In This Issue

1. An Anniversary Sale

2. Recovering From Bad Interviews

3. Q+A - September Surge

4. Hiring Behind the Scenes Podcast Appearance

Happy Anniversary to Me (and You)

Today is 6 months since I posted my first TikTok video. My life has changed so much in those 6 months, and I certainly never expected what would come after.

Over 80K followers between TikTok and Instagram, a newsletter, interviews in publications like NewsWeek, The Mirror, Harvard Business Review, and more - with a few more coming soon, as well as a few podcast appearances- find my latest appearance at the end of the newsletter.

In celebration I am both hosting a TikTok live party tonight that will be full of some of my favorite content creators, starting at 8:15 PM CST, and holding a 1 day sale on all of my coaching sessions.

This is not one of those sales tactics people use, I’ve never held a sale before, and don’t believe in the 1 day only expiring prices that always exist. This is just an occasion for today.

Click here to check out my offerings and discounted prices that are only available today. 

As always, I will continue to offer as much free and valuable content as I have always provided for the next 6 months and beyond!

Bouncing Back from Bad Interviews

You may have seen this video of mine, recently where I did not like the way a job interview was going and let the interviewer know the line of questioning was not what I expected.

I’m not here to discuss this video or this interview, or to defend if I should or should not have said anything (though I believe I did the right thing, I do understand without context it can be hard to know exactly what happened and make your own assumptions). However, I do get asked a lot about recovering from bad job interviews, so let’s talk about some things that are key to do when it does happen.

1. Embrace the Emotions of Job Searching

If you’ve followed me for any amount of time, you know I feel strongly that toxic positivity has no place in our lives, especially our job search.

I will never sugarcoat the struggles or pretend it is all ok. You are allowed to feel down after a rough interview. Denying ourselves the right to feel upset simply pushes the emotions down, it does not help them.

Instead of plastering on a fake smile, give yourself permission to feel your emotions. Allow yourself to process the disappointment, frustration, or whatever else you're experiencing. Just remember, those feelings don't define you or your potential. Let yourself get knocked down, and then when you’re ready - not when someone else tells you to- get back up.

2. Take Feedback With a Grain of Salt

My opinion differs from a lot of job seekers and recruiters here, but I just don’t find feedback to be that valuable. If I get some after a rejection I’ll listen, but if I don’t get it, I don’t bother seeking it out.

I get asked a lot about how to get feedback from companies, and I often say don’t bother. A manager who didn’t hire you is just a person with an opinion about what is best for their team. Feedback can be as diverse as people themselves. Sometimes it's insightful, sometimes it's personal opinion, and sometimes it's just a bit off the mark.

It's important to recognize that feedback isn't a one-size-fits-all solution. Don't be afraid to set it aside. You're not here to change who you are based on someone else's perception, and more than likely you’ll disagree with it anyway.

There is no need to reinvent the wheel just because you didn’t get this job.

3. Find Your Mistakes and Learn From Them

Let’s say you really were caught unprepared for the interview. Maybe in this case it wasn’t just a personal opinion or the wrong job, and you just didn’t perform like you know you could have.

Instead of dwelling on the what-if, shift your focus to the what-can-I-learns. Ask yourself where you felt unprepared—was it a particular question, a technical skill, or maybe even understanding the company's product?

These insights can help you build a stronger, more polished version of yourself for future interviews. Interviewing is a losing game, you are going to be rejected far more than you succeed. But what lesson can you take and apply to the next interview?

Embrace your emotions, evaluate feedback with wisdom, and seek the lessons within your mistakes. You're not just bouncing back from a tough interview; you're evolving, adapting, and growing into a stronger candidate every time.

Q+A

I’d love to answer your question in an upcoming issue. Submit any questions you’d like me to discuss here.

Q: What is with the September Surge, and is it real?

This is the only thing anyone wants to talk about over the last week, and if you are on TikTok or any social media you have seen at least 5 viral videos about it this week. If you’ve avoided the talk of it, The September Surge is the idea that hiring picks up in September after a slow summer so we should see a lot more people getting hired in the next month or 2.

I have addressed this a few times, but I want to simply make a few points about the September Surge:

• Yes, historically hiring has picked up in September from July and August as things slow down

• No, it is not a miracle month where every company just waits to open jobs

• Yes, I do think we will see an uptick in hiring

• No, I don’t think it will be in the mass numbers people are discussing (though I’d love to be wrong)

Keep in mind, we are not hearing about the September Surge from hiring managers and companies telling us about all of their roles that are coming. We are mostly hearing about it from people who talk about jobs (myself included).

The September Surge is a trending topic and everyone is rushing to give their opinions on it and sell you the tools necessary to prepare. I hope for a great September for you all, but take it all for what it is, speculation and talk, very little of it coming from the people who will be doing all of the hiring in this surge.

Stay positive, stay ready, keep your resumes up to date, stay vigilant on the job boards, keep networking, but don’t view September as the miracle month we’ve been waiting for all year. Especially when there was lots of hype around the January and spring surges that historically happen but never came in 2023.

This week I sat down with Teal’s CEO Dave Fano to discuss hiring, job interviews, good and bad advice, and the realistic truth about job searching.

This Podcast is not an advertisement for Teal, just a truthful conversation about the hiring process.

Listen on Spotify Podcasts:https://tealhq.co/3P7gmqc
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://tealhq.co/3P1sHfH
Listen on Google Podcasts: https://tealhq.co/3E75RgE 

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