How to find a job (in a tough job market)

vol 22 | April 21st, 2025

Becoming a father has been the journey of a lifetime so far, but if I’m being honest, becoming parents has meant that sometimes being married took a back seat. So this past week, Kaylee and I left Isaiah with his Lala, and flew down to Mexico to relax, reconnect, and set intentions about the future.

How to find a job in a challenging job market

I came across this excellent post by Aliza Sir where she shared how she navigated her own tough job search. You can read the full article here, but here are the tips I found to be particularly helpful:

Let your community know that you’re looking for work. This could be a wider update on LinkedIn or more targeted (a curated list of people you want to reach out to). This is of course for referrals, references, and leads, but you'll also need friends to check in and cheer you on.
In the interview, being curious can lead to the richest and most valuable conversations. Aliza usually asked people about their own careers: What helped them get their last role? What do they love about their job? What do they wish they’d known when they’d started? This helped build deeper and less transactional relationships, and she got some helpful takeaways.
In this market, being qualified isn’t enough. Aliza was rejected from many roles she knew she would’ve been great at. That's why having connections is so crucial — you need a referral to get your resume past the first stage, after which your interviewing skills and expertise can land you the job.
You are so much more than what you do for work. You know this, but it’s really hard to remember when your existence feels like it’s narrowed to finding a job. There's nothing like a long job search to remind you to separate your identity and sense of self from your work.

You got this.

My camera roll

Some favorites from my camera roll recently:

Kaylee and I spent a week at a wellness retreat in Mexico. It was so renewing and so needed.

The view from our ocean front suite in Playa del Carmen!

Spending some time with that little boy on Saturday when we got back to NYC. Spring is in full bolom.

Career Creator Corner

Do you have Creator Gravity?

One of my favorite series on Substack is from Alice Lemee, who is currently breaking down what she calls Creator Gravity:

**creator gravity:** the distinct magnetic force around a creator that allows them to **captivate** **an audience** and **pull in opportunities** through delivering high-quality, authentic content.

In today's crowded creator landscape, you won't stand out unless you can create a gravitational force behind your content, that pulls people in and makes you binge-able and trusted for the people who choose to follow you.

Alice goes on to define what gives a creator gravity:

Purpose: There is a clear mission.
Health: The content is "nutritionally rich."
Energy: The work is undeniably theirs.

Her full post is worth a read, but as you go about your own Career Creator journey, think about how you can not only create influencer, but gravity instead. Alice puts it best:

There’s a big difference between someone who has “gravity” versus “influence.”

It’s the TikToker filming herself crying before pitching us BetterHelp. It’s the YouTuber dropping “game-changing strategies” that inevitably leads to their $997 course. It’s the LinkedIn bro whose every personal milestone leads to a pitch for their B2B SaaS.

These tactics work from time to time.

But we’re all so, so tired of it.

People are done orbiting these banalified, transactional, plastic planets. They want to lose themselves in Earth-like worlds; worlds teeming with genuine thoughts, lush with curiosity, pulsing with personality.

"ATS-proof" resumes are a lie, Daredevil, and Anthony Bourdain

I used to be an executive coach and job search speacialist for top talent in the tech space, and one of the questions I was asked a TON from my clients is how "ATS-proof" thier resume was - meaning how well it would be scanned by an Applicant Tracking System. Each time, I'd explain that while certain systems use automated featured to group or flag certain resumes, no robotic system is flat our rejecting a resume a human has not looked at. Don't beelive me? This recent post on LinkedIn breaks it all down. There is still a clear difference between a bad resume and a good resume, but trying to game an ATS is a waste of time (and money).

I was skeptical to watch this at first, but Daredevil: Born Again on Disney+ has been a fun show to watch over these last few weeks. You don't have to watch the first 3 seasons of the original show to be caught up, but you should anyway because they are excellent.

While working out in Mexico this past week, I had the audiobook of Kitchen Confidential, the brutally honest recollaction of Anthony Bourdain's 20+ years in the restuarant businsess, in my ears, and I was hooked. Beyond learning why you should never order fish on Monday, Bourdain's writing is direct, dry, and very funny. I have no dreams of cooking anything that can't be made with 4 or less ingrideints, but it's been a great vacation listen.

Need a career power-up?

Over the last few years, I've developed a few tools, frameworks, and guides to help you make the most out of your career and your life.

You can check them out below:

Career Resources

For the Firsts:

My meetup club!

next event →

That's all for this week! I hope you enjoyed this edition, and if you have any feedback, questions, or just want to say hey, just respond to this message!

See you soon,

Colin