A few weeks ago, I gave a talk at CMU Silicon Valley on how to get more interviews
Here's a summary of what we discussed:
Most candidates spend more time refining their Linkedin profiles and resumes... ... but not enough time thinking about their HEADLINE and how high they'd RANK on Linkedin's search results page.
Applying Product Thinking to Job Search
The reason why this is important can be explained by applying Product Thinking and User Empathy to the job search process:
Consider the Employer's Perspective
Let's think about employers' perspective. What are their goals and what tools do they use? They are using Linkedin to 1) search and 2) review you. That is why how high you rank, and how you look on the Search Results page are important.
▶ RELEVANCY will drive click-throughs to your Profiles.
If I am the PM for Linkedin's search functionality and I'm optimizing for the recruiter's user experience, I'd rank the candidates with the most relevant skills and experiences high, and those who are more likely to respond back to the recruiter HIGHER.
Rather than giving the students a list of tactical things to check off for their Linkedin profiles and resumes, we applied Product Thinking to the job search process, by thinking through recruiters' user journeys, and then we came up with a 3 step roadmap with strategies and tactics to meet recruiters where they are:
Last but not least, we discussed the job search MINDSET:
▶ Job Search = Joining a New Tribe
Job search is the same as joining a new tribe, by getting the tribe leaders to accept you as new members. This means every step of the way, with every touchpoint:
▶▶ Show how you can add value to THEM ▶▶ Show that your skills are relevant to THEM ▶▶ Use their words so you sound like THEM
Once a month, on the last Monday of the month, a small group PMs targeting L7-L9 roles gathers on Zoom to ask me and my partner Amit Saxena (ex Meta Director) anything.
What does "great" actually sound like at this level? How do you frame cross-org impact without sounding junior? What's the real difference between an L6 and an L7-L9 answer?
