Weekly job search strategy, data-driven reality checks, must-have skills, and the kind of advice you text your friend at 11pm. Let’s go.

If you’ve been applying, networking, following up… and still getting silence, it’s exhausting. And it’s very easy to make it mean you’re not qualified.

One signal I’m watching right now: recruiters I know are posting more roles again — especially at the Senior Manager → Director level. That doesn’t mean the market is suddenly easy, but it does mean the gears are moving again in pockets that were quiet.

Also: job searching is emotional. We don’t know how much resilience we have until we need it, and this process will ask for more of it than feels reasonable. You can be wildly qualified and still get silence. You can do everything “right” and still hit delays, freezes, and decisions that have nothing to do with you. If you’re tired, frustrated, or questioning yourself more than usual, you’re not alone and you’re not broken. The process is inconsistent. That’s different.

When posted roles start picking up, the unposted market usually picks up too: recruiter outreach, search firm pipelines, referrals, and backchannel intros (aka: roles that get filled before they ever become a LinkedIn link).

So if you’ve been pushing hard and getting nowhere, don’t just push harder. Reset your approach so it actually produces traction.

Open ChatGPT and ask:

“Give me 50 search firms that recruit for [MY FUNCTION] at the Senior Manager–Director level in [MY CITY] and nationally. Include links and the best outreach email format.”

Then pick 10 and do the simple, unglamorous work:

Your LinkedIn headline is not a biography. It’s a positioning statement.

Use this formula:

Target role title + 3 skills that match the role + one human detail.

Not “Open to Work.” Not a paragraph. A signal.

(And don’t use my headline as an example — I’m not looking for a job! 🤣 But if it inspires you, go for it.)

Bonus power move: Download your LinkedIn profile as a PDF and read it like a stranger. That’s close to what recruiters experience. If it reads generic, long, or vague, tighten it.

If you’re not getting interviews, stop asking, “What’s wrong with me?”

Start asking, “What is my résumé/LinkedIn making unclear?”

That question will save your confidence and improve your results.

Hit reply and tell me:

I’ll tell you what I’d fix first, quickly and directly.

Thanks for reading!

Kate Wade, Get Her Hired

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