Dear Bailey #2: Finding Hope in the Job Hunt

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Dear Bailey is One Revere’s advice column. Submit questions by replying to this email.

Dear Bailey,

Would love to hear your job search tips. As a graduating college senior without a job offer, it's easy to start to lose hope.

-Your Favorite LIT

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Dear My Favorite LIT,

You’re not alone. Graduates across the country are facing increased competition in the job market right now from mass company layoffs. With less available jobs and competition from candidates with years of experience, it’s easy to lose hope… without the full picture.

Don’t let the news distract you from your mission. Whether it’s X, Facebook, FOX, MSNBC, CNN, CSPAN, or something else, you make your own destiny and they will distract you with depressing stories. Write your own story.

May, 2024, is actually a pretty good time to join the job market. In a projection published last July, the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) announced their economic outlook for 2023-2025. They project that GDP with increase 0.9% in 2023, 1.5% in 2024, and 2.4% in 2025. Payroll employment declines by an average of 10,000 jobs per month in 2024 and rises by an average of 6,000 jobs per month in 2025.

So what do these numbers mean for you? Well even though you’re entering the job market with 6 months left in 2023, that’s a lot closer to the pendulum shift than it may feel like. So it’s time to hunt those jobs down and prep!

As an expert job hunter, I’m sharing with you all of my secrets today, along with tough truths and liberating thoughts. I present to you, everything you NEED to do to get hired:

TIPS FOR APPLYING TO JOBS

• Start applying immediately. Interview processes can take 1, 2, sometimes 3 months or more.

• Join LinkedIn Premium. This allows you to directly message hiring managers. LinkedIn has a promo going right now for $19.99 for your first 2 months.

• LinkedIn houses your professional social network so use those people to your advantage. Directly message your connections who might be in a position of hiring.

• Your own network is your best resource.

• Apply to jobs on LinkedIn.

  • I can’t stress this enough but message the hiring manager if they’re listed. I’ve secured so many interviews just by sending a nice message briefly describing my cover letter.

    • Example:

      Dear My Favorite LIT,

      I'm writing to let you know that I've applied to the _________ position you're hiring for. I'm deeply excited about this position and I believe I'll thrive here.

      My background at _________ has equipped me with skills in planning/buying, production, sourcing, and Where-To-Make. I've also spearheaded projects that have accumulated nearly $1M in annual savings over the previous 2 years, paying for myself and ensuring company processes are optimized.

      Please call me so we may discuss how our objectives align:

      (XXX) XXX-XXXX

  • Beware of how many people have applied to that listing. “Over 100 Applicants” means it doesn’t hurt to apply but your odds for a callback are lower.

• Apply to a lot of jobs. Take this as a prescription: Apply to at least 10 jobs per day.

• Look for jobs in other cities. There will come a time where you have exhausted all of the job listings in your area. Firstly, you can look at other job boards like Indeed, Glassdoor, and Google Jobs. Secondly, look into other cities.

  • Get excited about those jobs in a new city. See the world.

TIPS FOR INTERVIEWING

• Prepare 5 accomplishments in the STAR format. You will repeat these stories a thousand times because each one of them can apply to any interview question. Prepare them in advance.

  • Situation. Describe your situation before the accomplishment. What was your problem?

  • Task. What was your task to solve your problem? Explain KPIs and how you got there.

  • Accomplishment. What did you accomplish?

  • Result. Explain how you measured success.

• Get really good at story telling using that sequence^.

I look forward to following your accomplishments! Please follow up with any progressions in your job search 🙂

Best,
Bailey

_{~Written by Bailey Hepler}

DEAR BAILEY

Yep, I’m now taking questions! Respond to this email with an office dilemma and I will include it in next week’s newsletter with my thoughts 🙂

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