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What to Say About Leaving Your Last Job
PLUS: AI is just an intern, follow smart recruiters on LinkedIn, do the hard work to get interviews, have you heard of Comet, the agentic browser?, is executive presence what it seems, and more!
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 the "Why did you leave?" question derail your job interviews. It's time to craft a compelling response.
You want your answer to come across as truthful, concise, and spoken with confidence.
The recruiter or person asking this question doesn’t want all the gory details. (Unless you provide them and that raises red flags for your candidacy)
If you were let go as part of a layoff or RIF or downsizing, that is all the information you need to provide.
But if the departure was more complicated, you will want to try to make your answer fit within one of these 4 categories:
🔄 Management change
📈 Career progression
👨👩👧 Personal/family change
✨ Career or purpose clarity
Here are some additional tips to keep in mind:
◾Take ownership/control of the decision to leave whenever possible
◾Stick to the facts. Put emotions/feelings aside
◾It’s just a short sentence or two. Just enough to move the conversation forward
◾Conclude with a positive spin - why this role and/or company fit what you are looking for
◾Express confidence and don’t be apologetic
One of the best ways I’ve heard to explain this is to focus on what you are running towards, rather than what you are running from.
Practice out loud until you feel confident!
Here’s an in-depth article.


🔎 JOB SEARCH
3 AI tools provide 3 different suggestions on the same resume - Erica Reckamp
What happens when you ask 3 different generative AI tools to evaluate your resume? Erica tells you exactly what they found. Basically, the recommendations weren’t very good. And her final words of caution are worth repeating: “Generative AI is helpful as an intern — adequate and potentially time saving for early-stage information gathering, but current functionality does not perform well when finessing content.”
If you are a LinkedIn power-user (frequent poster) you may have noticed a decline in views of your posts. This summary comes from "The Unofficial LinkedIn Algorithm Guide" which is nearly 70 pages long. Christopher Penn updated his research here (in case you want to read the full report yourself).
In summary,
“every decision the new LinkedIn engine makes about your content starts with its analysis of your profile.”
“LinkedIn rewards those who post content on topics that align with your profile's stated expertise.”
“Your recent likes, comments, and shares are no longer just historical data. They are actively used to create a "live briefing document", meaning you are actively teaching LinkedIn what you find valuable, which in turn influences how it ranks your content for others.”
Take care of your mental health during your job search - Bernadette Pawlik
First, take care of your mental health! LinkedIn can be a cesspool of information or it can be a goldmine. You choose. You see what you engage with (comment, select an emoji, or even spend time reading).
This is a great reminder by Bernadette to follow trustworthy sources. And when it comes to recruiting insights, she recommends several credible sources.
🗨 INTERVIEWING
Want to 3x your interview rate? - Dave Fano
To get interviews, you have to do the pre-work. There is NO easy button. Follow these steps and see what starts to happen!
Target
Mirror
Quantify
Customize
Test/Iterate
Go read the full post and if you take all these steps, we can pretty much guarantee different results! But you have to put in the work!
⚙ AI
Comet, the agentic browser, is now open to every Perplexity user - Klara Hermesz
What is an agentic browser? Klara writes: “Instead of just showing web pages, it listens to your instructions, fills out forms, summarizes content, clicks buttons, and finds information automatically. It’s like having a helpful co-pilot that does the busywork so you can focus on other stuff.”
There are many use cases. These are a few Klara lists:
Summarize long research papers or reports: instantly distill dense text into actionable insights, takeaways, etc.
Get the gist of YouTube videos, even lengthy ones, in seconds.
Ask Comet to fill out boring web forms.
Tell it to open any link (no need to copy and paste or click around).
Find someone’s LinkedIn profile, letting the assistant fetch profiles.
Also read the warning about letting it access personal banking data and more.
Can you see the potential for job search?
🔮 WORKFORCE
Private employers shed 32,000 jobs in September - ADP Employment Report
Employers have been cautious, especially small and medium businesses. Job growth seemed only to happen in large companies last month.
Growth only occurred in three industries: natural resources and mining, information industries, and education and health services. It’s notable that every other industry saw a decrease in hiring.
I spent over 20 years winning Emmys. Here's why a 22-year-old with a ring light has more credibility than me - Jill Manuel
Do credentials and experience translate into credibility? Maybe not. The 22 year old translates news information with authenticity “No jargon. No distance. Just ‘here's what this means for your life.’", And this approach translates into trust and relationship building. Something missing from today’s polished journalism. It’s an interesting take on how the world is changing and what we older, wiser workers can learn from the younger generation.
💰 CAREER
Executive Presence - Is it focusing on the wrong traits? - Adam Grant and Brene Brown
Adam and Brene sit down for his ReThinking podcast. The video captures the essence of Brene’s message. She says the research defining and evaluating “executive presence” is unclear. Adam adds that charisma is really code for discrimination against women and introverts. I’ve read Brene’s book “Quiet”, and now have to add “Strong Ground” to my list. Listen to their full conversation after you’ve watched the video snippet!
Are we going to continue to recognize and promote those with the loudest voices? Or is the quiet leader just as powerful (if not more so)?
Though this is written based on the British economy, all the tips work just as well in the US. Simple things like, remember why you took the job, what does it give you, find fun moments, and many other practical tips to help you hold on while you perhaps start looking for a new job.
📶 RECRUITER PERSPECTIVE
Getting recruited is about being found…and then remembered - Lisa Rangel, Chameleon Resumes
This isn't about gaming LinkedIn algorithms. It's about understanding the psychology behind how elite recruiters really think. And to do this, you need to hear how recruiters think. Join Lisa and Max Hansen co-founder of Y Scouts, to get the inside scoop so you can get more traction.
🚀 PRODUCTIVITY
How to Ask Good Questions at Work—and Actually Get the Info You Need - Leonardo Capita, The Muse
There’s no such thing as a stupid question, except the one you don’t ask. Seriously, one way to propel your career and be more effective is to ask questions. Buckets of questions here include
Clarifying and follow-up questions
Critical thinking questions
Technical questions
Learn what questions you can ask so you can get ahead, save yourself time, and showcase your interest in professional development.

EVENTS

Starting October 20th and running for 5 weeks!
Here’s what you get:
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
See the full details and FAQs here.
Only 15 spots available and $39 for all 5 weeks!

JOB SEARCH VISUAL
Take control of your job search by building a proactive strategy.
- Know your skills
- Know where you want to go next
- Tell everyone you know exactly what you want so they can advocate for you!
Being clear and having focus will speed up your search!
(It’s a carousel with tips on how to build all 3 lists)


DID YOU MISS THESE
How to Find a (Legit) Side Gig - The Job Hopper

WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
The Profiler company page on LinkedIn by Jay Jones
Jay Jones has gotten 31,859 fake jobs and over 7,000 fake profiles of resume writers, hiring
managers, c-suite executives, VP’s and more taken off LinkedIn to date.
He recently launched his 2nd eguide “Scam- Detection Guide: Vol. 2” to protect job seekers from scams. It’s not free, but a lot of research, blood, sweat, and tears went into creating this.
Follow his posts on his company page (and his personal Linkedin profile too!) to stay protected from scams targeting job seekers.
New scams are developed every day. Stay up to date and protect yourself.
