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Hey There!

Welcome to Issue #174 of Jobseeking is Hard!

Today's issue is brought to you by HubSpot! If you're a free subscriber and value our content, it costs $0 to support us by clicking the ad and checking out the service. Show our sponsor some love for supporting Jobseeking is Hard! Thanks!

Happy Wednesday!

One of the hardest parts of a job search right now isn’t just the competition. It’s the noise.

There’s more of it than ever. Confident posts on LinkedIn. Viral takes on TikTok and X. Strong opinions about what you must do to get hired. “Do this. Don’t do that.” And when you’re under pressure, it’s hard to know who to believe. Some of it sounds smart. Some of it sounds bold. Some of it sounds different from the usual advice.

But confident doesn’t mean correct, and different doesn’t guarantee results.

Every week in the Premium section, I write a segment called Debunking Career Clickbait, where I break down one viral post that doesn’t hold up when you look at how hiring actually works.

This past week, after seeing about 10 of them, I couldn’t pick just one. So this week, I want to talk about why so much job search advice sounds authoritative, and why following the wrong voice in this market isn’t just annoying…it can have serious consequences.

I’ll also share how a Comprehensive Resume Review client who was clearly qualified but getting no traction uncovered what was actually holding them back!

This week we’re talking about:

• The difference between viral advice and effective strategy

• Why your resume’s experience needs to be focused

• The best (worst?) job posting of the week

And for Premium subscribers I’m:

• Debunking a LinkedIn post about ATS failure rates

• Answering a Premium subscriber’s question about following up after applying. I’ll explain when it helps, when it hurts, and what to actually say.

Let’s get to it!

IT’S VIRAL…BUT IS IT CORRECT?

You open LinkedIn to check your messages and immediately see 3 different posts about jobseeking.

One says you should never give a salary number first. Another says you should always give a number first to show confidence. A third says salary doesn’t even matter if you “sell your value correctly.”

You scroll a little more.

Someone claims cover letters are dead. Someone else says not writing one shows a lack of effort. Another insists the real problem is your “mindset.”

After a few minutes, you start wondering if you’ve been doing everything wrong. The problem isn’t that people are sharing ideas. The problem is that many of the loudest voices aren’t accountable to outcomes.

It’s easy to go viral telling people to “always negotiate,” “never answer salary questions directly,” “apply even if you’re only 40% qualified,” or “rewrite your resume with this one hack.” Bold advice performs well online. Nuanced advice rarely does. But hiring isn’t driven by what performs well on social media. It’s driven by how decisions actually get made inside companies.

A lot of the advice circulating right now comes from one-off experiences, personal anecdotes, or a single hiring experience from years ago in a completely different market. Sometimes it’s incomplete. Sometimes it’s outdated. And sometimes it’s deliberately exaggerated to sell you a solution. It gets packaged as universal truth. It isn’t.

Here’s what makes bad advice especially dangerous right now: the margin for error is thin. When applicant volume is high, hiring teams don’t spend extra time interpreting your intentions. They don’t decode what you “meant.” They don’t reward clever tactics that feel performative. They move forward with candidates whose alignment is obvious and easy to assess.

Advice that prioritizes theatrics over clarity can cost you. If you’re told to dodge straightforward questions to “create leverage,” you might come across as evasive. If you’re told to apply everywhere because “you never know,” you dilute your positioning…and waste your time. If you’re told to inflate scope to look more senior, you risk credibility the moment you’re screened.

None of that shows up in the viral post. But it shows up in the outcome.

So how do you decide who’s actually worth listening to? Start by asking a few basic questions:

1. Has this person hired at scale in the current market, or are they speaking from a single personal job search?

2. Do they explain trade-offs, or do they present tactics as guaranteed wins?

3. Do they talk about how hiring managers/recruiters think, or only about how candidates “should” behave?

4. Do they have hands-on experience in the area they’re advising on, with repeatable results to back it up?

Real hiring professionals tend to sound less dramatic. There’s nothing sexy about what they talk about. They focus on fit, scope, alignment, trade-offs, and context. They acknowledge that different situations require different approaches. They don’t sell certainty where none exists.

Strong advice holds up when you run it through a simple filter: does this make it easier for a hiring team to understand why I fit this role right now? If it increases friction, adds ambiguity, or turns the interaction into a performance, it’s probably optimized for engagement, not hiring.

