Stop Guessing, Get Hired: Your 2026 Job Search Plan

Tammy Wiegand (00:12):

All right. Hi, and thank you for joining us. We’re going to give it just another minute or two for people to get logged on. So Lori, as we are waiting for people to get logged in, what piece of advice for 2026 would you give people?

Lori Cole (00:32):

Ooh, that’s a good one. I guess my best piece of advice would be try to figure out how you are going to stand out as a candidate for the role that you’re looking for over all the other candidates that are applying. You’ve probably noticed that the job market has changed a lot in the last couple of years. During COVID, it was a candidate’s market. You could go anywhere. There was the great resignation. There were so many people moving around. And now people are more job hugging and they are sticking with the jobs that they have. So there aren’t as many opportunities out there. So when you find an opportunity that you’re really excited about, I would say make sure that you understand how you are going to stand out over all the other candidates that will be applying to those opportunities. We don’t expect the job market to change drastically this year.

(01:44):

We don’t expect a lot of hiring, but we don’t expect it to go the other direction either. So just figure out how you’re going to stand out.

Tammy Wiegand (01:54):

Excellent advice. All right. With that, let’s get started. Hello, everyone. Thanks for being here today and happy 2026. My name is Tammy Wiegand and I’m iHire’s sales enablement and operations manager. I want to offer you a warm welcome to this session, Stop Guessing, Get Hired: Your 2026 Job Search Plan. Before we get started, I’d like to point out some features on our webinar platform that put you in the driver’s seat. The widgets allow you to move and resize windows and explore content related to today’s presentation. Find the Ask a Question widget and submit your questions at any time during the presentation. Only our producers will see the questions and will answer as many as we can after the webinar. Lastly, keep an eye on your inbox for recording of this webinar. And with that, I’d like to welcome today’s presenter, Lori Cole. Lori Cole is a certified career coach and advisor, brand ambassador for iHire and content creator with over 20 years of experience in staffing and recruiting in the online world.

(03:01):

She’s always looking for ways to make life easier for iHire’s job seekers. Welcome, Lori.

Lori Cole (03:06):

Thank you so much for having me. It’s a little bit different being in this side of the seat instead of your side of the seat.

Tammy Wiegand (03:14):

I hope I live up to your expectations on this side, Lori.

Lori Cole (03:17):

Oh, you do a fantastic job, so thank you.

Tammy Wiegand (03:21):

Oh, thanks for being here. All right. Let’s kick things off with a quick poll. What is the most challenging aspect of your job search right now? Is it finding jobs that match your skills, creating resumes and cover letters, preparing for interviews, negotiating salaries, building and maintaining a strong professional network, or staying ahead of industry trends and changes? So as you are filling out your answer, I’ll walk you through the key takeaways to expect on today’s webinar. We know searching for a job is stressful. Sometimes the hardest part is just getting started. We’ll show you that by breaking down your job search into easy and doable steps, you’ll become less overwhelmed and more confident in finding your next great opportunity. Here’s what we’ll discuss, setting yourself up for job search success, clarifying your career goals and objectives, writing or updating your resume and cover letter, strengthening your personal brand, elevating your online presence, improving your interview skills, preparing for salary negotiations, and future-proofing your career for whatever comes your way.

(04:36):

Okay. Here are the poll results. It’s not surprising that preparing for interviews and creating resumes or getting some votes in the poll. Are you surprised, Lori?

Lori Cole (04:48):

No. I know that those are challenging aspects, but really the creating resumes and cover letters now is so much easier with AI. So that’s another thing I should probably add to my ... My advice is get on board with AI. You’ve got to be on board with AI this year if you’re looking for a job.

Tammy Wiegand (05:13):

Absolutely. Well, no matter what your challenges are, you’re in the right place because we’re going to help you find your next job. So with that, let’s get started. Lori, how do we set ourselves up for success in our job search?

Lori Cole (05:28):

Well, before you do anything, you need to get super organized. Set up a space in your home. It can be a home office, but it has to be a space dedicated to your job search. You don’t want to be doing other things in that area. You’re just going to feel a lot more focused and on task when you are not sitting at the kitchen table. Also, there are coworking spaces that are available in a lot of areas now. And just being away from the distractions at home is key for a lot of people to be able to focus.

