just unlock your job search today!

Expert AMA: Top Job Search Questions Answered for 2024

The job search can be tricky, much like finding your way through a maze. This is especially true in today's crowded market of competitive opportunities. Our job search experts field questions every day from our clients about resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn, interviewing, and much more. We see all types of questions and know that so many people have similar questions about what to do in their search.

Here are the top 11 questions we see from jobseekers right now and our answers. So, whether you are just starting your search or have been at it for a while, our experts may have answered your question below!

Q: What Job Boards Should I Use?

Job boards can be strong resources for anyone looking for a job. A commercial job board is where an employer posts their job description and advertisement to attract candidates outside of their organization. Companies that have an applicant tracking system (ATS) (which is most) will also post the job on their company careers page. And, others will also post their job advertisements on specialty boards within their industry or the particular profession they are trying to recruit in.

Many commercial job boards are now job aggregators. This means that an employer will pay to post their job on one primary board, like ZipRecruiter, and it will push that advertisement across 100s of other job boards at the same time. This is why job seekers often find repetitive job postings across multiple commercial job boards. Unfortunately, these job aggregators do not pull down the job they pushed out to the other job boards. So, job seekers will often find a lot of stale jobs out there.

Now that it is clear what the different job boards are, here are some of our favorite commercial job boards:

• Indeed

• ZipRecruiter

• LinkedIn

• Glassdoor

But, we love the company careers page or their job board the most. This is because you know you want to work at the organization and you know the job is still active when applying to a job on a company's career page. Plus, job seekers get the added bonus of getting the chance to put their information in the employer's system the right way and opting to receive notices directly from the employers as soon as a new job goes live. All of these big advantages are why our job search experts love a company's career page / job board above all others.

For those that don't know which company they want to work at yet (or they are really open), the commercial job boards listed above are still a great option to do the research to find the companies that are hiring so you can go directly to their job board (or better yet, to network with people there to get an employee referral).

Q: Does LinkedIn Matter for My Job Search?

The answer is LinkedIn matters a ton - more than you even realize. But, not just in the way most people think.

The LinkedIn stats speak for themself. The ones that matter to job seekers are:

• 14 Million jobs are posted on LinkedIn globally

• 49 Million people are using LinkedIn to find a job globally (3x the number of posted jobs)

• The average job posting on LinkedIn receives 120 applications

• 97% of HR and staffing professionals use LinkedIn in their hiring efforts

• Candidates with a comprehensive LinkedIn profile have a 71% higher chance of getting a job interview

From these stats, you know that LinkedIn is a job board and you can’t apply for those jobs unless you have a profile on LinkedIn. Moreover, your application won’t get through the filtering process once you apply because LinkedIn uses the fields on your profile (i.e. Skills, Experience, etc) to apply the requirements set by the person who posted the job to determine if someone is a fit. So, if you don’t have a profile or that profile is not fully built with all of the right information, then you will likely get rejected along with 100s of other people.

Second, the stats show that HR and recruiting professionals use LinkedIn every day to find and filter more candidates for their roles. These people use LinkedIn Recruiter to find people on the platform and reach out to them to see if they are interested in their jobs. These passive candidates are often the most coveted for the positions that recruiters are working on. Again, the people using LinkedIn to find people for their open jobs can’t find you if you aren’t on LinkedIn or fail to optimize your profile.

Third, hiring managers and colleagues will also use LinkedIn to look at potential candidates and assess your professional brand. These people go straight to your profile (and those of your competition) to find out more about you. They look at your recent posts/activity on the platform, your connections, recommendations, interests, and everything else on your profile to get a picture of you beyond those on your resume.

Fourth, in LinkedIn Jobs, you can see your connections to the companies that hiring. This includes LinkedIn 1st degree connections, company alumni (people who have worked at the same company as you at some point), and school alumni (people who went to the same schools as you at some point). You can also see who posted the job in some cases (found in the “Meet the Hiring Team” section of a job posted on LinkedIn). All of these insights give you the ability to reach out to people and ask for help in pursuing the job. These people can be the key to an employee referral or rising to the top of the applicant pile if you do it right. And, LinkedIn’s recent study shows that it is these types of acquaintances that are 5x more likely to help you land the job - not your long-time best professional friends.

Thus, LinkedIn matters a lot in a job search in a lot of different ways to different people involved in the hiring process. So, if you aren’t using LinkedIn or you have neglected your profile, then you are missing out.

Q: How Do I Get an Employee Referral for a Job?

