Dial in your job hunt in 7 steps [#77]

Finding a job these days is hard. Hell, finding companies to place people in as a recruiter is hard (Source: I run a recruiting studio). 

You want to give yourself the best possible chance of nailing the basics in the process. 

This is how I’d approach a job search if I was currently for one. 

Step 1: Outline what you want 

It’s almost impossible to get a job if you’re not at least somewhat clear on what you want.

As in writing and in business, specificity wins. 

If I’m recruiting for a FinTech SaaS startup, and I have two candidates, I will always pick the one that says: “I’m looking to work in the FinTech space in a GTM position” and never the one that says: “I’m just looking for a job.” 

The best way to do this: 

1. Make a list of things that you could imagine yourself doing
2. Pick 2-3 of them
3. Reach out to a few people in your network (or outside of it) that are currently doing the job / working in the industry and ask them what their day-to-day looks like
4. Challenge yourself if that’s still what you want to do

For example: a lot of people want to found a startup because of all the cool things they read on LinkedIn. So they want to do it too.

The reality is that a startup provides more freedom, but also infinitely more stress, and probably isn’t the right move for 90% of the population. Any founder will tell you that.

Once you have validated your hypothesis of position and/or industry, let’s get you dialed in. 

Step 2: Build your story

Not everybody has a linear CV. As a subscriber to this newsletter, you likely don’t. So you’re gonna need to do some storytelling. 

Start by writing out a long-form story following this structure: 

1. Where did you come from?
2. What problems did you encounter?
3. What did you feel internally when going through this problem? What did people think about you?
4. What was the key decision you made that started your transformation?
5. What was the moment that clicked where you knew things were going to change?
6. What mistakes did you make in the beginning of your new journey? 
7. Who helped you get you to where you needed to go?
8. What was the result? 

This is a reflection exercise; you’re not gonna put this on your CV. But it’ll help you tell your story in the interview in a much more condensed form. 

Once you have your story straight, let’s get your application documents dialed in. 

Step 3: Optimize your CV and LinkedIn

Recruiters (internal and external) receive so many CVs that they usually don’t spend more than a minute reading them. Which means that the overall objective of your CV (and, to some extent, your LinkedIn) should be to convey the most important information in ~30 seconds. 

On the CV: 

This means:

• A clear layout (professional experiences first, education second unless you’re fresh out of university)
• Font size no smaller than 10 
• Bullets, not text 
• Outline hard facts that need to be matched for a position (eg. Location / willingness to relocate, languages)

What helps is writing a concise 3-4 sentence summary.

Please write it like you’d say it (eg. do not refer to yourself as a “analytics-driven, strategic professional”). 

LinkedIn: 

• Use your backstory from step 2 to write a detailed “About” section. This helps. Consider including an email address so that hiring managers can email you. 
• List all your positions, with bullets showing what you’ve achieved (and not what you’ve done, hiring managers care about results, not activities) 
• Get a professionally shot photo (costs like 30€), and add a banner to your profile that tells the visitor a bit more about yourself 
• Write a concise one-liner (if you have worked at name-brand companies, consider using a format like "WHU | McKinsey | Personio"; otherwise, write a one-liner that helps explain what you do, which would be my preference) 
• If you have any cool extracurriculars or achievements (eg. a high GMAT score), feature this as well
• Optional: ask 2-3 friends for recommendations 

Your CV and your LinkedIn are your digital landing pages. Make sure they do exactly what they need to do, and that is: to get an interview. 

But we’re not quite there yet.

Step 4: Build your systems 

I see a lot of candidates drop the ball on some of their processes (which is where recruiters can be helpful). Keep track of all your open opportunities in a lightweight CRM (can be set up in Notion or Trello). The structure I’d recommend:

• To apply
• Application sent
• First Interview
• Second Interview
• Case Study 
• Work trial
• Offer 

Not all recruiting processes are the same, but this structure should cover the majority of them. 

Next, keep a to-do list to schedule your activities.

For instance: when you don’t hear back from a company after your first interview within 2-3 days, you should definitely follow-up.

Professional processes give you feedback within a few days; if that happens, sending a follow-up shows that you’re a professional and gives you another chance to show off your sales prowess. 