(06:07):

Make sure that you’re setting up a new email address for your job search. You’re going to get a ton of messages and you want to keep things as organized as possible and you don’t want those new messages mixing in your old email box with all the old spam and the things that you get in that email box. Also, when you’re setting up that new email address, make sure that your new address looks professional. Skip anything like partyanimal@yahoo or pinkunicorn@gmail. Also avoid putting anything in that email address that would date yourself, like your graduation date or your age, or anything like that. Also, check your voicemail greeting. Make sure that it’s friendly. Just a simple message works best like, “Hey, hi, not hey. Hi, you’ve reached the voicemail of Lori Cole. Make sure that you leave a quick message and I’ll get back with you soon.

(07:15):

Thank you so much.” If you need help creating that script, use ChatGPT because you want it to sound professional, you don’t want it to sound too casual. That’s why I changed it from hey to hi. And you just want to make sure that you’re saying the right things, but being concise about it. Also, keep your iHire profile up to date and double check all of your iMatch settings so that you can get the best jobs from us. Make sure that you pick all your skills, your job titles, your location, and let us know if you’re open to remote or hybrid or part-time or full-time work. You can also let us know if you want freelance or contract type of work. We’ll have all those things available for you. Don’t forget to check out all of iHire’s 57 industry focused sites because you never know when your next great opportunity might pop up and you can register on multiple sites with us.

(08:22):

One email address, one registration gets you on all of our sites, and that includes iHire.com because you can search for through all of the jobs on all 57 sites on the ihire.com URL. Finally, set up a job search schedule and make some realistic goals to keep yourself on track. For example, you can aim for a couple of applications a day, five follow-up calls a week, or maybe shoot for one networking event per month. These are called smart goals because they’re specific, they’re measurable, they’re achievable, and they’re realistic and time bound. If you miss a goal, don’t stress out about it, but do try to make it up because the more that you can stay on track with your job search, the more momentum you’re going to build up. And the people that have that momentum going are the ones that’ll have three offers to choose from at the end.

(09:30):

So just make sure that you keep going and going until those offers start to roll in.

Tammy Wiegand (09:37):

These are fantastic reminders, Lori. Also, I can’t remember the last time I listened to my own voicemail. So that’s something that’s really important to make sure that is professional.

Lori Cole (09:50):

Yes.

Tammy Wiegand (09:52):

All right. So if someone isn’t sure about what type of jobs to apply for, what steps should they be taking?

Lori Cole (10:00):

Well, a really important step is to have career clarity, a clear career objective. You want to be clear on what you want to do when you grow up, because I coach a lot of people and still people in their 40s and 50s are not clear about what they want to do when they grow up. They’ve been at maybe one job for a little while. They’ve decided that that’s not for them. They want to move in a different direction, but they’re not really sure what the next move is. So if you’re not sure about your next move, you can use our career clarity worksheet and you have a resource widget on your screen. It should be in that resource widget and we’re going to point you towards that. There’s a lot of great things that you can download in there or link to. If you’re a premium member, you can also chat with one of our iHire career advisors.

(10:58):

We have, I think, 15 career advisors throughout the company, and that’s what we’re here for. So get onto your dashboard, set up an appointment with one of us, and we can help kind of guide you through what those next steps should be. Another great tool is to take some free online career assessments to find out which roles and industries could be a good fit for you. iHire also has a career explorer tool, and this again is for premium members. It’s a really great resource for finding what skills might be good transferable skills to other industries.

(11:41):

ChatGPT is also a great option for brainstorming career ideas and creating those career paths. There’s also tools like Gemini, that’s in Google, and then Microsoft has Copilot, Bing has Bing Chat. There are so many things that are just baked into the programs that you’re already using. So make sure that you’re taking advantage of those. If you’re not familiar with these, you got to make a resolution to go out and start today because you have to become familiar with how AI works and it will blow your mind. If you’ve not used it before, you’ll just be so amazed. You’re going to love it. You can also complete a SWAT analysis, and that is a strengths, weakness, opportunity, and threat analysis. And that will help you to identify your unique strengths and trending skills in your industry. We have a SWAT analysis worksheet in that resource widget, so make sure you go take a look at that.

