Time To Get Back At It

PLUS: How to analyze a job posting, avoid one-sided networking, avoid these LinkedIn messaging mistakes, and more!

Author

Hannah Morgan
August 03, 2025

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

If You’ve Been on a Break Too, This Is Your Sign to Restart

It’s been a couple of months since you’ve heard from me. But I’m back!

Everyone needs a little break and often that happens during major life events. I’ve had a few of my own. All is good so don’t worry.

For those needing a job search kick in the pants, The Job Search Challenge starts tomorrow! It’s 5 weeks.

Each week I send you actionable steps (activities) you need to complete along with instructions and/or templates. Then, every Monday at Noon, we’ll meet on Zoom for a touch base meeting. This is for accountability and camaraderie. (You should never job search alone).

If the Job Search Challenge sounds good, it gets even better. It’s only $39 for all five weeks.

You get a weekly email with specific activities that are proven to accelerate your job search. Plus, you get a weekly check-in call.

This starts tomorrow, so sign up ASAP.

I look forward to seeing you there. ♥

Until next week, good luck and go get ‘em!

Read this post and discover how to read between the lines of the job description to create a resume and cover letter that puts you at the top of the stack. You may know this, but the magic is in the execution. Don’t make the reader guess. Connect the dots for them. And an important reminder comes from the comments… not all employers are good at writing job descriptions! 

🤝 NETWORKING

My favorite sentence (and one that applies to everything in your job search) is…  “You can’t control how others behave, but you can control how you respond.” 

Remember this when you are on the asking end of a favor and when you are on the receiving end. This article has many tips for job seekers, so even if you love networking, read it!

💻 LINKEDIN

Do you send messages on LinkedIn, then get frustrated when there’s no response? It’s probably because you are making one of these mistakes. As wonderful as LinkedIn is, it doesn’t guarantee someone will respond to your message. This post has tips for what you can do to message better (and get responses).

📶 RECRUITER PERSPECTIVE

Skills based hiring is the new hot topic among HR professionals. In theory, it sounds like a great antidote to hiring problems. In this post, Matt breaks down why skills based hiring is NOT going to solve all the problems. First, most employers don’t have a good idea of what skills they need, second, skills needed for jobs constantly change, third, companies don’t even know what skills they have in house. For all the hype about skills based hiring, it isn’t perfect, but it does make a small difference.

EVENTS

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

August 4, 11, 18, 25, September 2
Check-in calls are at 12pm ET
$39 for all 5 weeks
Sign up today

JOB SEARCH VISUAL

What goals did you set for yourself this week during job search?

Sure, your ultimate mission is to secure an appropriate job that fits the criteria you’ve specified. But there are many small steps you will take to get you there. Specifically, what actions will you take this week?

This is where SMART goals come into play.

Set a goal by making it SMART

  • SPECIFIC

  • MEASURABLE

  • ACHIEVABLE

  • RELEVANT

  • TIME-BOUND

Try using this template:

Template: “By [time], I will [specific action/achievement].”

“By Friday of next week, I will email 5 people I used to work with whom I haven’t spoken to in over 6 months to let them know specifically what type of job I am looking for. “

It isn’t enough to say

“I’ll apply to more jobs”
“I’ll be more active on LinkedIn”
“I’ll network more”
“I’ll update my resume”

These are too broad and you will end up going down a rabbit hole. You’ll waste a lot of time researching or get frustrated and give up because you haven’t set specific goals.

Here are some more SMART goals you can borrow.

☑️ By the end of the day, spend 45 minutes conducting research on XYZ company using LinkedIn company page, internet search, company website and company earnings call, to create a single page summary.

☑️ By the end of the day, go to XYZ’s company page on LinkedIn and identify 2 people (either 1st or 2nd degree connections or someone who holds a similar job). Obtain their email, and 1 thing we have in common.

☑️ By the end of the week, read bookmarked article about LinkedIn headlines and draft 3 different versions to email to (accountability partner) for feedback.

☑️ Go to my LinkedIn homefeed every day this week and leave a message on 5 relevant posts written by people who I used to work with.

💪 Your challenge for next week is to set one SMART goal and achieve it!

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