- Jobseeking is Hard
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- #71 - Sabbaticals, Gaps, & Biases
Hey There!
Welcome to Issue #71 of Jobseeking is Hard!
This week we’re talking about:
Job board alternatives to LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and Indeed
Stupid interview questions
A jobseeking horror story about, well, a lot…including valet parking
A job board for recruiters & HR professionals
Focusing less on your resume’s presentation and more on how a recruiter is reading your information
The best (worst?) job post of the week
20 remote job scams to watch out for
And for Premium subscribers I’m:
Debunking a post about what to put on your LinkedIn profile if you’re unemployed
Giving you some interview questions to ask so you can evaluate departmental culture
Telling you one thing you should absolutely do before accepting any job offer
Answering a Premium subscriber's question about how to address career sabbaticals. If you had to leave the workforce due to a reason such as a medical condition, to care for a loved one, grief, or birth, I'll explain when it's appropriate to discuss it and why, including potential biases that could be an issue
Let’s get to it!
ALTERNATIVE JOB BOARDS
I received great feedback on several of my LinkedIn posts last week, listing 46 job boards that aren’t LinkedIn, Indeed, or Glassdoor.
Yes, LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor are aggregators, scraping job postings from other boards (as well as native ads). I found that these additional job boards can be helpful in other ways:
Exclusive/organic job postings.
Niche industry content/information in addition to jobs.
Better UX in terms of scrolling/utilization, both in page design AND less endless scrolling past jobs you don’t care about.
Plus, some people don’t want to be on LinkedIn. Someone sent me a message last week thanking me for the additional job boards for that very reason:
Just want to thank you so much for posting the non-traditional sites for finding jobs. I get so depressed looking at LinkedIn. It's legit like being in a war zone. People laying around with limbs blown off.
And they’re right. If you’re struggling mentally or emotionally, the last thing you want to do is scroll through LinkedIn posts about layoffs or toxic positivity…not to mention the vultures that prey on the unemployed, pitching their resume and career services.
Someone I know wrote a post complaining about the resume writers who swarm people who include the #OpenToWork hashtag in their LinkedIn posts.
They sent me a screenshot of what happened next: In 5 minutes, 8 different resume writers sent them DMs to sell their services. 8 in 5 minutes!!!
With that in mind, here are the 2 LinkedIn posts I wrote with job board alternatives. Be sure to also check out the comments, where some of my connections included their favorite job boards.
Hopefully they have some value to you, even if it’s a chance to search jobs without all the surrounding noise.
If you have any additional job boards or communities you use, email me and let me know. I will be putting together a master list on my website and sharing the link so everyone can bookmark it.
STUPID INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
In an interview for a Paralegal position I was asked, "What is 250 multiplied by 250?"
I genuinely feel that AI won't replace most jobs…people who know AI will.
That being said, if a job revolves around answering basic math problems, I'm totally ok with AI having that job.
“What is one reason why we shouldn’t hire you?”
“Asking interview questions like that, odds are I’ll have your job within 2 years.”
“If the price were the same, would you take a taxi, Uber, or limo?”
I don’t know the “right” answer here, but I know all of my fellow introverts are thinking limo. Putting that partition up and not having to fake your way through small talk sounds like bliss.
Now I’m curious…
If the price were the same, would you take a taxi, Uber, or limo? |
Want to share your stupid interview questions? Reply or email [email protected]
SPEAKING OF POLLS
Last week I asked you, “In an interview, have you ever been asked if you had kids?” More than 47% of you said that you were asked if you had kids, which is an unreal amount of bad interviewing.
Some of your responses:
"I said yes when asked, and they responded, 'You're young. Do you plan to have more children? I can't afford to have someone out on maternity leave.'"
“After being laid off, I (identify as a woman) was asked by a man in a virtual interview, ‘Have you been working outside of the home?’
I told him I had a dedicated home office from which I had been performing a contract job, and I preferred a remote environment for focus and productivity.
Interviewer’s response: ‘That’s not what I meant. Doesn’t your husband make enough to support you?’”
“They asked and followed it up with, ‘We want you fully committed to the company and not running off to school plays, ballet, or some other crap parents are up to.’”
But my favorite was:
“I, a woman, answered, ‘None that I know of.’”
[slow clap] Well played.
COMMUNITY CATHARSIS
I applied to a large international financial services company a few years ago. The whole experience was so crazy weird that I still can hardly believe it.
For starters, their online application process kept crashing. I spent the better part of 4 hours working through their site. Every time I'd click "attach," the site crashed. I tried multiple browsers, disabled extensions, etc. It didn't matter what I did; the site kept crashing. (To add insult to injury, the online site required you to upload your resume AND fill in all those details manually. Grrrrr.)
I was finally successful in getting my application materials uploaded. Shortly after that, I got an email from the HR person in charge of hiring for the position asking me to set up a phone interview. We set a date and exchanged numbers.