An employee referral can be found as easily as simply by asking for it. But, most people have to ask a lot of people for a lot of different roles. Employee referrals are like a golden ticket straight to the interview short-list for many organizations. So, you should be asking any and everyone who may be able to help for that support. BUT, how you ask is essential to getting the employee referral.

People refer people they like for jobs and people hire people for jobs. So, the most important thing to remember when asking for an employee referral for a job application is to be a person. It's not a transaction, but a conversation. The best way to consistently get impactful employee referrals is to network. For many people, that's a constant struggle or a fear. But, networking can be the most important way to advance your career in any job market. So, it is essential for most people to make networking a habit that continues throughout their careers.

If you have neglected networking for whatever reason, the best time is to start now. You should see who you know and where they work. LinkedIn and other social media platforms can be a good resource for this. But, so are industry associations, professional groups, alumni networks, community groups, etc. Anywhere that you can find people who may be able to help your job search and you can connect with them, then that's a great place to start.

Create a strategy to facilitate a career change and start executing on your plan to network. When you reach out, be clear about your career goals, unique strengths, and the jobs you want. Don't be afraid to ask for advice or insights. You can also ask for introductions to people they know who may be able to help.

Q: I have Applied to 100s of Jobs without an Interview. What Am I Doing Wrong?

It's a tough market right now and there is no question that employers can be highly selective in who they interview and even more selective in who they hire right now. In fact, the average number of applications before getting a job in 2024 is somewhere between 100 - 200. This big range is because some fields are more competitive than others, but in all it is more common to apply for A LOT of jobs before landing somewhere. Thus, job seekers have to be more aggressive than ever and they need a strategy in doing that or they can spend a lot of time with zero results.

So, if you are applying to a lot of jobs and still not seeing any results, then it could be time to step back and rethink your strategy. For example, are you only applying to jobs and not networking? If so, you're holding yourself back as only 11% of jobs are filled by a cold application today. Or, are you applying to anything and everything without a consistent approach? Or, are you using the exact same message for everything you apply for without customizing your resume or cover letter? Or, are you applying like crazy for a few weeks or months and then stopping entirely for a few weeks/months only to pick back up your search again? All of these things could be going and a small tweak to your approach could make all the difference.

And, for some people in this situation, it makes sense to start working with career coaches like The Contingent Plan to identify what the issue (or issues) may be. A professional career coach can also help you to build a plan going forward and to navigate your job search more effectively giving you a competitive edge. In turn, this could save you months of searching and would definitely be worth the investment. So, if you find yourself repeatedly stuck in your job search or career, it may be time to seek out some additional professional guidance.

Q: I Get Job Interviews, but Never a Job Offer. What Can I Do Differently?

Congrats on getting the job interviews! If you keep landing the interview and not the offer, then it is probably time to review how you are showing up at the job interviews. Perhaps there are some interview skills or techniques you can improve on. This is another area where a career coach can be extremely helpful.

One thing to consider is if you are effectively showcasing your qualifications and experience during the interviews. Do you have specific examples and stories that highlight your strengths and achievements? Are you able to effectively communicate why you are the best fit for the job?

A career coach like those at The Contingent Plan can work with you to identify any areas of improvement in your approach to job interviews, as well as provide tips and strategies for how to effectively sell yourself during these conversations. They can also help build your confidence and eliminate any nervousness or anxiety may be hindering your performance during interviews.

Additionally, you should practice your answers out loud to some of the most common questions. This will help you refine your responses and become more comfortable with articulating your accomplishments and qualifications. A career coach can also conduct mock interviews with you, allowing you to practice in a realistic setting and receive constructive feedback on how to improve.

Remember, the interview is not only about showcasing your skills and experience but also about building rapport with the interviewer. A career coach can help you develop strong communication skills and teach you how to make a positive first impression.

Moreover, a career coach can assist in researching the company beforehand so that you are well informed and prepared for any specific questions related to the organization. They can also provide guidance on appropriate attire, body language, and other nonverbal cues that can greatly impact the outcome of an interview.

With a career coach by your side, you can feel more confident and prepared for any job interview. Their expertise and insights will give you an advantage over other candidates and increase your chances of landing the job.

So don't hesitate to seek out a career coach for valuable assistance in mastering the art of interviewing. With their support, you can ace your next interview, prepare mentally for a personality test, and take one step closer to achieving your career goals. Remember, practice makes perfect! So keep practicing and refining your interview skills with the help of a trusted career coach.

Q: I Spend More Time Editing the ChatGPT Content than Writing it. Is this Normal?