(12:54):

If you’re interested in a variety of roles, that’s great, but we want to make sure that you have a tailored resume and cover letter for each job strategy or each type of position or industry that you are looking at. And we’ll talk a little bit more about that on the next slide.

Tammy Wiegand (13:16):

Absolutely. That is probably one of the most common questions I get on the candidate calls is how to change those resumes and make them specific for that position.

Lori Cole (13:29):

Yes. And with the tools like we have at IHIRE, this resume builder, really it is ... Usually building your resume was the hardest part of your job search because you just really didn’t even know where to start. Now we’ve got this tool, it’s our resume builder, we have a cover letter builder. And if you’re starting from scratch, you can just put all of your information in this resume builder and it takes you through the process step by step. It builds a profile for you. And then from the information in that profile, it will generate a resume, and I’m not kidding, in a heartbeat. It generates it so fast. You still have to work through the resume builder wizard and you still have to answer a few of the questions, but once it’s to the end and you’ve chosen a template, again, you’ll be amazed at what pops out the other end.

Tammy Wiegand (14:35):

Yeah. It’s absolutely amazing. So save so much time.

Lori Cole (14:38):

Yeah. If you already have a resume, let’s make sure that it’s up to date. Make sure you’re verifying all your contact information, make sure it’s accurate. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve coached and we’re looking at a resume and they’re like, “Oh my goodness, that’s my old contact information. I haven’t changed it. And I’ve been sending this out for three weeks.” So you just want to make sure that that looks good. Also, update it with all of your new jobs, any certifications, any skills that you’ve gained. This is where the career clarity really comes into play. We want to make sure that you know exactly in your resume summary where you’re headed on each particular resume. Also review your career history, add any new roles, remove any positions that are more than 15 years old. Also, be sure to update your LinkedIn profile.

(15:42):

So it closely matches your resume, but you don’t want it to be an exact copy of your resume. LinkedIn is a lot more casual as far as job searching goes. So you want it to mimic your resume. You want it to have all of the same dates and employers on it, but you don’t want to copy and paste your exact resume into LinkedIn. Make sure you’re adding any new degrees, any new certifications you have or classes that you’ve completed. A lot of places are now offering micro credentials, so make sure that you include any of those classes that you take. Okay. We’ve talked about the resume builder. Let’s talk about the cover letter builder. You want to make sure that you have a unique cover letter for every job too. And we’ve got this cover letter builder. Again, it’s a magical piece of software where you just answer a few questions and it gives you a phenomenal cover letter.

(16:48):

So it just saves you a lot of time. Make sure that you understand a big piece of advice.

(16:58):

One resume size does not fit all. You want to make sure that you are tailoring those resumes and those cover letters for each job. That’s really where you’re going to get the biggest bang for your buck. You could go out and scatter a hundred resumes over different jobs, but the people that I find who are most successful in their search are the ones that are taking the time to tailor that resume and that cover letter to make sure that they’re showcasing themselves and their skills to that potential employer. Last thing on this slide also, don’t forget to create a reference page. You won’t supply this quite yet. You won’t supply it until the point where the employer is asking for it, but it’s a great idea to have one ready. And it’s also a good prompt for you to make sure that you have contacted all those potential references to let them know you’re in the job market and just give them a heads up.

Tammy Wiegand (18:04):

Excellent. Yeah. I know creating a resume used to be such a daunting task, but it’s so much easier now with AI. Yes. So Lori, do employees really search your social media?

Lori Cole (18:19):

Yes. And employers do search your social media. That’s something that you have to be on high alert for. I can guarantee you if you’re in the job search, your social media will be under scrutiny at some point. A really good exercise once you are off this webinar is to go out and Google yourself and try to figure out what comes up and see what’s out there. You can try to delete anything that you think could hurt your job search. Now, I’m talking about on platforms like the more personal social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X or Twitter. Make sure that you have those locked down. Make sure that you put those on private so potential employers can’t see those, but the one that you really do want to work on is your LinkedIn profile. You want to just live on LinkedIn and make sure that you’ve got everything up to date, that you have a good profile picture, that you are putting positive comments out there, that you’re joining groups, that you are maybe creating some blogs so that you really have control about what employers are seeing about you online.

