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Hey There!

Welcome to Issue #182 of Jobseeking is Hard!

Today's issue is brought to you by Wharton Online! 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!

Personal branding has become one of the most talked about parts of the job search. Post more. Share your thoughts. Build a presence. Stay visible.

It all sounds productive, and it feels like something you can control when things aren’t working. But it’s also one of the most misunderstood parts of the process.

That’s what I want to talk about this week.

There’s a big difference between content and actual thought leadership, and most of what you’re seeing isn’t doing what people think it is. In some cases, it’s not helping at all.

I’ll also use this week’s Shameless Plug a little differently and walk through how to figure out when you might actually need help in your job search, and what kind of help makes sense for your situation.

This week we’re talking about:

• Why your personal brand probably isn’t helping you get hired

• How to figure out what kind of help you actually need in your job search

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

And for Premium subscribers I’m:

• Debunking bad job search advice from a “resume writer” that doesn’t reflect how hiring actually works

• Sharing a personal branding idea that can actually help your job search

• Answering a Premium subscriber’s question about which job boards to use. I’ll explain where to focus your time and how to actually use them effectively.

Let’s get to it!

PERSONAL BRAND & THE JOB SEARCH

Personal branding is one of those topics that gets pushed as more important than it actually is. It won't find you a job alone. Can it help? Maybe. Is it a tool you can use? Yes. Can it make a difference in your search? It can, in both directions. That's the part people don't talk about enough.

There's a lot of pressure right now on jobseekers to "build a brand." Post consistently. Share your thoughts. Stay visible. Position yourself as a thought leader. The implication is that if you do this well enough, opportunities will start coming to you. That happens for a very small group of people. For most people, it doesn't. Because content isn't what drives hiring decisions. Relevance does. Alignment does. Clear positioning does. Your resume still matters. Your experience still matters. How easy it is to understand where you fit still matters. Content can support that, but it doesn't replace it.

Another reality that gets ignored is that content is hard. Good content is even harder. Not everyone is good at it (and not everyone needs to be). But LinkedIn has created this environment where it feels like you should be posting all the time or you're falling behind. That's where people start forcing it, and that's where things start to go sideways.

AI has made that even more obvious. It's fine for brainstorming ideas or helping you think through topics, but it's not a substitute for having something to say. And for the love of all that is holy, stop copying and pasting outputs directly into posts. The phrasing, the structure, the tone, it's all the same. You see the same patterns over and over again, and on top of that, most of it isn't good. It's not thought leadership. It's more like thought regurgitation. It's just recycled language that sounds like everyone else.

Actual thought leadership is something different. It comes from having actual experience, opinions, and a point of view. It adds something to the conversation. It challenges something, explains something clearly, or gives people a new way to think about a problem. That's what gets noticed. That's what can actually help you. Most content in your feed isn't doing that. Content by itself isn't thought leadership, no matter how many Top Voices or coaches tell you otherwise. Good content can be.

Most of what's out there is, well, bad. And don't be discouraged when you see that bad content get likes and shares... that's usually just an engagement pod (either directly coordinated or through a paid membership). Don't be discouraged and think, "What am I doing wrong if that post is getting engagement?" It's vanity engagement, and it's not driving sales or opening doors. You aren't missing out.

Now, this is where the talk gets uncomfortable. This is where the risk comes in. Good content is better than no content, but bad content is worse than no content. If what you're putting out is generic, repetitive, or clearly not coming from your own experience, it doesn't help your positioning. It works against it. It makes it harder to take you seriously. It makes people unfollow you, or worse, tell the platform they don't want to see you.

And, we need to talk about the negative nellies. Look, I'm not the content police. Sharing your experience, even negative ones, can absolutely have value. It can help other people feel less alone, and it can be informative. (That's part of why I write this newsletter, so I get it.) But it would be wrong to pretend there isn't a downside. There are a lot of recruiters and hiring managers who will see negative content and make assumptions. Is that fair? Not always. Does it happen? All the time. If your goal is to get a job, you have to factor that in, whether you agree with it or not.