On the agreed-upon date, I waited a few minutes for her to call. No call. After waiting about 15 minutes, I decided to call her. The number she had given me wasn't hers--it was her mother-in-law's number, and her MIL only spoke Spanish!
The HR rep and I exchanged emails and finally connected via phone. Things went well, and she wanted me to come in and meet with the hiring manager.
The instructions said to park in the building's underground garage using the valet service. I was to take my ticket to HR, and my parking would be fully paid. I followed the instructions and went to the HR offices to wait for my interview.
The hiring manager and I went back to a private room and began the interview. The first question wasn't "Tell me about yourself" or anything like that. It was "Do you consider yourself to be an a**hole? I'm leading a whole department of them right now and don't need another one."
Things only got weirder from there, but I did my best to stay calm and professional.
The final straw was that when I returned to get my car, the valets couldn't find it. It took about 15 minutes, but they finally did.
Unfortunately, the stamps HR gave me to cover my parking weren't enough for the ticket price. The valets wouldn't call HR to get things straightened out. I wound up shelling out $12 for parking. Even crazier was that the company owned this particular building--including the parking garage--and the valets were employees of said company.
This was 6.5 years ago. I haven't officially been told they hired someone else, so I'm still in the running :)
Basically you paid $12 for someone to ask if you were an a**hole.
I’m so sorry that happened to you, but like everyone who shared a horror story, you avoided a horrible workplace.
For the record, I’d absolutely send an invoice for $12. What’s the worst that could happen? You don’t get the job?
**Premium Subscribers! Speaking of departments “full of a**holes,” below I’ll tell you some interview questions to ask so you can evaluate departmental culture. I’ll also tell you one thing you should absolutely do before accepting any job offer!**
If there's a jobseeking horror story *you’d* like to share, reply or email [email protected]
HR & RECRUITING JOBS!
Attention HR and Recruiting Jobseekers!
Here’s a job board from iCIMS with >2,000 available HR and Talent roles with their customers, including 300+ remote roles! You can find the list here:
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 after applying my feedback you’ll get a ton of hits like this person did 🤷♂️
There's too much emphasis on resume presentation, especially with formatting and page length. While many templates and resume writers like to focus on style and layout, remember that most of these resources typically don't understand how recruiters visually review resumes.
It's extremely difficult to convey value and relevance when you have a cluttered layout or when you minimize details to try and give a brief overview.
The days of "Well, if someone wants more info, they'll interview me" are long gone. When 1,000,000 people apply for the same role, do you know who gets the interviews? The candidates who clearly present relevant info and context in a way that is easily and quickly read.
Want to stand out? Focus on showing the recruiter you're relevant…not your resume's presentation.
Not sure what info in your background is relevant to recruiters for the roles you're targeting? We can help with that :)
BEST (WORST?) JOB POST OF THE WEEK
For those who don’t know, I’ve recently started an Instagram for all of the bad job postings out there. You know, like those with ridiculous salary ranges or outrageous requirements.
Going forward, in each newsletter, I’ll highlight the post that got the most people talking in the past week. Here’s this week’s winner!
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!
JOB SCAMS!
Last week, FlexJobs put together a comprehensive list of 20 Common Remote Job Scams in 2024, and they asked if I wanted to share it with my audience!
Check it out and educate yourself on:
AI-Generated Job Postings and Fake Company Websites
Cryptocurrency Exchanges and Ponzi Schemes
Posing as a Legitimate Company or Job Board
Using Fake URLs, Photos, and Company Names
Gaining Access to Personal Financial Information
Recruitment Over Social Media
Posing as Recruiters with ATS-Compliant “Services”
Communicating Through Chat
Phishing Attacks Over Text Message
Google Docs Inviting or Mentioning
Paying for Remote Work Equipment
Data Entry
Pyramid Marketing
Stuffing Envelopes from Home
Wire Transfers
Unsolicited Job Offers
Online Reshipping
Rebate Processor
Assembling Crafts/Products
Career Advancement Grants
If you come across a potential scam, send it to [email protected], and I’ll warn the community. And if you’ve been a victim of a job scam, the FTC has job scam reporting resources listed here.
Knowing it gets harder to land interviews the longer you're unemployed, how do you handle having taken an intentional step away from work for a good reason?
Is there somewhere in your resume or cover letter you should explain this?
Check out the Premium Section below for my answer! Not a Premium Subscriber? Upgrade here: www.JobseekingIsHard.com/upgrade
AFFILIATES
NOTE: As an affiliate to these services, we will receive compensation if you purchase products or services through the links provided.
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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.
Hey all! Thanks for being a premium member! I hope you find the additional info helpful as you navigate your job search.
DEBUNKING CAREER CLICKBAIT
I recently read a LinkedIn post that said, if you're unemployed right now, add a placeholder for your "current" job, such as the type of job you're looking for, so you show up in more recruiter search results as "employed."