(19:48):

Create an updated LinkedIn profile. We’ve already kind of covered that. Networking on LinkedIn, most people still find a job through networking. If you think back through a lot of the jobs that you’ve had, I know when I think back online, a lot of my jobs came from networking. So it’s very important for you to be out there. It’s important for people to understand that you are looking for a job. So make sure that you’re making the most of that LinkedIn experience. Also, pay attention to that headshot that’s on LinkedIn and make sure that it’s up to date. We once interviewed a gentleman that his LinkedIn profile really didn’t represent who he was as of right now. It was extremely outdated by 20 plus years. And so when he came in for the interview, it was a little bit of a shock because it’s like, “Is this the guy that we called in?”

(20:59):

We weren’t really sure. But he ended up being a great employee for us, but it’s really worth your time to get a new LinkedIn picture up there. It doesn’t take a professional headshot. You can go out with your smartphone, take some pictures outside, take some pictures downtown, get into a professional office environment and take some pictures, but it should be just you alone, no pets, no family members, no using a shot that was from a wedding where you’re cutting yourself out from the shot. It doesn’t take much to do that headshot. So I would really recommend spending that time and doing it.

Tammy Wiegand (21:44):

Nice. Also, AI right now is phenomenal at updating photos. So you can do it yourself or there are companies out there now that will take a current casual photo from you and update it into a professional photo with AI, put you in a blazer or something professional. It’s really quite impressive what they can do.

Lori Cole (22:06):

Yes. I’ve used those before and it is super impressive.

Tammy Wiegand (22:11):

Absolutely. So elevating your personal brand. Lori, why do job seekers need a strong personal brand?

Lori Cole (22:19):

Well, it is the representation of who you are. It’s your reputation. It’s how you present yourself to the world. It’s how others perceive you professionally. Sorry about that. Turn that phone off. That’s an important thing for you to do during an interview is to turn that phone off. I thought I had it off. Sorry about that. So think of it as your unique selling points, what you stand for and the value that you bring to the workplace. A strong professional brand highlights your key qualities, your skills and your motivations. And it gives hiring managers and recruiters a clear picture of who you are as a professional. As a job seeker, you need to be prepared with a strong personal branding statement and an elevator pitch because you’re going to use these during an interview and at your networking events. And I recommend writing them out and just practice, practice, practice.

(23:31):

You want these things to come off naturally. You don’t want to sound robotic. This is a great use of the AI. You can put your resume into the AI, ask it to write a personal branding statement, ask it to write an elevator pitch, but then just make sure that you’re editing it so it’s accurate and it sounds like you. There’s an example here for a prompt that you can use with AI. I’m not going to read it. You can go ahead and do that when we send you a copy of this recording tomorrow, but this is a great prompt to use to get you started. Then you can use these things to incorporate them into your resume summary, incorporate them into your LinkedIn profile. And that’s just another great use of the AI tools. Another thing that you consider, you can consider if your job kind of leans towards this, is creating a professional website or portfolio.

(24:46):

I know a lot of designers will have these online portfolios that will show who they are, what they’ve done, some of their advertising or marketing work. It’s a really great idea to have those. And I know that there are platforms out there where you can do that. And iHire soon, you’re going to be able to do that in the iHire platform. And it will just show that you are a tech savvy person and a real person, which is funny because a lot of employers now are getting fake AI people advertising for their jobs. So anything that you can do that shows that you’re a real person and encourages that employer to reach out to you is a good thing.

Tammy Wiegand (25:38):

Excellent. Yeah. You’ve mentioned AI so often. It’s just a great place to start with any barriers you’re experiencing or just a simple question that you need some additional guidance on. It’s just a great tool. So taking your interview skills to the next level, Lori, do you think people spend enough time prepping for an interview?