AI tools like ChatGPT are changing how we do things. And, you must edit whatever content is generated or it will be obvious to the reader that it was merely generated information and not a real reflection of your experience. Or, even worse, you will submit a resume or cover letter with information that you cannot speak to in the interview and lose the opportunity for that reason. Thus, if you are using ChatGPT or any other AI tool to customize your resume or cover letter, then you must edit the content it generates.

The challenge with ChatGPT for most jobseekers using it to customize their resumes or cover letters is that it will generate a lot of nonsense or things that simply aren't true for their experience. So, it can become normal to have to re-generate content or spend a lot of time editing the content that is generated by ChatGPT for your resume or cover letter.

If you find yourself spending more time editing than writing the resume or cover letter from scratch, then there's a good chance that you may not be using the right prompts or including the right information to ChatGPT to generate the content. In that case, you probably are better served to approach the use of the AI tech differently. Consider working with experts in the technology, like those at The Contingent Plan who can coach you through the best practices in using ChatGPT to customize your resume or simply have a professional write it for you.

Q: I Think I Was Just Ghosted by a Recruiter. Should I follow up?

Unfortunately, being ghosted by a recruiter is more common than ever in today's job search market. Having a great conversation with a recruiter only to never hear back is frustrating. And, it can happen for a ton of different reasons including the job was put on hold. Yes, the recruiter should let you know that fact out of courtesy. However, some organizations have policies not allowing recruiters to communicate this information as it can be viewed negatively if it gets out to their investors or customers. Or, the recruiter is working on so many different positions at any given time that it could simply take them longer to get back to you and you may not have been ghosted. Whatever the reason a recruiter seems to have disappeared, just know it wasn't personal.

This may not be the best practice, but it happens and as a job seeker in today's market the best answer to this situation is to keep moving forward with your job search. You should never hold out for a single job when you are looking for a job, so make sure you move on and keep applying even when you were absolutely certain the job is yours.

You can always follow up after an interview if it has been a while since you last heard from the recruiter. It may be that the person was busy and a simple note could revitalize the conversation. But, limit the number of follow-ups. Use your energy on other job search tasks and networking opportunities.

Q: Do I Need More Education or a Certification to Land a Job?

The answer to this question is that it depends on what types of jobs or organizations you are pursuing now. In some cases, the answer is definitely yes as the field absolutely requires a particular certification or degree to land the job. In others, it is more grey and the value of a certification or degree is less certain. In those cases, it may be more important to gain practical experience through internships or entry-level positions rather than investing time and money in additional education.

Before pursuing any additional education or certifications, do your research on the current job market and the essential skills required for the roles you are interested in. Look at job postings for those positions, reach out to professionals in your network, and attend industry events to get a better understanding of what qualifications are valued in your desired field.

It's also important to consider the cost-benefit analysis of obtaining a certification or degree. Will the investment significantly increase your chances of landing a job? Will it lead to higher pay or advancement opportunities? Or will it simply add another line to your resume without much impact on your career prospects?

If you do decide to pursue further education or certification, make sure to choose reputable programs and institutions that are recognized in the industry. Talk to alumni or current students to get a better understanding of their experiences and the value they have gained from the program.

Additionally, don't forget about the importance of gaining practical experience through internships or entry-level positions. Employers often look for a combination of education and hands-on experience when hiring for more advanced roles. So while continuing your education, be proactive in seeking out opportunities to gain relevant experience in your desired field.

Ultimately, whether you choose to continue your education or not, it's important to constantly update and expand your skills. The job market is constantly evolving, and staying up-to-date with industry trends and new technologies will make you a more valuable candidate. This can be achieved through online courses, attending conferences and workshops, or even just actively seeking out new challenges in your current role.

Q: Why Do I Always Have to Reformat My Information When I Apply to Jobs Online?

The Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are to blame for this issue. There are over 900 ATS platforms sold to employers. There are even more systems companies build for their own hiring purposes. Many of these platforms are highly customizable. Thus, in these customizations and software variations, even the best ATS-optimized resume can require the need to copy/paste and reformat content into the application.

Many of these systems allow applicants to "pre-fill" the fields with the details in their resume. This is where an ATS-friendly resume is key as the platform scanning the document will be able to better pick up the information and place it in the proper fields. So, you will have more of the right keywords in the resume and those will land in the right fields so you spend less time reformatting your information when applying online with an ATS-optimized resume.