Step 5: Fill your CRM 

Now you’re set up. In the next step, start searching for jobs. 

• Set search filters on LinkedIn (eg. “Founder’s Associate” in Berlin, published within the last week)
• Review the daily emails from LinkedIn you receive with new opportunities 
• Add programs like Generalyst or Jumpstart (if based in the UK)
• Use job portals and aggregators 

Once you have ten opportunities to apply to in your CRM, it’s time to get after it.

Step 6: Write your cover letter blocks

Some applications still require a cover letter. Not sure why. Anyway – start by writing out three blocks: 

1. Introducing yourself and telling your story
2. Your impressive achievements 
3. Results that companies have had with you in the past (= “what was life like before vs. after hiring you") 

That way, you only have to write one specific block for the application, while tailoring the other ones only slightly. All without AI. 

Side note: when writing with AI, you get buzzwordy text that sounds good and is completely devoid of content in character. Put in the effort and write it yourself – the people who read your CV can smell this from a mile away, and it’s definitely not a plus. 

Also, if you’re applying to smaller companies, actual people WILL read your application. Companies usually don’t implement professional Applicant Tracking Systems with AI Resumé screening until much later. 

Step 7: Start applying

And now, you’re ready. 

Start applying to the jobs you’ve listed. For each: 

1. Adjust the cover letter 
2. Adjust your CV to highlight requirements from the job description
3. If any other questions are asked, make sure to keep a document with the answers you’ve written so you can repurpose them later 
4. Send your application via the way specified in the application form. 
5. Set a reminder to follow-up 3 days later. 

Volume negates luck.

This doesn’t mean that you should just apply to everything and anything – just like you shouldn’t do reach out to every person in your TAM in sales. But when you submit 5-10 thoughtful, well researched applications per day with dialed-in materials, you will eventually get an interview. 

Following this process won’t guarantee a new job. There are so many more things you can do, and just because you get an interview doesn’t mean you’ll get the job. 

But it’s a good start: most people fail to even get an interview, and if you follow these steps (and your profile fits the job), I'm convinced you will at least get a few first interviews.  

But wait ... there's more: I'm considering launching a new program.

The job hunt can be lonely – nobody is doing it with you.

It’s easy to lose faith, get the basics wrong, and miss out on the opportunity that you’ve always been after. Your next job is the most trajectory-defining decision you can make – getting a spot on a rocket ship can change your life. 

As the founder of two recruiting agencies, I’ve seen thousands of CVs, job interviews, and application processes. I’ve also hired >100 people throughout my career. 

And now, I’m considering opening up a cohort-based, 4-week long job hunt accelerator for people currently looking to find a job. It’ll run for four weeks: 

• Week 1 – Setup phase: I’ll work with you through the steps detailed above, including custom feedback on CV, LinkedIn, and 1:1 calls to help you figure out what you want
• Week 2 – Acceleration phase: together, we’ll identify job opportunities that work for you and submit the first application
• Week 3 – Interview phase: you’ll get your first interview, and I’ll help you prepare for it
• Week 4 – Case Study phase: we do a few “test” case studies and review the results together 

The accelerator comes with: 

• Direct access to the Generalyst team via Slack/WhatsApp
• Templates, Videos, and guidelines for the job hunt
• Insights on salaries, compensation, and negotiation strategies (has gained one candidate 12k € in the past) 
• Monitoring of all your application processes 
• A case study database 
• Unlimited access to Personal Productivity OS 

Want to take your job hunt to the next level? The first cohort will be limited to 5 spots. The earlier you sign up, the higher the chances of getting in. 🤝 

And if you want to do it yourself, worry not – you can just use the frameworks provided in this newsletter. My goal is to give you as much value as possible here. 

Let’s get after it this week. 

LFG.

Dominik

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Whenever you're ready, there are four ways I can help you:

[1] Reclaim up to 4 hours per day and find time to do the things you've always wanted to do by enrolling into Personal Productivity OS.

[2] Hire your next Founder's Associate or other business generalist position with my startup, Generalyst Recruiting.

[3] You could also find your next startup job in Europe by simply applying as a candidate.

[4] Learn how you can build your career as a generalist by subscribing to this newsletter. ⬇️