Lori Cole (26:04):

Some people do, but I can certainly tell you the ones that don’t. You can spot them in the first five minutes of the interview. Usually it’s when you ask them the question, “How do you know about us? Or are you aware of what we do here?” The people that have not prepared will give you that deer in the headlights look and they will not be able to tell you what the company does. So you want to be able to nail that because that will set the tone for the rest of your interview. Most of us don’t interview often enough to keep our interviewing skills sharp. So let’s break down some of the dos and don’ts so that you can really do a stellar job on your next interview. Always make sure that you research and prepare. Learn as much about the company as you can, learn as much about the position, and the people who are interviewing you.

(27:07):

That will really impress them by showing what you’ve done to prepare for this interview and that you’ve really done your homework. Practice answering common interview questions, the tough ones like, “Tell me about yourself. What’s your greatest weakness?” You can do this with a friend or a family member, or you can even involve AI to help you work through this. Google has a great tool called the interview warmup tool. It’s free to ... And I really can’t recommend it enough. I really recommend that you check it out. Make a list of questions you’d like to ask your interviewer. This is another above and beyond thing that you can do. I would make a list of 10 questions. And not that you’re going to ask all 10, you’re probably going to end up only asking three, but during the course of the interview, they might answer some of those questions that are already on your 10 question list, so you won’t have to ask those again.

(28:19):

So if you have those interview questions, that’s a really great thing to prepare for. One of the things that I like when people ask me a question at the end of the interview is, “Why do you like working at iHire?” And when you ask someone that question, you really get a chance to see them light up about their job, the company, what they like about working there. So it gives you a moment to connect with them. I think more on a human basis, like more, “Tell me about why I want to work here.” This is a great thing to hear. Also, be ready for different types of interviews. You’ve got phone screens, virtual or video interviews, in person, or group interviews. Also, keep in mind, there’s still a lot of remote opportunities out there, so you may be exclusively interacting with these potential employers online.

(29:29):

When we’re talking about video interviews, make sure that you are addressing professionally, make sure that you have reliable wifi, set up a professional background, and make sure you know how to use that video meeting software. They might be using Zoom, they might be using Teams, but just make sure that you have that downloaded and you’re not trying to do that two minutes before the interview starts. And the This is super important. Be sure that you are following up with a thank you note. A thank you email at the very minimum, a handwritten thank you note is what I would prefer to see. I think I can still remember getting handwritten thank you notes from candidates after they’ve interviewed and it does make an impression and it is one of those things that can set you apart from the other candidates. Yeah, this is really key to standing out with the decision makers.

Tammy Wiegand (30:36):

Absolutely. This really circles back to the first question at the very beginning about 2026 and what you can do to stand apart. You spend so much time and energy getting to the interview stage. Yes. You need to practice just that’s your one chance to make that first impression.

Lori Cole (30:56):

Absolutely.

Tammy Wiegand (30:58):

All right. Negotiating the salary. So we did our interview. We received an offer. Now we’re ready to negotiate the salary. Lori, is it true that over half of candidates don’t even try to negotiate the first offer?

Lori Cole (31:12):

Yes. And it’s unbelievable, but 55% of candidates accept that first offer. And even though 73% of employers say that they expect candidates to negotiate. So a good negotiation begins with you. It begins with your research. You have to know the market rate for the position and the location. iHire has a really great salary research tool and you can use that to look up salaries in different areas because you’ll be surprised it makes a difference whether you’re looking more in a metropolitan area or a rural area. Also, you can look at job ads that you’re seeing and you can get a feel for what the salaries might be for the similar job ads that you’re seeing. Always go into that negotiation knowing a salary range that you would accept. We don’t recommend that you just say one number like $60,000. I would say a salary range of between 55 and $65,000.

(32:31):

That gives you some wiggle room. That gives the employer some wiggle room. And it’s just the right thing to do. Also, oh, another key point here. You really don’t want to be the first one to say a number if you don’t have to be. You want to throw that back into the employer’s court. And if they ask you, “What kind of a salary are you looking for?” You can say, “Oh, good. I was hoping we’d talk about this. What kind of a range do you have for this position?” And so that can be just done so smoothly and easily and just pickleball that back into their court so that they may have to answer that question. And then you can name your range based on that.

