9 Things You Control in Job Search

PLUS: Active hiring company listings, optimize your LinkedIn profile to attract recruiters, discover powerful scripts to reframe your internal conversation, and more!

Author

Hannah Morgan
June 08, 2025

Welcome to Career Essentials, where I share actionable insights and curated articles that will help accelerate your career and supercharge your job search.

Managing your time and energy during a prolonged (and challenging) job search requires you have a system to follow.

When we dwell on the negative and things outside our control it's easy to feel discouraged and/or overwhelmed.

Try implementing these 9 things to keep your job search momentum and feel productive!

A productive job search

I posted a version of this on LinkedIn Do you follow me there?

Looking for lists of companies that are posting jobs? You’ll want to bookmark these five sources. But don’t stop there. There are two more important steps to take before you decide to apply: First, filter your results by “date posted” so you only focus on recent jobs. Second, network with insiders. In a tight job market, you need to do more to get noticed. 

Out With The Old, In With The New - Shelley Piedmont, My Career GPS

If you are like many job seekers, you updated your resume by adding on your newest job. But as Shelley points out, that is not good enough. You're telling the wrong story when you do this. Use her five-point editing plan to give your resume the power and polish it takes to secure a new job. (And while you’re reading, check out her full newsletter filled with great job search tips.)  

💻 LINKEDIN

For those of you who don’t recognize his name, Richard researches and publishes an annual report on what is happening on LinkedIn. This week, he featured an image with 9 actions job seekers can take to build awareness. 

⚙ AI

Don’t use AI to write your resume. You’ll come across bland. There are parts of the job search process AI just can’t do for you, like assessing what you want to do next given your skills and priorities. But AI is great for generating lists. So use it to identify companies that fit your criteria. AI can also do a gap analysis on your resume versus the job posting. This article identifies many ways to use AI to make your job search more productive. 

🔮 WORKFORCE

I like this easy-to-skim summary of private employment statistics. It provides a summary: After a strong start to the year, hiring is losing momentum. Pay growth, however, was little changed in May, holding at robust levels for both job-stayers and job-changers. Nela Richardson, Chief Economist, ADP. It also provides this information: 

  • how many jobs private employers added (37,000 in May), 

  • growth (or decline) by size of company (only companies with 50-249 employees added jobs)

  • change in jobs by industry (leisure and hospitality, financial activities, and information were the only ones with growth in May). 

Dropbox is committed to distributed/remote work and have created the systems and tools needed to help employees thrive. THIS is what makes it work (and what makes them profitable). They utilize cloud-based tools, have a Virtual First Manifesto, and attract employees who want to work virtually. It’s a winning formula other companies could adopt.

📶 RECRUITER PERSPECTIVE

It’s not because HR wants to make your life more difficult, though that may be your first thought. Piedmont walks you through several reasons this happens. But more importantly, she provides tips on how to make it easier to apply online! 

Get a first-hand account of how recruiters use LinkedIn to find candidates, plus learn what you need to do to optimize your profile. 

💗 WELL-BEING

Negative self-talk is so damaging. As Danaher wrote “Every phrase we tell ourselves shapes the path we take.” So rewire your inner voice with these phrases instead! 

🚀 PRODUCTIVITY

This is a great graphic and great tool to help you streamline your work and improve your time.  

EVENTS

I’ll be announcing dates for the next 5-week Job Search Challenge. 

If you want to receive specific assignments each week (with instructions and templates), then stay tuned. 

HERE’S WHAT YOU GET EACH WEEK

  • 5 actionable job search goals to move you forward

  • Step-by-step instructions so you never feel stuck

  • Ready-to-use templates, samples, and checklists

  • 30-minute group check-in call on Zoom for accountability and support

  • Delivered straight to your inbox, every Monday

Dates coming soon

JOB SEARCH VISUAL

Stop boring the interviewer with your answer to "tell me about yourself."

What they are really asking is why are you QUALIFIED and INTERESTED in this role/company.

💀 Before: your answer is too long and general and has too much information!

🎉 After: You've listed the top 3 qualifications you have for the job plus why you are interested in the role & company! And you deliver it in under 2 minutes!

Use this formula to answer the question

PAST
PRESENT
FUTURE

This is what I've done in the past that qualifies me for this role.

This is what I'm currently doing that qualifies me for this role.

This is what I want to work on next and why I am interested in this role)

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