Tools make our lives easier.
You can use a rock to build a house, but it is easier with a hammer.
You can cut a tree down with an axe, but it is easier with a chainsaw.
You can find a job on your own, but it is easier with help.
As a career advisor working for a non-profit organization that offers its services at no charge, we are highly effective. What we provide is helpful, but even our job seekers could benefit from additional tools, and especially tools that work for them, have been designed by their experiences and needs, and most importantly tools that can be tailored for them without being overwhelming, regardless of their experience, skills, position, life stage, and whether they live with barriers or disabilities or not. Tools they can use independently to supplement our weekly meetings.
With help from my job seekers, we have created such a tool, and it has been through more than twenty iterations – The Job Seekers Playbook.
The Tool and how to use it
The playbook is a guide, something that builds on what, as a career advisor, we discuss in our weekly meetings. I know that 1 hour per week isn’t sufficient to really assist a job seeker of any ability to find a job. The playbook, though, after explaining how to use it, works at the job seeker’s pace, and it is about progress, not perfection.
Job seeking is an acquired skill improved iteratively; the more you do, the better you get at it, and even setbacks are a positive learning opportunity.
“Setting Yourself Up for Success”
The entry point is deciding on three SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals that are related to job seeking or skills development this week. The choice of three SMART goals was intention, three are enough to create momentum without being overwhelming.
The second question asks the job seeker to list the people they can have help them achieve their goals. These simple steps provide an anchoring point, promote support seeking, help to prevent self-isolation, and are consistent with helping job seekers avoid defaulting to “I’ll do this on my own.”
Standing out is one of the most important elements of success, while humility certainly is important, standing out and discussing yourself positively is a key to success.
“My commitment to myself, how much time did I invest in myself?”
Job seeking is about investment in yourself, it’s about self-care, and it’s not punishment or obligation. Investing in yourself is about self-respect, not compliance. Ideally, I would like my job-seekers to invest up to two hours a day, five days a week, to search and to build their skills; however, whether they are the ones who set the pace. Each point on the Playbook uses strength-based metrics that are calibrated and not punitive. The ranges are “A good start / Better / Ideal / Incredible”) which are designed to be non-shaming, gradual, and encouraging effort, not volume-for-volume’s sake. Our goal is progress and consistency.
“Only 20–30% of available jobs are ever posted.”
The playbook is designed to be useful, self-directing, honest, and educational. The section on Online Job searching is important for setting expectations. Searching online is one of the most popular methods for most job seekers; however, most experts agree that only 20-30% of the jobs available are ever posted, but almost a 100% of job seekers will apply for them.
It is not uncommon to hear job seekers say, “I applied online, and nothing happened, so it must be me.” This is a classic trap that the playbook is designed to overcome because it helps to protect confidence while nudging behavior change.
The playbook encourages job seekers to examine a variety of online job websites and not rely on a single source for opportunities.
“The elements are like building blocks.”
Early versions of the playbook were said to be overwhelming by some job seekers, so during the instructions for this tool, everyone is encouraged to work at their own pace. We strive to help each person “stretch” their weekly goals, and as they develop confidence and abilities, eventually, we build up to doing cold calls.
Cold calls are most successful in person, but can be done by phone, and even by email. A job seeker contacts a potential employer to inquire about current and future opportunities. This is difficult; however, not only does it help unlock 70-80% of jobs that are never posted, but the competition is much lower because few people are willing to subject themselves to this method. Cold calling is a “power move” and can be very effective if practiced and practiced first, and after learning how to handle how many times a job seeker might have to cope with being “rejected.”
“Another key building block to standing out is following up.”
When applying for a job or cold calling, following up by email will help you to stand out. Like all of these skills, practicing and preparing will make a significant difference. Thanking interviewers within 24 hours will also help you stand apart. Following up on demonstrative initiative and commitment is never a bad practice.
“Using LinkedIn Metrics Appropriately”
When only 20-30% of jobs are posted online, networking becomes vitally important to find opportunities. One of the best tools available today is LinkedIn. Like most social media, it has its strong points and its weaknesses; however, for a successful job search, it is not necessary for anyone to “Be an influencer,” or to post every day; what the playbook encourages is for a job seeker track visibility, understand signals, and to appreciate that social media is a tool, not an identity.
“Closing the Loop”
The purpose of the playbook is to build up confidence, skills, and to overcome being overwhelmed. It succeeds for people who approach the tool as a series of weekly good practices combined with weekly reflection and collaboration with their career advisor. By consciously asking for what the job seeker’s “wins” and “lessons learned” were, the playbook reinforces learning, progress, and ownership of their individual job search.
“Mitigation”
The playbook needs explanations and assistance, especially at first, and when a job seeker gets discouraged. On paper, the cognitive load can be intimidating, especially for anxious and/or neurodiverse job seekers. Additionally, job seekers who have been traumatized by job loss may require additional support when learning about and working through their iterations.
We want job seekers to see this as a tool to help them; reinforce this by explicitly telling them we work at their pace and their comfort level. Nobody expects every section to be completed at first; ideally, completion becomes self-fulfilling as the job seeker sees their skills and confidence growing with what they do initially, and this fuels their desire to take more control of their job search.
“Visually dense”
The playbook is two pages long and covers a lot of steps. We have made it as compact as possible; however, job searching is difficult, and there are many steps. Part of building confidence and ability is to recognize that there are about 40 or so steps to complete in the job search process. Using the ending checklist to acknowledge all of these steps shows just how much progress they have made.
“LinkedIn Metrics May Trigger Comparison for Some”
The danger of metrics is that they can be “triggering,” and this is a valid concern; however, part of the coaching for job seekers is that someone who has lower numbers is not “Bad at this,” or that “Others are doing better. “We want to frame metrics as neutral signals, and trend tracking, not judgments. All of our job seekers are on their own employment path; it is not a race.
Perhaps the most important conclusion about the playbook is that it has been built and designed, mostly by job seekers themselves, to turn job searching into a series of small, winnable behaviors that can be coached and developed week over week.
The playbook becomes part of a shared experience and language; it improves session efficiency, it surfaces hidden blockers early, and it reduces learned helplessness; exactly what a multiplier tool should do in a thoughtful, grounded, respectful way that is built from lived experience, not theory.
Good luck,