I’m on the Hunt for a Better-Paying Job: How I’m Setting Myself Up for Success

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The outlook for 2024’s labor market appears to be a period of re-stabilizing and normalization, with unemployment expected to rise as job gains and wages fall off. That, along with the expectation that layoffs will continue into the year, makes it a challenging time to be looking for a job. If you do want to level up your salary with a new role, it’s going to take plenty of preparation and upfront work.

When Caroline Phan’s role as a merchandise planner for Old Navy’s e-commerce business was impacted by major layoffs at parent company Gap, she suddenly found herself in a difficult position — but nevertheless saw an opportunity to transition her career into merchandising.

“Once I got laid off… I was able to apply directly to roles in the function I wanted to be in,” she said. She set out to tailor her resume with this goal in mind and talked about all the other steps she has taken to set herself up for success this year.

Seeking Advice

Once Phan had tailored her resume, she reached out to friends who worked in recruiting, as well as her previous supervisors, and asked them to take a look at it, using their advice to refine it and make it as strong as possible.

“The most helpful tip was not only including quantitative results but also explaining how I achieved those results, which is something I was missing,” she said.

Resumes may seem a little archaic, but they are still the first step to securing a new role, and that makes them incredibly important. Getting the advice of hiring managers and other professionals directly involved in the recruiting and hiring process can be a great way to figure out your blind spots and shore up any weaknesses in your resume.

Using ChatGPT

With all the hype surrounding artificial intelligence at the moment, it’s tempting to think it can do much of the heavy lifting of job hunting.

Phan tried using ChatGPT for the first time to help her find important keywords in every job description that she applied for, in order to get past the automated resume screening software that many employers use now.

Phan emphasized that she did not have ChatGPT write her resume or cover letters, “because it sounds terrible, and, well, like a robot wrote it. However, ChatGPT could scan a job description and highlight the most important words that I needed to be sure to include in my resume and cover letter.”

Practicing Interview Techniques With a Person

Everyone probably knows that it’s a good idea to practice before a job interview — prepping your answers to likely or tough questions, reading them out loud in front of the mirror — but does your preparation include doing practice runs with a real person across from you?

Phan has been practicing live interviewing with friends that prepare their own questions for her.

“[It’s] a whole different experience to be sitting across from a live person asking you questions that you don’t know ahead of time and being able to answer logically, thoughtfully and succinctly. I have horrible stage fright, so this has been a really helpful part of preparation,” she said.

Leveraging LinkedIn

As the go-to social media for your professional life, LinkedIn is more than just a networking app or a place to post your new job title. If used correctly, LinkedIn can be an invaluable resource when you’re on the hunt for a better role. That’s because, in addition to searching for employers and jobs, LinkedIn allows employers and recruiters to search for you, which has the potential to dramatically increase the number of new roles you get exposed to.

Phan said that one of the pieces of advice she received was to make her LinkedIn profile as robust and detailed as possible — this is important, because it improves your job searches and the jobs that LinkedIn recommends to you, as well as increasing your visibility to recruiters and hiring managers for the roles that you actually want and are highly qualified for. Your connections can even help you build a compelling profile by writing a recommendation for you, something Phan said she took full advantage of.

“It can’t hurt for potential employers to hear about me and my previous work!” she said.

Networking Thoughtfully

Phan also said she is always reaching out to friends and acquaintances to let them know that she’s looking for a new position.

“It’s really helpful to know exactly what I am looking for, which helps me have an ‘elevator pitch’ always at the ready to tell people about myself and about what I’m looking for,” she said.

You really never know where that new role might be — and sometimes your next step can come from an unlikely source. Getting your friends and colleagues involved in your job search is always a good idea.

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