What actually helped my job seekers land their desired interviews this past quarter

What actually helped my job seekers land their desired interviews this past quarter:

1. Applying to job and internship postings via the company website. I already heavily discourage my job seekers from using Easy Apply. But it's worth noting that the job seekers who did use Easy Apply shared that they didn't land a single callback from the feature.

2. Typing out detailed, human-written responses on their applications. What also worked well was copying and pasting from a Word doc, such as snippets from a resume. Copying and pasting responses from Claude or ChatGPT wasn't effective. Writing "see resume" in the application fields wasn't effective.

3. Networking with the employees of their target company before applying to the job or internship. Some of my job seekers had already done the hard work of building their network before we started working together. With others, I coached them on how to locate potential future colleagues and connect with them online. The job seekers who took this step received callbacks with more regularity than the ones who didn't.

4. Messaging their existing network before beginning the job search. With a few of my job seekers, I helped them type personalized messages to their former colleagues and supervisors, letting them know that they were on the market. For one job seeker in particular, this approach was so effective that his job search only lasted two weeks. (I'm planning to tell the story in an upcoming post!)

5. Creating a new email address to use for the job search. I made this recommendation to just one job seeker last quarter. He was interested in reapplying to companies that he'd applied to in the past, but had been rejected. My concern was that if he applied to these jobs using his existing email address, he might get flagged. My concern turned out to be founded when he received a callback from a nationwide wireless communications company he'd been targeting for years.

What my job seekers all had in common:

They applied for jobs and internships using a resume that I custom-created and tailored for their goals. Many would also check in and ask for advice throughout their job search.

Among my oldest guarantees for every customer:
- I offer unlimited resume revisions for 30 calendar days.
- I provide guidance for interviews and salary negotiations.
- I stay with my customer (every customer!) until they receive their offer letter.

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