Weekly round-up 20/09/25
Hi!
I’m changing how I do jobseeker basics for the forseeable future.
You may recall I started writing this Charles Dickens style, with a chapter a week over two years, in what has become the heavily edited A Career Breakdown Kit. If you want to support my work you can buy a copy, or everything is available for free (with extra commas) on the Archive.
The plan is to update the book once a year, particularly with any notable tech or market changes. The goal has always been to help.
With it’s release, I’m changing things up for now with the newsletter, and will instead share the week’s best or most helpful posts from LinkedIn.
Please engage on those posts, which will help the algorithm boost it to more readers.
Here’s this week’s ‘best’:
Speaking to job seekers recently, the sense is people never had to jump through the hoops they do now.
Looking for marginal improvements in everything they do, despite the vast contradictory advice.
Having to compete with more candidates than ever for fewer jobs.
Companies that have lost their risk appetite in an uncertain economy, adding more interviews in, changing the rules, never filling their jobs.
Jobs being pulled even after a start date.
People being pipped to the post, only for the advert to be relisted and never real feedback.
Worsening discrimination, particularly with age, which is of course intersectional.
An economy marked by tariffs, political ineptitude, war, fear, tax and an increasing legal burden of employment.
Through all this though, let's not forget that what's happening to others doesn't necessarily inform what's happening to us.
It's too easy to look outside and bring that burden on our own shoulders, when what really matters is what's in our control.
Call it stoicism, call it Let Them / Me, call it what you like - the strategy we set, the steps we take and how we communicate with meaning these will always have the biggest impact for us. Rather than dwelling on matters out of our control
And while many people aren't getting jobs, some are, even in the toughest individual markets.
If you're doing the right things there's no reason that can't be you.
But it does mean you need to challenge your blind spots - find those marginal gains, get better at jumping through hoops, then also find the relevant hoops others don't think to jump through. The ones that stretch you and take you out of comfort.
Learn what's going on in your specific market, so you can make the right plan, even if that requires change in you.
Because job searching is strategy, skill, execution - the better you get, the better your odds.
Take courage and keep going.
An exercise on differentiating in your CV:
Jobseekers - here's an exercise to help see how your CV might be landing with recruiters and employers.
Have a look at the last 10 job adverts you considered. How many of them have the following words in them to describe their great opportunity?
Market-leading
Dynamic
Innovative
Progressive
Fast-paced
Great opportunity
Rapidly growing
How many of them use these words to say what they need?
Communication skills (at all levels)
Cross functional stakeholder management
Hit the ground running
Proactive
Passionate
Works well in team
Works well alone
Works well
Intermediate Excel (jk, no, not joking)
How many of them use these words to say what's in it for you?
Competitive Salary
Hybrid
Flexible working
Career progression
Friendly environment
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The problem with these words is three-fold
1. They are all overused to the point of meaninglessness. If everyone is a market-leader, no one is.
2. They don't have inherent meaning, leading you to assume what is meant
3. If you have to assume what is meant, often you assume it's a red flag
Adverts would be better by giving examples of what is meant and their impact.
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But this isn't a post about adverts (employers, I can help if you're suffering from advertitis publicly and in outreach).
It's a post about how you communicate with and without meaning.
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Look at your CV. Firstly, how many of these words appear?
If they're meaningless in an advert, what meaning do they have on your CV?
If you're frustrated that people can't see your transferrable skills, do they look like this?
Excellent communication skills
Strong team player
Problem-solving abilities
Time management skills
Leadership experience
Attnetion to detail (jk, though it's a common typo)
Flexible and adaptable
Intermediate Excel
Self-motivated
Quick learner
You'll have examples unique to your career, commonly used by your competition.
This is the transferrable skills trap. Strengths that help, yet are so overshared they lose meaning.
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The solution is the same as for adverts. Show impact, show achievements, show context, show why these generic terms matter.
What's in it for your audience?
Let me know if you need help.
An offer of help to UK job seekers:
I'm offering job search strategy calls for UK job seekers. Earliest availability is week commencing 29th September.
I've been doing these calls since mid July in support of my book launch (click the link under my name for details).
It's really clear how confusing the market is and how easy it is to take missteps.
These calls are 40 minutes to an hour and will dissect your approach, look at what you can do differently and look at practical improvements.
The goal is to help you convert more of the right applications, start better conversations, and attract recruiters and employers through the tools they use - LinkedIn recruiter, AI and proprietary sourcing platforms.
Invariably I'm told I take a little load of people's shoulders and save them time on not taking the wrong steps.
The price is £50 and includes a free copy of the book.
DM to book a call or if you have any questions.
I’m away for a few days next week, celebrating Mum’s 80th birthday, so the next update will be in a couple of weeks.
Good luck in your search this week.
Greg