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- Briefcase Coach's Career Briefs: Job Search Smarter
Briefcase Coach's Career Briefs: Job Search Smarter
In this issue: Create a winning LinkedIn headline, AI's role in the job search, the future of remote work, tips for career discovery and more...
Sarah Johnston
April 12, 2023
Dear Reader:
Over the past year I have picked up tennis. While my husband has played his whole life, I am very much a beginner. But I love it. My favorite part is the escape. When I am on the court, my mind doesn’t wander to work or life or what’s going on at home. If I take my focus off of my opponent and the ball, I am toast.
I think it is really valuable to create time a few times a week for white space. It allows me to recharge and clear my head. It is helpful to tune out the noise and focus on something unrelated to work or other stressors in my life.
This is so important for job seekers. It is easy to feel like you need to have your head down and not lose focus on your search. However, this isn’t a healthy way to job search. Your mind needs rest. Whitespace in your life will allow you to concentrate more fully and give more energy when focused. Time away, both mentally and physically, from your computer will allow ideas to formulate that may otherwise be unable to rise to the surface.
I encourage you to remove the noise this week, find some white space and see how you may benefit from it. It could be a sport or exercise, meditation, reading for pleasure or gardening. Whatever it is, try to tune in and avoid distraction for a short time. I’d love to hear where you find your escape.
As always, I am rooting for you,
LinkedIn Optimization
Briefcase Coach Original Content: LinkedIn Headline Strategy
Your LinkedIn headline is one of the most important parts of your profile. With a 220-character limit, it is important to make sure it contains just the right information to appeal to your target audience. In this article, Briefcase Coach provides tips for making sure your LinkedIn headline grabs the attention of its viewers.
What new LinkedIn data is revealing about race, gender, and network size.
Gender analysis showed that in 2022, men on average, had substantially more LinkedIn connections than women — and that men during the year added connections at a far brisker rate than women did.
Self-identification options, including race and gender, were added to LinkedIn in 2021, over 15 years after the site’s launch. With this new data, connection trends are starting to be analyzed. LinkedIn’s George Anders provides some insight in this article summarizing his discussion on the topic with LinkedIn user Joshua Christie. Ladies, perhaps 2023 is the year to grow your connections?
AI’s Role in Job Searching
Briefcase Coach Original Content: Is using an AI-generated headshot on your LinkedIn profile a good idea?
A high-quality professional headshot could draw in a recruiter or hiring manager to your profile on LinkedIn. However, they can be pricey and time-consuming to have taken. New websites are offering AI-generated headshots but are the results too good to be true? I gave one a trial run. Take a look.
How To Leverage AI And Use ChatGPT In Your Job Search, According To Résumé Writers And Career Coaches
In this recent Forbes article, several top voices in the career space how if used correctly, AI can enhance a job search and help a candidate be successful. AI can be used to alleviate writers block, identify target companies, and even write a cover letter using results from your resume. Career strategist Sweta Regmi is quoted in the article saying, “Job seekers have the power to use AI just the way employers have been using it for years for recruiting.”
Employee Relations
How Americans View Their Jobs
Pew Research Center has found that while many Americans are satisfied with parts of their job, only about half of those surveyed were content with the job itself. Fewer were satisfied with their benefits, pay and opportunities for advancement. Read more about the findings here.
Remote jobs are drying up despite high demand, LinkedIn study finds
While employees are looking for flexible work, employers are hiring for more in office positions. Business Insider looks at results of a new study showing the decline in remote postings. Finding show that after remote job openings peaked in February at 20% of all listings, they dropped to 14% in September, indicating shifts to the era of flexible work.
Career Growth
Getting Past “I Don’t Know What I Want to Do” in Your Career
Do you feel stuck in your career, not sure what you want to land next? Mac Pritchard of Mac’s List provides a comprehensive list of ways to dig deep to find your personal drivers to help determine your next move. He offers simple and practical ideas to find clarity about what you want to do in your career.
What hobbies and interests should you include on a resume?
Career strategist, Hannah Morgan just published a guide to help job seekers with including hobbies and interests on a resume. In this article, she explains which should be on a resume, how many, and where they fit best in your career documents. (Briefcase Coaching moment: One of our executive clients recently shared a few of his hobbies at the bottom of his executive resume. They aligned with the mission of the company he was interested in. In his interview, the recruiter mentioned how much she appreciated this different approach. It was a nice icebreaker in the interview)
Pain- Agitate- Solution
On long car trips, my kids and I play this game that we made up called "Ad Agency."
We take turns throwing out a company name (like T-Mobile or Starbucks) and then have to quickly brainstorm and perform a commercial for the brand.
Look, we are not winning any Ad Age awards anytime soon... WPP and Omnicom are not shaking in their boots out of fear my 6 and 9-year-olds are going to take over their client's business... but I have to say, my kids intuitively understand copywriting best practices.
Pain sells.
Problem/Pain-Agitate-Solution (PAS) is one of the best ways to connect with your target audience. If you start with the solution, you might not motivate your audience to take action.
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You can use the PAS formula to write better cover letters.
Most people start their cover letter with something generic like:
Dear Hiring Manager,
I am excited to apply for the [Position] role at [Company]. With [Number of years] years of experience in [Industry/Field], I believe I have the skills and expertise needed to excel in this role.
Throughout my career, I have demonstrated my ability to [Key Skill or Achievement]. In my most recent position at [Current or Previous Company....
YAWN.
You know what would make this cover letter more exciting to read?
If it actually focused on the reader!
What if your cover letter started with a HOOK? The pain point.
Something like:
D𝘦𝘢𝘳 [𝘕𝘈𝘔𝘌],
𝘈 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯: 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘈𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴, 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺, 𝘧𝘦𝘸-𝘢𝘯𝘥-𝘧𝘢𝘳-𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵.....
The above intro is the hook for a pretend global enterprise sales leader with a team of 1,000. One of the "challenges" when you lead a large team is that it's hard to manage employee relationships. She started her cover letter off by talking about this PAIN.
The rest of the cover letter can talk about HOW you solve the pain and achievements/success related to your solutions.
Using the Pain-Agitate-Solution (PAS) copywriting formula can greatly improve the effectiveness of your cover letter. The PAS formula is designed to capture the reader's attention by identifying their pain point or problem, agitating that pain point to make it more urgent, and then providing a solution that meets their needs. In a cover letter, this approach can help you showcase your understanding of the employer's challenges and how your skills and experience can provide the solution they need.
Can you do me a favor?
I’m on a mission to help job seekers land amazing jobs. Would you consider doing one of the following:
Forward or use the referral link below to share this newsletter with your job-searching friends or post about it on social media. This small act really helps!
Reach out to us about featuring your executive job posting in our newsletter. We are looking for hiring managers, founders, and search firms to talk on video about their ideal candidates.
Consider sharing my company name with your HR leadership. We are a great “white-glove” boutique option for executive outplacement
Recommend me as a paid speaker for your company events on networking, job searching, or leveraging LinkedIn
Recommend my services to high performers wanting to work one-on-one with an executive resume writer / or experienced interview coach
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