It’s been a pretty wild start to the year.

In the enterprise, we’ve seen significant layoffs spanning companies like Google, Nike, Discord and Citi.

In Multifamily - we’ve seen property management consolidation resulting in job cuts as well as several quietly sizable layoffs/RIFs on the technology side of the industry.

I’ve been fortunate to interview hundreds of candidates and directly hire close to 100 people over the last 10 year.

Today, I want to share a few practical ways that you can stand out in your job search. If this doesn’t relate to you, I’d appreciate it if you’d share it with a friend or colleague by forwarding or resharing on social.

Let’s jump into it.

1/ Get specific

One of the most important things in a job search is to hone in on what it is that you want to do.

Casting a wide net with a job search can result in landing interviews, but, without having a specific ‘thing’ that you’re looking for - I find that it’s very hard for candidates to stand out in that case.

In my experience, it’s often better to go a mile deep rather than a mile wide.

Here are a few examples:

• Pick a handful of companies that interest you. A great place to start, is getting specific on the type of category that you want to work in. (Example: mid size 3rd party management company, marketing technology vendor, etc).

• Get clear on the role you are looking for. Don’t limit yourself to titles - but… have a clear picture of what positions you are interested and better yet, what positions you are not interested in.

• Know what you need, what you want, and what you are willing to compromise on. Are you willing to relocate? Is total cash compensation more important than equity compensation? How important is company culture to you? I find that the more you can get specific here… can really help you get specific in the first point… what you are looking for.

2/ Be honest with yourself

One of the most off-putting things about interviewing candidates is when folks are only able to talk about what they are great at.

As a hiring manager, it’s very important to understand someone’s strengths, weaknesses, and growth opportunities.

As you prepare to jump into a process of any sort - here are a few things I’d recommend you spend time on:

• Your energizers versus your drainers. Be able to articulate the work that really energizes you. This is the work that you wake up wanting to do, often the first thing you scratch off your to-do list. Quite opposite - what work drains you? This is often the work that gets neglected, skipped, or done most poorly.

• What were some of your biggest misses in the past role? Be able to speak to this. With confidence while demonstrating coachability… that is so key.

• Be able to articulate specifically why you won. It’s one thing to say that you you built a marketing campaign that resulted in 150% organic lead generation or that you came in at 118% to quota as a sales professional. It’s much better to be able to share what specifically you did to create that outcome. Specifics matter - don’t skip them!

3/ Do the pre work

Many times I find that candidates come into an interview with me relatively cold.

They haven’t reached out in advance. They have not done the work to talk to people on my team to better prepare. And unfortunately, many haven’t even researched me as the hiring manager to have specific questions tailored to me.

All of these details matter. They show intention, desire, and they are a good demonstration of your ability as an overall professional.

Here are a few actionable tips:

• If you are meeting with a hiring manager - make sure to connect with at least one of their direct reports before that meeting if possible. Don’t ask for 30 minutes, just ask for 10. A quick LinkedIn connect request with some context of why you are reaching out as a very high probability of converting. If that doesn’t work - head to the company website and try to track down an e-mail address or you can use a website like fast people search to find their info.

• Research the person you are meeting with. Find 1 observation you can mention up front (college, notable career moment, recent promotion), and 1 personalized question you can answer (recent project, recent podcast, recent social post).

• Send them an e-mail with your resume in advance of the call. Do not expect that they’ve gotten this from HR. I love it when candidates do this a long with a LinkedIn request. It shows me that they are trying before we ever meet.

4/ Be professional and do the little things

I’m semi-blending 2 points into one here, but I think they blend together quite well.

Be professional, what does that mean?

Let’s get into some tips:

• Dress for success - trust me, this matters. Whether it’s virtual or in person, this does matter.

• Be on time, ideally early.

• If you are going to be writing notes on a notebook - show the interviewer that you are doing that so they don’t think you are distracted.

• Do you want the job? Let them know that. <10% of candidates tell me they want THIS job and WHY. Trust me… again… that stands out.

• Send a follow up e-mail. Hand written card is a bonus point. In that e-mail don’t just say thank you. Share an observation from the interview, a takeaway, and one very specific thing that heightened your interest in the role. Again… if you want the job, make sure they know that you want it when you e-mail them.

5/ Don’t wait until you are on your heels

The single best way to protect yourself from being on the job market with few options is to build and invest in your network… now.

That doesn’t mean that you need to aim to become a social media influencer.

It means that you should carve out time each week or each month to connect with people you know and that you trust.

A great place to start is past colleagues and past leaders you’ve worked with.

Stay in touch - understand what they are building - and don’t be afraid to keep your ears open in case strong opportunities are out there.

Having a warm network that you’ve stayed connected with is much easier to work with versus a cold network that you only touch when you need something.

There is no perfect playbook for managing this hiring environment.

But, I hope that this is a helpful write up for those that are on the market or preparing to be.

If I can ever be a resource - shoot me an e-mail or a DM on LinkedIn and I’ll do what I can to help.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend - thanks for tuning in and I’ll see you next Friday.

Mike