There’s a difference between confidence and competence. Social media rewards the first. Employers reward the second.

Have a topic you want me to cover in an upcoming issue? Reply or email [email protected] and tell me what you want to know!

SHAMELESS PLUG

If your job search needs a little more help, Karpiak Consulting offers resume and LinkedIn services, as well as job search strategy coaching.

Who knows…maybe you’ll think it’s the most helpful and concrete service you’ve gotten in your job search like this client 🤷‍♂️

So what did I do for this Comprehensive Resume Review client that made them grateful?

I helped them focus on what mattered most for the specific jobs they were applying for.

The experience itself wasn’t the problem. It was strong. Senior-level scope. Large budgets. Strategy work. Real outcomes. The issue was focus.

The summary read like a broad professional bio instead of a positioning statement tied to a specific direction. It talked about what had been done, but not what the candidate should be hired to do next. The skills section listed capabilities, but without context, skills don’t carry much weight. Hiring managers aren’t impressed by the presence of a keyword. They’re looking for evidence of how it was applied and what changed because of it.

The bullets described responsibilities accurately, but they didn’t always explain why those responsibilities mattered or how they were executed. What problem did this solve? What decision did this influence? What changed because this person was there? What were the logistics behind the execution? Without that context, even strong work can read as a weak job description.

Most importantly, the resume made the reader work to determine alignment. The strengths most relevant to the roles being pursued weren’t clearly elevated. They were mixed in with everything else. A strong resume doesn’t just document experience. It prioritizes it. It makes the intended direction obvious.

When that clarity isn’t there, even qualified candidates can look unfocused.

If you’re feeling like your resume isn’t telling your story the way it should and don’t know how to frame your experience, our services can help. 

BEST (WORST?) JOB POST

OF THE WEEK

Here’s the job post that got the most people talking on my Instagram this week!

Compensation: $10.50/hr

Audacity: unlimited

If you come across an irritating job posting, email it to the newsletter or DM me on Instagram and I’ll add it to the list to post!

Today's issue is also brought to you by Tabs! C’mon give it a click…it costs $0 and helps support your favorite job search newsletter 🙂

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PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER QUESTION

“I’ve applied to roles where I’m clearly qualified and then…nothing. I don’t want to overdo it, but I also don’t want to just sit there and hope. Should I be following up? If so, how often? And what do you actually say so it doesn’t come off the wrong way? I don’t want to just move on, but I also don’t want to push too hard.”

Check out the Premium Section below for my answer! Not a Premium Subscriber? Upgrade here: www.JobseekingIsHard.com/upgrade

Why upgrade? For less than $0.63/day, you get:

• Subscriber-Only Discounts: Get exclusive promo codes for Karpiak Consulting services, available only to Premium subscribers. Whether you're updating your resume, need a LinkedIn profile review, or want expert help tailoring your applications, these occasional discounts make expert support more accessible.

• Extra Tips & Advice: Gain exclusive insights, strategies, and advice from a recruiter with over 20 years of experience in the field. Discover what hiring managers truly value and how to stand out at every step of your job search.

• Access to Previous Issues: Explore a library of knowledge with all 100+ past issues of the newsletter. Each edition is packed with proven strategies, practical advice, and real-world jobseeking stories to give you an edge in today’s competitive job market. From resume tips to handling tough interview questions, you’ll find answers to every challenge.

• Exclusive Q&A: Have questions about your job search? Premium subscribers can ask Adam directly! Questions will be featured in upcoming issues, with detailed answers tailored to real-world scenarios, ensuring you get the guidance you need.

• Bonus Content: As part of your Premium subscription, you’ll receive 20 additional job search tips delivered to your inbox over the next 20 days. This includes advice on avoiding common mistakes and maximizing your job search strategy to land interviews faster.

Jobseekers, have a great rest of your week, and good luck with those applications!

-Adam

PS!! If you're enjoying the newsletter, let people know! Forward it, post it on social, tag me, whatever...the bigger the discussion, the better! The idea is to help as many people as possible!

About Adam- Recognized as a leading voice on hiring and workplace trends, Adam has been recruiting and providing career advice since 2003, developing high-trust relationships based on honesty with companies and jobseekers. A highly sought-after speaker, he has appeared in numerous outlets, including Bloomberg News, Business Insider, LinkedIn, and CNNMoney. You can find out more about Adam's resume and coaching services here.

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