Applications
When to write a cover letter (and when to skip it)
When is a cover letter worth writing? The four times it earns its place, when to skip it, and what to do with the hour instead: reach the hiring manager.
Job search advice
Free articles on how experienced professionals actually get hired.
Good places to start
What experienced job seekers actually want (and it isn’t another tool)
Read this firstThe modern job search: 29 things it takes now (most people do 3)
Read this secondWhat is the hidden job market? Why the side door works
Read this thirdHow to get a job through networking: the Off-Market Method
Job search over 50: how to get past ageism and the overqualified label
LinkedIn profile tips for job seekers, section by section
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Newsletter · Edition 3
The modern job search: 29 things it takes now (most people do 3)
Applied for 130 roles and heard nothing? You’re not doing anything wrong. The job search changed. Here are the 29 things it takes now.
Resume
How far back should a resume go?
There's no fixed number of years. How far back your resume should go, what to do with older roles, and whether to leave graduation dates off.
Newsletter · Edition 2
Losing track of your job search? Here’s how to get back in control.
Edition 2 of Stop Applying, Get Hired: why an experienced job search loses track, and the one list and three messages that get you back in control.
Resume
Will recruiters reject an AI-written resume? The line we never cross
Recruiters are binning AI resumes that sound like everyone else's. What gets yours rejected, what's fine, and the one line AI should never cross.
Newsletter · Edition 1
Applying for jobs and hearing nothing back? Try the side door.
Edition 1 of Stop Applying, Get Hired: why applying cold keeps going quiet, why the side door works, and the two messages to send this week.
Job Search Strategy
What experienced job seekers actually want (and it isn’t another tool)
What experienced job seekers ask for: not another tool, but to know what to do next. The twelve things they want, in their own words, and why.
Resume
How to explain a gap in your resume
How to explain a gap in your resume: when to name it, the one line to write, what to say about redundancy, health or caring, and showing you're current.
LinkedIn
How to message a recruiter on LinkedIn
What to write when you message a recruiter on LinkedIn: who to contact, connect or InMail, a first message that gets read, and when to follow up.
Job Search Strategy
Job search over 50: how to get past ageism and the overqualified label
Job search over 50: where age bias bites, how to show 25 years without dating yourself, and what to say when you're told you're overqualified.
Networking
How to find the hiring manager for a job, and what to do next
How to find the hiring manager for a job: the clues in the ad, where to look on LinkedIn, who to ask when you're stuck, and what to do with the name.
Networking
How to find executive jobs that aren't advertised: search firms, boards and your network
How senior roles are filled when they are never advertised: how retained executive search works, how to get on a consultant's radar, and your network.
LinkedIn
Following up with the hiring manager: what to write, and when
What to write when you follow up with a hiring manager: when to send it, LinkedIn or email, a message that adds something, and when to stop.
Job Search Strategy
How to work with a recruiter to find your next job
A good recruiter is worth working with. How recruiters work, what they need from you, and how to be the candidate they are proud to put forward.
Job Search Strategy
What does a long job search really cost?
A month out of work costs more than a month of pay. What a long job search really costs in money, confidence and your story, and what actually shortens it.
Job Search Strategy
Outplacement support: how to get the most from it before it ends
Outplacement support is worth using fully. What it usually includes, how long it lasts against a job search, and what to do between sessions and after.
Job Search Strategy
Is a professional resume writer worth it? Yes, and here is what makes it pay off
A professionally written resume is worth it. What a resume writer gives you, why a great resume can still go quiet, and what turns it into interviews.
Networking
How long does a job search take? The six-week lag nobody plans for
A job search runs on a lag: messages this week become interviews in six to ten. How long it really takes, what two weeks of delay costs, and how to start.
Applications
How many jobs should you apply for? Why fewer, better applications win
How many jobs should you apply for each week? What the data says about volume and interview rates, and a weekly number you can keep up for months.
