Seeded vs. Ready 🏀

Career Opportunities Favor the Prepared

Author

Sarah Johnston
March 15, 2026

Dear Reader:

March is when brackets bust and underdogs rise. Every year, someone you didn’t see coming knocks out a top seed. Careers work the same way. The professionals who advance aren’t always the ones with the most obvious pedigree—they’re the ones who keep showing up prepared for the next round. They study the field, adjust their strategy, and take the shot when the moment opens. In other words, they play to win the game they’re actually in.

If you’re in the middle of a career season that feels uncertain—an unexpected job search, a stretch assignment, or a role that’s not quite the championship you envisioned—remember this: momentum matters more than seeding. One strong conversation, one bold application, one well-timed introduction can change the entire bracket. Keep playing. The next round might be closer than you think. 🏀

To celebrate women in sports, I’d like to invite all of my readers to participate in the first Briefcase Coach Women’s Basketball NCAA Bracket Challenge.

First prize: $100 CASH or a one-on-one interview coaching session (value $249)

Second prize: A gift box valued at ~$75 or a resume review (value $149)

*Only one prize will be awarded for each category. If multiple entries tie for the top score, the winner will be chosen by a random drawing from the top-scoring participants

As always, I am rooting for you,

Sarah

P.S. You’re not imagining things—this newsletter usually lands on Wednesdays. I made an exception this week for Selection Sunday.

Table of Contents

LinkedIn Posts Are Shaping ChatGPT

LinkedIn is now the #1 source ChatGPT cites when people ask professional questions—from leadership and careers to hiring and personal branding. That means the content you share today could shape the AI answers of tomorrow. Research from Profound shows LinkedIn surged from outside the top 20 to one of the most-cited sources in ChatGPT responses between November 2025 and February 2026, highlighting just how influential professional posts have become. Not entirely coincidentally, LinkedIn’s parent company, Microsoft, owns roughly a 27% stake in OpenAI. But here’s the challenge: many professionals want visibility on LinkedIn without coming across as a try-hard. In my latest article, I share insights from LinkedIn Top Voices—including Michael Quinn and Ryan Rhoten—on how to position yourself as an expert without becoming a “cringe-pert.”

Ladies, We Have a Problem

BlackRock announced plans to invest $100 million in skilled-trade training programs through nonprofits and workforce development partners across several states, with the goal of training 50,000 workers over the next five years. I assume the main reason for this “philanthropic” investment is that the U.S. may run out of electricians needed to build the infrastructure powering artificial intelligence, and could create a bottleneck for AI data center growth. The concern is real: electrical work alone can account for 45–70% of total data center construction costs, according to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

What about women?: There’s another dimension to this story that isn’t getting much attention: gender. If the U.S. urgently needs more skilled tradespeople, why aren’t we seeing a stronger push to recruit women into these roles and remove the barriers to keep them engaged? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women make up only about 2–3% of electricians and roughly 2–5% of plumbers, with similarly low representation in carpentry.

At the same time, many roles most exposed to AI disruption—data entry, customer service, and routine content work—are heavily female. For example, the U.S. customer service workforce totals nearly 3 million people, about 66% of whom are women. If the jobs growing fastest in the AI economy are in skilled trades while many routine cognitive roles face automation pressure, the future of work conversation may also need to become a much bigger conversation about gender and opportunity.

Insider Tips to Connect With Recruiters

In today’s market, the smartest job seekers know that submitting applications online isn’t enough. The most effective candidates treat their job search like a sales strategy, building a robust contact list that acts like a personal CRM. If you want to take your search to the next level, check out my latest comprehensive article on how to find and connect with recruiters—packed with actionable tips and several embedded videos to guide you step by step.

The Workers Who Lost to Steam Engines Didn't Write the History Books

Jan Tegze, one of my favorite LinkedIn writers, may have just written one of his best pieces yet, and I first spotted it in Recruiting Brainfood. He takes on the “AI Optimist” view, which leans heavily on Jevons’ Paradox and a rosy interpretation of past tech revolutions.

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But ask yourself who gets to tell that story. Not the handloom weavers in early 19th-century England whose incomes collapsed over two decades while factories gradually came online. Not the generation of workers who reached middle age in exactly the wrong moment, too old to retrain and too young to retire. Not the mill towns that hollowed out in the 1970s and 1980s when manufacturing automation and offshoring hit simultaneously, and which in some cases still haven’t recovered.

History tells a harsher story: most displaced workers didn’t seamlessly move into new roles—they aged out, often into poverty. Tegze also highlights what AI optimists ignore: imperialism and colonialism shaped who gained from technological leaps, and the workers who lost out didn’t get to write the history books.

What You Need to Know About Executive Recruiting

I like to highlight a podcast episode in every newsletter, and this one is a must-listen for anyone with C-suite ambitions. Professional search firms play a crucial role in discovering and selecting leaders for senior roles, so understanding their process is key. In this episode, Mark Thompson, chairman of the Chief Executive Alliance, and Byron Loflin, global head of board advisory at Nasdaq, break down how to develop your leadership narrative, navigate formal assessments and reference checks, and build ongoing relationships with recruiters. Both are authors of the HBR article “How to Stand Out to C-Suite Recruiters” and the book CEO Ready: What You Need to Know to Earn the Job and Keep the Job.

360 Reference Check

I’ve noticed an interesting juxtaposition in executive search. Some of my executive coaching clients walk into senior-level interviews where the process is almost ceremonial—they spend a few hours “shooting the breeze” with colleagues, and all the preparation we did in advance ends up feeling unnecessary. On the other hand, other clients face marathon processes: eight or nine rounds of interviews, with multiple peers, former bosses, and even spouses providing input before an offer is extended. These 360-degree background interviews go far beyond typical leadership and results-focused questions. Companies are also asking about lifestyle, habits, and personal priorities, seeking a holistic view of how the candidate fits into both the culture and the long-term trajectory of the organization. The contrast is striking—and a reminder that executive hiring processes can vary dramatically depending on the company, the role, and the decision-making team behind it.

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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