I hate this. Why? Because you will still show up in a good recruiter's search, regardless of your current employment. Good recruiters still look at both employed and unemployed search results.
All you're doing is screaming, "I'm unemployed." Which is ok...just less valuable to the recruiter in terms of context. The recruiter would rather see your last FT role's job title and company….that gives them much more value and relevance than what kind of job you're looking for and would help them better evaluate you.
Recruiters look at LinkedIn profiles much quicker than resumes, so seeing your last job is more impactful than "seeking opportunities."
Watch or read a questionable piece of career content? Send it along and I’d love to debunk it! [email protected]
Some interview questions to ask so you can evaluate departmental culture:
What changes have been implemented based on employee suggestions?
Is there an official offboarding process with exit interviews? If so, have any changes been implemented based on those?
What is the onboarding process like? And when do you expect a new hire to be fully up-to-speed?
Is there an official/unofficial mentorship program to foster professional growth/development?
What characteristics do all of the top performers in this role share?
Is there a common theme amongst employees that underperform?
What is your favorite thing about working here?
One thing you should absolutely do before accepting any job offer:
Request an interview/meeting with your peers, preferably one-on-one with 1 peer at a time, so they are more comfortable and relaxed without being judged on their responses.
You want to know what it's like there on a day-to-day basis and what their experience was like during training and onboarding. Most importantly, you want to know how difficult situations are handled. Don't forget to ask why they stay with that company!.
It's completely normal to request a peer interview, and if the company hesitates or insists on a manager being present during the interview, take that as a bad sign.
Knowing it gets harder to land interviews the longer you're unemployed, how do you handle having taken an intentional step away from work for a good reason, lasting >6 months, i.e., medical condition, taking care of a loved one, grief, having a baby, or travel/sabbatical, etc.
It feels unfair that you're "punished" for these types of situations when, in fact, these are character and experience-building life situations, especially in the industry I am in, which is healthcare.
Is there somewhere in your resume or cover letter you should explain this?
Hi there! You're right - It's absolutely unfair that being human is considered selfish.
I hate when recruiters or hiring managers ask about gaps on your resume. If someone asks about your gap, it's impossible to give them a satisfactory answer. Either the recruiter/hiring cares about the gap or they don't.
That said, I would absolutely NOT address it on the resume or cover letter. Why? Because you are giving the company all the information they need to decide whether or not to interview you. The purpose of the resume and cover letter is to drive engagement. Those documents should be a call to action, driving the reader to want to meet you and discuss further.
If someone has a question about a gap on your resume or why you left a job, let them ask. Just listing it on your resume or cover letter will feed any existing bias (conscious or unconscious).
When a biased individual sees that you left a job due to a medical condition, you are seen as a future flight risk? Are you healed? Can it come back? What else might you be susceptible to? The recruiter doesn't want to hire someone who must go out on medical leave or leave altogether. They don't want to refill roles and have hiring managers mad at them.
When a biased individual sees that you left a job to care for another individual, you are seen as a future flight risk. What if that same person needs to be cared for again? What if a different person needs to be cared for? You've already demonstrated a willingness to care for someone. Again, the recruiter/hiring manager doesn't want to have to fill the job again.
Same with grief (how dare you feel things and have emotions to process!).
Having a baby is always tricky since, to a biased person, you could [gasp!] have another baby! Or, worse, want to participate in your child's actions such as plays, sports, or anything else that would dare distract you from work.
And I suggest never discussing leaving a job to travel. Why? You guessed it… you're a flight risk. Hiring managers don't want to have to cover for people on PTO. That's just not "reliable."
You can see a recurring theme…people can be jerks. While it's easy to say, "I wouldn't want to work for a jerk," keep in mind that it can just be someone involved in the hiring process with these biases, not necessarily the company's overall culture.
Plus, if you need a paycheck, you might just be willing to suck it up and work for a jerk (until you find a better opportunity).
So, no, I wouldn't discuss these in a cover letter or a resume. But I think you hit the nail on the head when you say, "These are character and experience-building life situations." They ARE. So, when someone DOES ask you about the gap/reason for leaving, explain your reason in a STAR format, explaining the Situation, Task, Action, and Result. Turn this potential negative into a valuable positive, describing how you were able to grow from the situation.
Tell them how you were able to turn lemons into lemonade. Having an opportunity to discuss this can be much more positive than just listing something on the resume or cover letter without a chance to rebut possible biases.
Always focus on the positive, not the negative, from the recruiter's POV.
I hope that helps! Good luck!
If you’re a Premium subscriber and have a question about your job search, email us at [email protected] and I’ll answer it in a future issue!
That's it for now, and send in those questions! Don't forget to put "Premium" in the subject line so I can stay organized!
Do you have any thoughts or suggestions for the premium membership? Let me know! The premium tier is a work in progress, and I want to create something of real value for subscribers.
Have a good one!
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