Job Search Strategy
Job search not working? When to change your approach
If your job search is not working, you may be waiting to change it. Why most people wait until month four, what those months cost, and the rule that helps.
Networking
Job hunting while employed: how to look quietly
Searching while you still have a job is the strongest position there is. How to job hunt while employed and stay visible without signalling you're leaving.
Networking
How to ask for a referral without it being awkward
How to ask for a job referral without it being awkward: who to ask, what to write, how to give them an easy out, and what to do after they say yes.
Job Search Strategy
Using ChatGPT for your job search: what it does well, and what it cannot do
ChatGPT is a good writing tool for a job search. Why it will polish your resume forever without saying the resume was not the problem, and what it misses.
Job Search Strategy
How to organise your job search, and what each day should hold
How to organise a job search with no manager, deadlines or queue: why it is so tiring, what a job search day should contain, and how nobody gets forgotten.
Interviews & Offers
Why am I not getting interviews? Four reasons and how to fix them
Not getting interviews? The four usual causes, from a resume that misses the first seconds to applying cold, and how to tell which one is yours.
Job Search Strategy
Is a career coach worth it? Yes, and here is what makes it pay off
A good career coach is worth it. What a coach gives you, what happens between sessions, and what to run alongside so the plan turns into results.
Resume
What is a brag document, and how do you keep one?
A brag document is a running list of your wins with real numbers, kept as they happen, ready for your resume, LinkedIn and interviews. How to keep one.
Visibility & Content
What to post on LinkedIn when you're looking for a job
Find your content pillars so people remember you for something. What to post on LinkedIn while job hunting, how specific to be, and how to post quietly.
Interviews & Offers
Tough interview questions, and how to answer them honestly
Why are you leaving, a time you failed, a gap in your resume, where you want to be: four questions almost every interview asks, and how to answer them.
Visibility & Content
How to get noticed at work before you need to
Being good at your job is invisible until someone has a reason to look. How to get noticed at work and build visibility this week, without self-promotion.
Interviews & Offers
How to answer “tell me about yourself” in under three minutes
How to answer 'tell me about yourself' in an interview: a four-part career story that controls the narrative from the first minute, in under three minutes.
LinkedIn
Why isn't your LinkedIn profile getting you interviews?
A finished LinkedIn profile can still get no interviews. The signal problem: what a visitor decides in the first seconds, and what a working profile does.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn profile tips for job seekers, section by section
LinkedIn profile tips for job seekers, section by section: headline, About, experience, skills and the rest, and what each one has to do for a recruiter.
LinkedIn
How long should your LinkedIn headline be? Why the first words do the work
LinkedIn allows 220 characters for a headline, but only the start shows in most places. How long your headline should be, what goes first, and what to cut.
Applications
How to tailor your resume to a job description without rewriting it
How to tailor your resume to a job description without rewriting it: three moves that make one resume work for many roles, and keep every fact true.
Applications
How to write a cover letter as an experienced professional
A cover letter is a business case, not a summary of your resume. How experienced professionals write one, with the four-paragraph structure that works.
Job Search Strategy
What are ghost jobs, and how do you spot one?
Roughly one in five job ads have no active hiring behind them, and 3 in 10 jobs close with nobody hired. How to spot a ghost job, and the fix either way.
Applications
Should I apply for this job? Three questions to answer first
Can you get it, are you strong for it, and is it right for you? Three questions to decide whether to apply for a job before you spend an evening on it.
Job Search Strategy
What is the hidden job market? Why the side door works
The hidden job market is hiring that happens through people, not the apply button. Why mass applying keeps failing, and how the side door works better.
Resume
Should your LinkedIn profile match your resume?
On the facts, yes: carry your roles across word for word so they never disagree. Then write the headline, About and skills for people who look you up.
Resume
What should go at the top of your resume? Headline, summary and first line
In Ladders' eye-tracking study, a first pass of a resume took 7.4 seconds. What the top third has to do, with the headline, summary and bullet formulas.