(33:24):

Also, consider the total compensation of the job. You don’t want to just look at salary alone. You want to look at the benefits and the perks and everything that comes along with that salary. Because one company might be offering extreme PTO and flexibility over another company that’s offering a higher salary. So you just have to figure out what’s important to you, what’s going to make your life the very best it can be, and then choose the job based on that. Also, make a list of the benefits and perks that matter to you most. You can use AI for this too. If you have these two or three job offers at the end, like we talked about at the beginning of the webinar, if you’re fortunate enough to be juggling a few job offers, put them all into AI. And you want all those job offers in writing.

(34:28):

I know a lot of people are very quick to accept a job offer that has just been given verbally, but you really want to wait for that to come in writing so that you can have the time to analyze it and you know exactly what you’re going to be getting. If you get these job offers and you’ve put them through AI and you’ve said, “Oh, I think I really want this one job,” but if they could come up on salary a little bit, if they could come up on PTO a little bit, that would be really great for me. You can go ahead and counter offer. Don’t be afraid to do that because 85% of candidates who make a counteroffer get at least some of what they were asking for. And as long as you do it respectfully and strategically, chances are you’re going to get some of what you’re asking for.

Tammy Wiegand (35:32):

Excellent. All right. So continuing to future proof your career. So we have one more tip for you that’ll be especially important in the new year, future proofing your career.

Lori Cole (35:46):

Things are changing very fast in many industries. And staying ahead of that and staying marketable is really key to your job search. One of the things that you can do is embrace lifelong learning. You have to stay curious and committed to continuous growth through online courses, workshops and recertifications. I talked about those micro credentials earlier. You can put those on your resume and show potential employers that you are a learner. You can use resources like iHire. We have a whole learning center area of the website. You can use LinkedIn learning. You can use Coursera or Udemy for very quick and flexible lessons. Some of these are free. Some of them you have to pay a little bit of money to actually get the printed certificate, but even 15 minutes a day, focusing on something new that you want to learn can make a huge difference for you.

(36:57):

Make sure that you’re keeping up with tech. Here is that AI topic again. One of the ways that you’re going to stay ahead of everybody else is making sure that you understand how AI is affecting the types of jobs you’re looking for. Even if your job isn’t all about tech, knowing a little bit about AI, your data tools, project management software can really make a huge difference and make you stand out. Make sure that you are building strong and flexible skills. Your soft skills really count. So being adaptable, communicating well and showing emotional intelligence really helps to make you stand out no matter what role you’re going after. You can also mix this up with your technical know- how and with your people skills. For instance, if you are a data analyst, but you’re really good at telling stories, sometimes you can really make the data analytics pop with your insights and grab more attention if you can present them in that storytelling way.

(38:16):

Make sure you’re investing in your wellbeing. Take care of yourself. We don’t want you to burn out. We want you to experience that work-life balance that is so important and that everyone talks about, and we want you to look after your mental health. Make sure that you’re building resilience with good work habits like mindfulness and goal setting. And keep inspired by connecting with people and things that motivate you.

(38:53):

Another thing that you can do ... Well, this is the recap before we hit our Q&A. So let’s just go through this really quick. The first thing you need to do to get started is to organize your job search. Make sure that you are updating your iHire profile and that you’re setting those smart goals. Make sure you’re setting a target. You can use tools like iHire’s career clarity worksheet and AI to narrow your focus, but career clarity is so super important. The resume and cover letter builder. Use those AI tools. Use the tools that AI ... I’m sorry, use those tools that iHire already has AI baked into for you that will just make starting this job search so much easier. Make sure that you’re leveraging those networking connections. Get into LinkedIn. Join some industry specific groups. And make sure that you are just letting people know that you are open to work and you’re using as many of your LinkedIn and networking connections as you can.

(40:10):

To ace your interviews, the keyword is research. You have to know what the research is for your market. You have to know what your salary range is for that market and location. Prepare your answers for your interviews and just practice, practice, practice as much as you can. And then to make sure that you’re earning what you’re worth. Secure your salary and benefits you deserve with confidence because you’ve done all of that research. You are walking in knowing exactly what you’re worth and always be learning. Lean into the tech, build a resilient skillset and make sure that you’re taking care of yourself during your job search because I know it can be a very stressful time for people.

Tammy Wiegand (41:02):

Excellent. Thank you, Lori, for all of that great information. It looks like we have quite a few questions coming in, so let’s get started with some Q&A. The first question, how long should my job search realistically take in today’s market?

