Networking Mistakes That Job Seekers Make

🚨 Important Networking Reminder for Job Seekers 🚨 I often receive connection requests with messages like: "I’m a Data Analyst with [X] years of experience. Let me know if you know of any opportunities." Here’s the thing: Networking is powerful, but it’s not about coldly asking for opportunities from people you’ve never interacted with before. ❌ What’s missing? We’ve never met or chatted. I’ve never worked with you or seen your work. I have no way of knowing how good you are at what you do. ✅ What you can do instead: Engage first: Interact with my posts or share your insights. Build rapport. Show your value: Share your projects, achievements, or a portfolio that speaks for your skills. Be specific: Instead of asking for opportunities, ask for advice, insights, or referrals to relevant job postings. 🔑 Networking is a two-way street. Build trust and demonstrate your expertise before asking for support. It’s a much better way to stand out and make meaningful connections. Let’s help each other grow, the right way! 🌟 #dataanalyst

In the last 3 years, I helped 49 clients find the job they love. The common networking advice job seekers get: Step 1: Send generic connection requests. Step 2: Wait (and hope) for responses. Step 3: Share your resume immediately. Step 4: Repeat until success. I found a better approach: 1. Research the right people: Focus on recruiters, hiring managers, and practitioners in your target field. 2. Personalize every message: Mention shared interests, their work, or the company in your outreach. 3. Start with value: Ask thoughtful questions or express genuine admiration for their expertise. 4. Build a relationship: Engage with their posts or provide insights before asking for help. 5. Follow up strategically: Stay polite and persistent without overwhelming them. If you follow this process, you'll build meaningful connections that can help you find the place where you enjoy working.

It's networking week! You told me you wanted to learn more about networking, so this week I've been sharing networking tips. Today we're talking about how to connect with recruiters. Well, here's how NOT to approach recruiters: “I’m looking for a job. Can you help?” "Can you help find some suitable roles in [job title] and [job title]?" "Can you find a job for me?" I am not a recruiter and I get these messages often. And not in the "I see you’re a career coach and I need help with my job search" way. I get messages that are "I think you’re  a recruiter who can help me get a job." On behalf of overworked recruiters everywhere, let me break it down ... • Recruiters don't find jobs for you. They fill jobs that are in their pipeline. • Please don’t approach recruiters in this way. You will never get a response. Recruiters are juggling dozens of roles and hundreds of contacts at once, they don’t have time to respond to messages like this. • Recruiters are busy and risk-averse. They want to put forward the best candidates, so you have to explain why you are that person. ❗ If you are contacting a recruiter about a specific role, APPLY FOR THE JOB FIRST and include in your message: "I applied on this date for this job title (include a req # if available)..." then follow my message template below. If you are cold-calling a recruiter, here’s a few things to do: 1) Do your research - Only contact recruiters who hire for your ideal company, job title, and/or industry. 2) Make your message short and to the point. Use short sentences, short paragraphs, and bullet points. (If you’re sending a direct message on LinkedIn, you are limited to 300 characters.) 3) List your ideal job title and industry. 4) Include your location. 5) Share top skills. 6) Mention your most impressive accomplishments. 7) Attach your resume. SAMPLE MESSAGE TO A RECRUITER: "Hi [Name], I’m a SaaS product manager in Boston skilled in Agile, data analytics, and market research. My products have increased user engagement 50% and brought in $3M+ in revenue. I’ve included my resume if you are recruiting for this type of role. With gratitude, - Emily" (274 characters! Woot!) If you want to send a direct message but you only see the “Follow” button or messaging is not an option, click “More” → “Connect” → Add a note to your connection request. (See attached picture.) I'm rooting for you 👊 ***** Hi, have we met? I'm Emily, and I'm on a mission to get the #greenbannergang back to work, one actionable step at a time. #networking #jobsearch #recruiters #jobhunt #jobseekers

The Mistake 90% of Job Seekers Make When Cold Emailing 🚨 Last week, I posted about hiring for Product Manager Interns at SuperAGI. The response? OVERWHELMING. My inbox was hit with 1000+ resumes. 😵 But here’s the truth: 90% of those emails were a complete miss. 😓 Every email looked like a copy-paste job. The subject lines? Identical. The intros? ChatGPT-generated fluff. Here’s where most candidates went wrong: 1. Boring Subject Lines: “Application for Product Manager Intern” was literally every subject line. Imagine receiving 1000+ emails with the same subject line. Why would a recruiter or Hiring Manager click on your email? If your email subject isn’t grabbing attention, it’s getting lost. Make it BOLD, CREATIVE, and UNIQUE. 2. Generic, AI-Generated Content: I can spot an AI-generated email from a mile away. Most of the emails had the same opening paragraph, word-for-word. No personality, no originality. Show me YOU, not what an AI thinks you should be. 3. LAZY MISTAKES: Believe it or not, some emails still had “[Company Name]” or “[Relevant work at Company]” placeholders left in. If you’re not even taking the time to proofread, why would I or any Recruiter take the time to read? 4. Lack of Personal Connection: Why us? Why this role? If you don’t show you’ve done your homework on SuperAGI, you’re just another name in a long list. Personalize it, make it clear why you’re not just blasting this to 50 other companies. Here’s the hard truth: Your email is your first impression. If you’re blending in with the crowd, you’re already losing. So if you want to stand out, think outside the template, be bold, and SHOW UP. 🚀 Want me to share some of the best emails I received? Comment down below and I’ll share it in the next post.

Not all job search "hacks" are created equally. I am all for making the job search process easier, but some tips and tricks are definitely better than others. Here are a few hacks I do not recommend, and the tips I would counter with. ❌ Copy the keywords from the job description into your resume in hopes it “tricks the ATS.” ✅ Highlight YOUR unique experiences. Include the hard-earned skills you do have. Showcase the work/projects you’ve completed. Real people review resumes and what you write. You can include the keywords if you have them, but don't add them because you think you'll "trick" the system. ❌ Reach out to recruiters on LinkedIn to ask them what role you should apply to or if they can review your resume for a referral. ✅ Build relationships with those in your network before asking for a favor. If you’re going to reach out to a recruiter - address them by the correct name, include the job title and number, attach your resume, and say thank you. Express your interest as briefly as possible so they can pass your resume along to the right person (if they know them, which we don't always do, but try to!) Help us help you. ❌ Instead of applying to the role, network with people at the company. ✅ PLEASE apply to the job! We can't review your application if you don't do this. Networking is to supplement your application, but companies DO review applications from those who apply and do not have connections, too. Networking is always helpful, but your priority should be applying first. If you have a referral, great! Use it! But don't wait too long to get a referral that a job closes. The job search process can be tough, so I am all for researching and learning from others. Just remember that every single person who gives you advice (myself included) is doing so from THEIR experiences -- so take it with a grain of salt, determine what's true for you, and test out their suggestions. Knowledge is power, but make sure the learnings apply to you. #jobsearch #careers #networking