Resume
How to write achievements on a resume, not duties
Resume achievement examples and the one formula behind them: a strong verb, what you did, how you did it, and a measurable result. Turn duties into wins.
Networking
How to reconnect with old colleagues after years of silence
How to reconnect with an old colleague after years of silence: what to say to each kind of old contact, and how to tell your network you're looking.
Resume
How to make your resume ATS-friendly: five formatting rules
Almost every recruiter Jobscan surveyed filters candidates in their ATS. Five formatting rules that make your resume ATS-friendly and keep it readable.
Networking
The strength of weak ties: why acquaintances do more for your job search than best friends
A study of 20 million people found acquaintances help people change jobs more than close friends. What that means for your job search, and how to use it.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn summary examples: before and after for four careers
Four before-and-after LinkedIn summary examples across sales, finance, operations and technology, and why the first two lines of your About matter most.
Visibility & Content
How often should you post on LinkedIn to be remembered?
How often to post on LinkedIn when you want to be remembered. What a Buffer analysis of over two million posts found, and why steady beats one great post.
Interviews & Offers
How to prepare for a job interview: what to research, practise and ask
How to prepare for a job interview: what to research, which questions to get ready for, how to practise your answers out loud, and what to ask at the end.
Resume
How long should a resume be at each stage of your career?
How long a resume should be depends on career stage: one page early on, one to two when established, two to three for senior and leadership roles.
Job Search Strategy
How to get a job through networking: the Off-Market Method
How to get a job through networking, in four moves: Be Ready, Be Connected, Be Seen, Get Hired. The method behind FutureDay and the book, in plain English.
Inside FutureDay
Why I built FutureDay
Every job but one came through someone he knew. Grant Kratz on the method that works, why it falls apart, and the app he built to hold it together.
Inside FutureDay
Turn your resume into a LinkedIn profile, with your facts intact
How FutureDay's LinkedIn Optimiser turns your resume into a LinkedIn profile: headline, About and experience for recruiters, with your facts intact.
Inside FutureDay
How to make AI writing sound like you: the voice profile
How FutureDay builds a voice profile from your own answers and writing, drafts posts and cover letters that sound like you, and checks posts for AI tells.
Inside FutureDay
A job search tracker for your contacts, companies and roles
How FutureDay's Contacts, Target Companies and Job Tracker keep your whole job search in one place: who you know, where you want to work, and every role.
Inside FutureDay
An AI job search assistant that knows where you're up to
Ask FutureDay is an AI job search assistant. It sits on every screen, knows where your search is up to and what you have open, and asks, not guesses.
Inside FutureDay
Interview practice with AI: check your answers before the room
How FutureDay Interview Prep checks practice answers: the situation, what you did, a number that shows the result, and why it worked. Checks, not a score.
Inside FutureDay
AI resume tailoring that keeps your facts true
FutureDay's Tailored Resume puts your facts in the job description's words. It never adds a number, title or tool you did not have, and never moves a line.
Inside FutureDay
Your resumes and cover letters, organised in one place
FutureDay Documents keeps every resume and cover letter in one place, listed under the job it was written for, so you can find and reuse the right one.
Inside FutureDay
A daily job search routine, with your next step ready each morning
What a daily job search routine should look like, and how FutureDay Home puts your next follow-ups in front of you every morning so nothing goes quiet.
Inside FutureDay
A resume builder for experienced professionals
Upload your resume or start from scratch. FutureDay's Resume Builder checks it against a written standard, flags weak lines and offers better versions.
Inside FutureDay
Compare your resume to a job description before you apply
How FutureDay's Job Fit Check reads a job description against your resume before you apply: what you have proved, what is missing, and if it is worth it.
Inside FutureDay
A LinkedIn post planner and calendar for job seekers
How FutureDay's Posting Plan, Posting Calendar and Post Writer work together, so your LinkedIn posts run on a plan while you job hunt, in your own voice.
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