Lori Cole (41:23):

Well, I’m going to say that that depends. It depends on you primarily. What kind of a job are you going after? What is the job market like in your area? How many resumes and cover letters are you tailoring and sending out? And I’m not talking about just shotgun approaching, trying to apply for 50 jobs a week. I’m talking about, are you really taking your time? Are you tailoring those cover letters? Tailoring those resumes to make sure that you have the best shot of getting an interview. Because it’s all about getting through that applicant tracking system with the keywords that are on your resume first. That’s the first thing you need to worry about. And then you can start thinking about all of your interviewing and interviewing skills and things like that. So I’m going to say that that depends. It really does depend on you.

Tammy Wiegand (42:26):

Definitely. All right. Second question. How many jobs should I be applying to each week to stay competitive without burning out?

Lori Cole (42:39):

Again, I think that that depends on the individual. You might get very frustrated if you are in a very niche type of a job that you’re looking for and they’re just not available out there. Especially if you’re trying to find something in person and you’re looking within a 40 or 50 mile radius and there’s just not that much out there. The best thing that you can do in that situation, if you’re looking to work in person at a job, is to just keep looking at the job alerts that are coming through. Make sure that those job alerts are really focused into what you’re looking for. And then also maybe start thinking about, what else could I do? Maybe if there’s not enough jobs in this particular segment, maybe I can start focusing on a potential other career path. So I think that that’s what you can do to really set yourself apart.

Tammy Wiegand (43:45):

Excellent. This one is a very common question that I get on career advisor calls. So I think it’s going to resonate with a lot of the audience. How should I handle gaps in my employment during interviews?

Lori Cole (44:02):

Okay. So it depends on what you’re talking about when you say gap. It used to be on resumes that you would put your month and year that you started a job and ended a job. Now you only have to put the year. So let’s say you started in 2020 and you left your job in 2025, so that you’re just going to say 2020 to 2025. And that can really help cover some of the gaps. Now, if you’re talking about a major gap, if you’re talking about a year or more, you’ll want to address that in your cover letter. You’ll want to explain why you were out of work. A lot of times those major gaps are because of health issues, family health issues. You’ve stayed home with a child. You’ve had to help a parent. So when you start talking about those kind of gaps, you’ll want to handle that in a cover letter.

(45:13):

But if you just have a six month gap or something like that between jobs, those aren’t as noticeable anymore. And I don’t think you’re going to get asked about them.

Tammy Wiegand (45:26):

Great advice. All right. We have time for one more question. What are two to three AI tools that you recommend starting with when job searching?

Lori Cole (45:39):

Oh, okay. They’re all so different and they do ... They’re different and they’re the same. I have probably five or six tools that I use every day because each one of them I found does something a little bit better than the other ones. So I use ChatGPT. That is an excellent tool. I use Gemini or Google Gemini. Google has a new Gemini, like a Chrome extension that will look at your screen. So now you can have this assistant that’s looking at your screen with you and you can ask it questions. So you can ask it, how does this design look? Or could you summarize this webpage? I know a lot of them will do it, but it can do things for you. And it’s like having somebody looking over your shoulder. So I’m really liking Gemini. I use Claude all of the time. I use Claude primarily for writing.

(46:54):

I really like the way that Claude writes things for me. Gosh, I use Microsoft Copilot with my email. I use Perplexity. That’s a great search tool. Something I haven’t used quite yet. Atlas is a new browser by ChatGPT. You can use that. But if you’re just getting started, I think the most user-friendly ones will be ChatGPT and Google Gemini.

Tammy Wiegand (47:29):

Excellent. All right, everyone. That’s all the time we have left for today. We appreciate everyone who submitted their questions and took time out of their busy days to prepare for a successful job search. And another thank you to our presenter, Lori Cole. Thank you, Lori.

Lori Cole (47:49):

Thank you.

Tammy Wiegand (47:50):

Keep an eye on your inbox for an on-demand recording of today’s webinar, as well as an invitation to our next webinar in a few weeks. I hope you all have a great rest of your day and thank you for joining us.

Lori Cole (48:03):

Thank you.