Stop Letting Procrastination Steal Your Job Search Success!

PLUS: standout interview strategies, networking 101, LinkedIn search tip and more.

Author

Hannah Morgan
March 23, 2025

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

Stop Letting Procrastination Steal Your Job Search Success!

Be honest—have you ever put off job search tasks by doing anything else instead?

You’re not alone. Procrastination happens for all kinds of reasons:

 ✅ Some tasks feel overwhelming.
 ✅ Fear of rejection holds us back.
 ✅ We simply don’t know what to do next.

When I talk with unemployed job seekers, I'm amazed at how many people counted “reorganizing kitchen cabinets” as a win for the week. And honestly? It is satisfying—definitely more so than cold emailing a referral or following up with a recruiter.

I’ve been there. When I was unemployed, I’d start my day with the best intentions—shower, coffee, morning news… and before I knew it, the 4pm news was on. How did that happen? Because I:

 ❌ Was scared.
 ❌ Had no plan.
 ❌ Didn’t know what I should be doing.

They say job searching is a full-time job—and some days, it feels like the worst one. But tracking how you actually spend your time can help you take control.

Start today. 

Try using this time-blocking calendar—and take back your job search! 🚀

Do you want to take control of your job search and create structure to get the right things done? Join my Job Search Challenge starting Tuesday, March 25 at 12pm ET. Register Now!

Landing a job isn’t about applying to hundreds of jobs. Really! 

These were the steps taken by Adrienne’s husband who landed a new role in 2 months. Are you doing them all?

I don’t know if this applies to you, but it’s worth pointing out. Follow up! Take action! Because recruiters and hiring managers are overwhelmed. They don’t read every resume.

  • If you’re at least a 75-80% fit, don’t just apply—reach out.

  • Identify the recruiter or hiring manager and send a short, personalized message.

  • This doesn’t guarantee a response, but it dramatically increases your chances.

🤝 NETWORKING

Here are the first 6 steps to easier networking as outlined in Greg’s recent newsletters. 

  1. Start with people you know

  2. Re-connect with dormant ties

  3. Listen 

  4. Give

  5. Share your target company list

  6. Be easy to help

In today’s tighter job market, networking is going to be key to uncovering opportunities! 

💻 LINKEDIN

Find active LinkedIn professionals at your target companies! You’ll see exactly how to find people at your target companies who are posting on LinkedIn (which means they are more likely to respond to your comments and LinkedIn invitation to connect). Plus see what to say and how to reach out! 

🗨 INTERVIEWING

If you are seriously interested in a company, consider sending a plan about what you’d tackle in the new role, post about the company on LinkedIn and/or send a voice note on LinkedIn. Hey, what do you have to lose? 

This is a list of 12 things you can do to fully research a company before the interview! Plus, go a step further and incorporate your search into your interview. There are ideas on what to say to sound smart and interested. 

⚙ AI

Why this is important: AI is reshaping the way we discover information—and how others discover us. But it’s more than just being online; it’s about the story you’re sharing. Is it accurate? Engaging? The message you want to convey? This simple prompt highlights how easily accessible your details are. Try it and see your results.

Demystify AI in your job search! Learn how AI resume screening and job matching work, and get actionable tips to optimize your resume and LinkedIn profile.

🔮 WORKFORCE

Shoutout to Kelli Hrivnak for sharing this information about job hoppers seeing a smaller bump in pay. 

  • In February 2023, a job-ditcher got a median 7.7% raise over the year, compared to a 5.6% pay bump for someone staying put.

  • Last month, those who remained in their jobs received a 4.6% annual raise, just .2% under someone posting about “an exciting new chapter” on LinkedIn.

So leaving for a new job doesn’t give you that gigantic jump in pay right now. That may be one reason why less than 2.2% of workers switched jobs last month compared to 2.6% in June 2022, per government data. 

You’ve likely seen a decrease in job postings. But are they even the best way to attract the right candidates? Steve doesn’t have the answers yet, but he is digging. And some of the comments in this post offer additional thoughts. Stay tuned as Steve explores this idea. 

“It doesn’t matter where you ask someone to be. What matters is what you do with them once they’re there.” says Bryan Hancock of McKinsey in this podcast. Here were some interesting moments. 

  • In 2023, 35 percent of respondents said they were working mostly in person. In 2024, that figure went up to 68 percent working mostly in person, four-plus days per week, with the remainder being either hybrid or mostly remote.

  • The satisfaction rate for in-person work for baby boomers is 80 percent; Gen X is 73 percent; millennials, 72 percent; and Gen Z, 68 percent.

  • Folks who were called back to work mainly in person had basically the same scores on collaboration, innovation, and mentorship as did people working remotely or on a hybrid model. What that tells me is it doesn’t matter where you ask somebody to be. What matters is what you do with them once they’re there.

💰 CAREER

Last week 2,200 respondents were surveyed and here are some of the findings: 

  • 61% said they have had (36%) or currently have (25%) a side hustle

  • 57% of respondents expressed their need for a side hustle to generate at least 75% of their current salary

  • Plus 10 tips for turning your side hustle into your full-time job. 

In a down job market, it’s normal to see people moving towards self-employment, at least until things pick up again. 

📶 RECRUITER PERSPECTIVE

Take it from this recruiter, your LinkedIn profile is important. Focus on the beginning of your headline, having an active and updated profile, using the appropriate job titles and skills, letting everyone know you are open to work with the green banner and by having a call to action in your About section. See why each section is important to get found by recruiters. 

💗 WELL-BEING

“Research shows that those of us who habitually dodge responsibility experience higher levels of stress and anxiety. We sleep poorly. Our relationships suffer. Why? Because running from our mistakes takes far more energy than facing them.” Here are actions to take

  • Keep a blame diary

  • Remind yourself that errors don’t define you

  • Embrace growth mindset

  • Practice vulnerability

  • Apply the 24-hour rule

  • Create a personal script

🚀 PRODUCTIVITY

 Working with People Who Aren’t Self-Aware | Tasha Eurich, Harvard Business Review

“Although 95% of people think they’re self-aware, only 10 to 15% actually are.” It’s a big problem but you’ll get ideas on how to tackle the issues.

EVENTS

job search challenge

Job Search Challenge

March 25-April 22, 2025
Get weekly job search goals/actions for 5 weeks plus instructions
Plus weekly check-in calls
$39

JOB SEARCH VISUAL

Spend less time scouring the job boards and more time using other methods and strategies to uncover jobs and to be discovered. These methods are under-utilized given the data from iHire's The State of Online Recruiting 2024.

job search myths debunked

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