#240 | Mini-Workshop: Tips For Job Searching

Job searching can sometimes feel like sending your resume into a black hole and hoping a human, not a robot, sees it. Between ATS filters, crowded applicant pools, and recruiters searching LinkedIn for candidates, there are more moving pieces than ever. The good news? You don’t have to tackle all of those pieces separately. Your resume, LinkedIn profile, network, and even AI can work together to make your job search more efficient and help the right people understand what you bring to the table.

Keep Your Resume Simple

When it comes to your resume, simple really can be better. Your resume needs to be easy for ATS software to read and easy for a recruiter to skim, which means clean formatting, standard headings, clear job titles, and keywords that naturally match the job description. This is not the place for fancy graphics, photos, emojis, or a creative title that makes someone wonder what you actually do. And don’t forget the numbers! If you increased sales, managed a certain size budget, supported a major launch, or grew a team, say so. Specifics make it much easier for someone to understand your experience quickly.

Let LinkedIn Tell More of Your Story

Your LinkedIn profile is where you can give people a better sense of who you are beyond the resume. A clear photo, strong banner, straightforward headline, and thoughtful About section can help recruiters quickly understand who you are and what kind of work you’re looking for. I always recommend being specific rather than overly clever with your headline. “Marketing Ninja” might sound fun, but it doesn’t tell a recruiter much about what you actually do. Your About section is where you can bring in more personality and tell some of your story. And don’t forget your contact information! You don’t want a great opportunity to get lost in someone’s LinkedIn inbox.

Build Your Network Before You Need It

Then there’s networking, and I don’t think it should start the minute you desperately need a job. Follow recruiters and people in your industry, comment on their posts, join conversations, look for mutual connections, and generally become a familiar name before you need to send the “I’m looking for a new opportunity” message. AI can also be a helpful sidekick throughout the process. Try using it to compare a job description with your resume, identify important keywords, spot potential gaps, or organize job alerts. I like thinking of AI as another set of eyes, not the person making the decisions for me. Your experience, judgment, and voice still matter.

The biggest shift I want you to make is to stop thinking of your job search as simply applying for jobs. Your resume helps you get through the initial scan. Your LinkedIn profile gives people more context. Your network can introduce you to opportunities you may never find on a job board. And AI can help you make sense of all the information along the way. You don’t need one giant breakthrough or to spend all day refreshing LinkedIn. Small, consistent actions like keeping your profile current, telling people you’re looking, and making each application more targeted can give you more ways to be found and make the whole process feel a little less overwhelming.

Timestamps:

05:19 Resume do’s and don’ts

09:23 Why ATS scans and keeping resumes simple matters

15:00 Photos on resumes + using keywords/industry jargon the right way

20:29 Human reviewers vs ATS: who are you writing for?

23:33 LinkedIn must-haves: photo, open to work, and headline

28:20 Reaching recruiters in a new field

38:17 Using AI to compare a resume against a job description

44:29 The power of network-driven job searching

50:54 Digital networking works best when it is relationship-based

57:48 Why staying connected after interviews pays off

Links:

LinkedIn’s AI-powered job search

Follow Madeline Mann on LinkedIn

Madeline’s free Résumé Revamp Masterclass

Claude

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