But, you must spend the time whatever it takes to get all of your information into the system when applying online. Skipping a field or not reformatting the information can cost you the opportunity to interview. This is because every single field is a chance for that ATS to filter you out or someone to overlook you. Remember, the recruiter is looking at their system BEFORE they decide to click on your resume or to give you a call. Although some recruiters will look at every resume and not just their system, these people are more the exception than the norm. This is even more the case today with the ever-increasing number of applications.

Thus, take the time to build an ATS-friendly resume and reformat your information each and every time you apply. This may be frustrating but it is the key to landing the interview.

Q: I Was Lowballed on My Job Offer. How Do I Get More Money?

Congratulations on getting a job offer! If you think the salary isn’t what you deserve, then you must try to negotiate the terms. The worst scenario in this case is taking a job without negotiating and resenting it once you are in the role. This will only make you unhappy and you will be looking for another job very soon if you don't at least try to negotiate a better salary.

To negotiate a higher offer, start by asking the HR or recruiting contact if it is possible. A simple question raised in a call can be an easy way to open the door and to discover what terms can be negotiated and why the employer made such a low offer in the first place. Second, do your research. Look at websites like Glassdoor or Payscale to see what the average salary is for similar roles in your industry and location. Use this information as a benchmark to support your request for a higher salary.

Next, highlight your skills and experience that make you stand out from other candidates. Show the value you can bring to the company and how it justifies a higher salary. If possible, provide concrete examples of achievements or projects that demonstrate your qualifications.

It's also important to be open and flexible during the negotiation process. If the employer cannot offer you a higher salary, consider negotiating other benefits such as vacation time, bonuses, or remote work options. These can also add significant value to your overall compensation package.

Remember to remain professional and respectful throughout the negotiation process. Emphasize your enthusiasm for the job and your commitment to contribute positively to the company's success.

In conclusion, do not be afraid to advocate for yourself and your worth during a salary negotiation. Research, preparation, and confidence are key in achieving a successful outcome. Best of luck in your negotiation!

Q: I Need to Wait for My Bonus Before I Can Start My New Job. How Do I Negotiate a Delayed Start?

Negotiating a later start date to get your bonus is normal during a career transition. Be honest and clear with your new employer about your situation early in the hiring process or in the negotiation to see what is possible.

When negotiating a delayed start date due to waiting for a bonus before beginning a new job, it's important to approach the situation with transparency and clarity. Early on in the hiring process or during negotiations, communicate openly with your potential employer about the bonus situation and the specific date you need to stay until to receive it. Most employers are understanding of such circumstances and may be willing to accommodate reasonable requests regarding the start date. If the delay extends beyond a month, it might require a more detailed discussion to find a suitable solution that works for both parties.

Remember to maintain a positive and respectful attitude throughout the negotiation, emphasizing your eagerness for the role and your dedication to contributing to the company's success. Don't hesitate to advocate for yourself and your worth during this process, armed with research, preparation, and confidence to secure a favorable outcome. Best of luck with your negotiation!

Enhancing Your Job Search with Professional Help

Navigating the job search process on your own can be done, but getting professional help can really make a difference in some cases. Career coaches and recruiters know a lot about the job market. They can help you understand it better and boost your chances of finding success.

Thinking about getting professional help can give you useful advice, tailored plans, and a wider range of job opportunities.

When to Consider Hiring a Career Coach

If you want to clear up your career goals, build a strong resume, or improve your interview skills, a career coach can be a good choice.

Coaching gives you personal help and support during your job search or career transition. Coaches can help you see your strengths, get past your doubts, and make a smart plan to reach your professional goals.

Also, career coaches can give you helpful advice about your job search items. They can help you fine-tune your elevator pitch and give you the skills and confidence to shine in a tough job market.

How to Work with Recruiters

Recruiters help job seekers find jobs by linking them with hiring companies. They focus on certain industries or job types and match qualified people with jobs. To work well with recruiters, you should create a good relationship. Be responsive and communicate often. Always be ready.

Clearly share your career goals, the jobs you want, and your salary needs. Update your resume for the jobs you want and be ready for phone calls or interviews.

Keep in mind that recruiters want to find the right fit for both the job seeker and the company. Be honest about your skills and experience. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about the job, company culture, or hiring steps.

Conclusion

Hopefully, these questions helped you. Remember, it is common to have a lot of questions in today’s job market. Make sure that you are asking these questions when they come up to avoid getting stuck in your search. And, remember to ask the right resources for help to ensure you have the right advice.

Want more help in your search? Our team of job search experts would love to assist you in landing your dream job. Sign up for our job search ask me anything and you can get your questions answered every single day by someone who knows what is actually working right now in today’s market.