Welcome to Career Essentials, where I share actionable insights and curated articles that will help accelerate your career and supercharge your job search.
Stop Searching. Start Targeting.
Most job seekers spray their resume across hundreds of job postings and hope something sticks. There's a better way. It's called a proactive job search, and it starts with building a target company list before jobs are even advertised.
Here's how to build yours today.
Start With What You Already Know
You probably have a few companies in mind already — ones you've read about, heard friends rave about, or are a customer of yourself. Write them down. That's your starting point.
From there, look at what those companies have in common: industry, size, location. Your goal is to find more companies that share those same qualities. Aim for at least 50 names on your list. More is better.
Here’s why more companies is the better solution.
There are usually one or two roles like the one you are interested in within a company
And in 2025, the average tenure in a job is 2 years.
This means that the chances of one of those jobs opening up soon are a bit slim.
The only way to improve your chances is to add more companies to your list!
9 Places to Find Target Companies
1. Best Places to Work lists. Glassdoor, Fortune's 100 Best Companies, and the American Opportunity Index publish annual rankings. Skim a few, pick 3–5 that interest you, and look for patterns.
2. Free databases. CareerOneStop's Business Finder lets you search by industry or location at no cost. Your local library likely provides free access to Reference Solutions (formerly ReferenceUSA) — ask a librarian for help.
3. Local directories. Your Chamber of Commerce and professional or industry associations are overlooked goldmines. Check which companies are sponsoring events or presenting at conferences.
4. Your alumni network. Your college's LinkedIn alumni page shows where graduates are working. Companies that attract a lot of alumni in your field are worth a closer look.
5. Small companies. Don't overlook them — they account for a huge share of jobs. Find them through local economic development sites, venture capital funding announcements, and your regional newspaper.
6. Google searches. Try searches like "Best Marketing Companies in Detroit Michigan" and set up Google Alerts for industries or companies you're tracking.
7. AI tools. This is a big one. Use Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, or Copilot with a specific prompt like this:
"Create a list of 40–50 companies that would be a good fit for a [job title] in [industry], located in [location], with fewer than [X] employees. For each company, include a brief description, approximate size, and key competitors."
The more specific your prompt, the better your results. Keep refining within the same thread.
8. Your network. Ask friends, former colleagues, clients, and even service providers what companies they're hearing good things about. Don't ask if they're hiring — ask if they know who's doing great work in your space.
9. Job boards. Yes, they're last on purpose. Job boards show you who's currently hiring, but the real value is identifying companies to add to your proactive list for future opportunities.
Now, Take Action
Once you have your list, don't start cutting it down yet. Instead:
Track everything in a spreadsheet: company name, career page link, contacts you know, jobs you've applied to.
Set up job alerts on each company's career page.
Follow each company on LinkedIn and select "I'm Interested" where available.
Find an insider. Your next move isn't just watching for job postings. You should begin identifying as many people as possible at each company you can have an informational conversation with.
Only remove a company from your list when you have a solid reason to. One bad review or one person's opinion isn't enough.
The job seekers who land roles faster aren't the ones who apply to the most jobs. They're the ones who do the research, build relationships early, and show up prepared. Start your list today.
🔎 JOB SEARCH
Is The Resume Really Dead? - Sarah Johnston
Spoiler: NO! Resumes are not dead. They still serve a purpose, but it’s different. Sarah believes it is your LinkedIn profile that gets you discovered. It’s your resume that starts the process. Read more to understand why resumes still matter and why you need a solid,, tailored resume! (And a keyword-rich LinkedIn profile!)
While reading your answer isn’t the best idea, how do you prepare for answering interview questions? Take Adam’s poll and see what other candidates do!
These slightly hidden settings are very important and signal to recruiters (those paying for LinkedIn Recruiter package), what you are looking for and even more importantly, allow your profile to get discovered! Share your profile when you apply, share your resume when you apply, signal interest to recruiters, and use your LinkedIn data to recommend jobs.
This needs your attention ASAP. Your title should come from the dropdown menu with other info in the “title” field. This is the newest recommendation. And I verified this with several LinkedIn experts. While there are always some exceptions, this is a best practice.
🗨 INTERVIEWING
Five Tricky Interview Questions And Ideas To Answer Them - Paula Christensen
If you haven’t thought about and prepared responses for these questions, this post will help you address these VERY COMMON interview questions. Managing conflict, prioritize tasks, a time you failed, motivate your team, your first 90 days.
📶 RECRUITER PERSPECTIVE
“FAIR” Assessments During the Hiring Process - Glenn Cathey
Did you know that Meta lets candidates being assessed for coding skills to use AI? Rather that fight AI in the workplace, the logic is, let them. Assessments are used by many employers to evaluate certain skills. So expect to see clear language on what is FORBIDDEN, ADVISE on what is acceptable, INSULATE assessment environments, and REINVISION what assessments mean and look like in the future. What do you think?
Practice With A Real Human
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JOB SEARCH VISUAL
Your answer to “Why did you leave your last job?” might be derailing an otherwise strong interview.
Because when an answer carries too much emotion, interviewers may question your readiness and objectivity.
And for many job seekers, this question is loaded.
Toxic workplaces. Difficult managers. Layoffs that came out of nowhere.
Those experiences are real. But this isn’t the time to unpack them.
When candidates start justifying, venting, or replaying what happened, the conversation stalls. And it pulls focus away from what actually matters: what you bring and what you want next.
Your answer to why you left your last job generally boils down to one of 5 reasons
1️⃣ Management change
2️⃣ Career progression
3️⃣ Personal/family change
4️⃣ Career or purpose clarity
5️⃣Reduction in force
Your job is to choose the category that fits and deliver a brief, grounded response.
Keep it:
▪️ Fact-based
▪️ Owned (no blame)
▪️ One or two sentences
▪️ Future-focused
Then pivot: why this role makes sense for where you’re headed.
(It’s always better to end your answer on a positive note!)
I often remind job seekers that their answer is about what they are running towards, not what they are running away from. (I heard someone else say this, so I can’t take credit)
Practice your answer until it feels calm and natural. Not defensive. Not rehearsed. Just clear.
Because the goal of this question isn’t to relive the past.
It’s to move the conversation forward so you can talk about your strengths, your value, and your interest in the role.
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