So what should you actually do? If you want to show up on LinkedIn, focus on being intentional. Start smaller than you think. You don't need to post every day. Once or twice a week is more than enough if the content is actually yours and actually useful. Write things that would resonate with the types of roles or industries you're targeting, not just whatever you feel like getting off your chest. This isn't a diary. Look at everything through the lens of whether it helps someone understand how you think and what you bring to the table.

Engagement matters too, but not in the way people think. Commenting does help, especially when it's thoughtful. It builds familiarity with your network and helps your content get seen when you do post. But that doesn't mean dropping low-effort comments or relying on suggested replies. That's not adding anything. If you're going to engage, actually say something. Add context, share an opinion, connect it to your own experience.

At the end of the day, personal branding is just one tool. It can support your search if you use it well. It can also hurt you if you don't. The goal isn't to be visible for the sake of being visible. It's to make it easier for the right people to understand who you are, what you do, and why you make sense.

For Premium subscribers, below in the Premium section, I’ll share one thing you can do to enhance your personal branding that actually strengthens both your visibility and your positioning.

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

This week's Shameless Plug is going to be a little different.

I'm not going to show you a client who landed a new job, got more interviews, or successfully pivoted into a new industry in a tough market. If you want to see those, you can always go to the testimonials on my website.

Instead, I want to talk to a different group of people. The ones who can tell their job search isn't going anywhere, or at least not going the way they expected.

Maybe you've been applying for a while and not getting much back. Maybe things feel inconsistent. Maybe you're starting to question what you're doing, but you're not sure what to change. At some point, the thought comes up: "Do I need help with this?" And that's where it usually gets overwhelming. Because even if the answer is yes, the next question is harder: "What kind of help do I actually need?"

That's not always obvious. Everything gets lumped together. Resume help, coaching, strategy, LinkedIn, networking. It all starts to blur, and it's hard to tell what's actually going to move the needle versus what just sounds useful. So people move on. Not because they don't want help, and not because they don't need help, but because they don't know where to start. And that's usually the point where things stay stuck longer than they should.

So how do you actually figure out what kind of help you need? It usually starts with a simple question. If your experience feels strong, why isn't your job search reflecting that? Most of the time, it's a clarity issue. Something about how your experience is being presented isn't landing the way you think it is.

If that keeps happening, the search drags out longer than it should. Resumes get passed over. Applications go unanswered. And it's not always obvious why, because no one is giving you direct feedback. Fun, right? That's where people start second-guessing everything.

Here's a simple way to think about it:

If you haven't started applying yet and just want to make sure you're not missing anything obvious, you probably don't need a full overhaul. You need a second set of eyes. Someone to point out what's working, what's not, and what to fix before you start sending things out.

If you've been applying and getting little to no response, that's a different problem. At that point, it's usually not about small tweaks. The experience might be strong, but it's not being understood quickly. That's where the way it's framed becomes the issue, and that's harder to fix on your own.

And if you're not just struggling with the resume, but with your overall approach, your direction, or how to navigate your search, that's another layer entirely. That's when it's less about the document and more about the decisions you're making along the way.

Most people assume they just need a "better" resume. In reality, they need clarity on what isn't actually working.

If a recruiter reading your resume has to stop and figure out why you applied to the role, you're making it harder on yourself. If your experience isn't obvious, you don't get the benefit of the doubt just because you applied.

That's why small tweaks don't usually fix the problem. The way your experience is framed has to line up with what the role is looking for. Once that's clear, everything else in the search becomes a lot more straightforward. That's really the core of what Karpiak Consulting does. These are the conversations I'm having every day. People with strong experience are trying to figure out why it's not translating and what they actually need to change to get things moving. That's my "why."

We've recently updated the website to make this part easier, so you can figure out which kind of help might make the most sense for your situation.

If you feel like you might need some help, it's a good place to start.

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!

literally wasting people’s time

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 The Deep View! C’mon give it a click…it costs $0 and helps support your favorite job search newsletter 🙂

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PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER QUESTION

“Is there a specific job board you recommend and why?”

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.

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• 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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