Career

I’ve reviewed 500+ applications as a recruiter at Amazon, Microsoft, and TikTok. This is the kind of resume that gets rejected in 3 seconds. I'll break down why such resumes fail to create an impact and how you can avoid such mistakes. Problem 1: Too much, too soon Two degrees, 15+ courses, and 30+ tools listed - all in the top half. Recruiters don’t need a tech stack dump upfront. Instead: ➡️ Start with a skills summary tied to impact-driven achievements. ➡️ Highlight tools you’ve mastered, not dabbled in. Problem 2: Responsibilities ≠ results Worked with IT to maintain PC and network health. Okay... but how did it matter? Reduced downtime? Saved costs? Improved performance by X%? Instead: ➡️ Write impact-focused bullets — e.g., “Reduced network downtime by 35% through system upgrades.” Problem 3: Irrelevant experience Amazon Prime Shopper role at Whole Foods is listed in detail. Unless applying for retail or logistics, this distracts. Instead: ➡️ Group unrelated roles under a single “Other Experience” section. ➡️ Focus on transferable skills like teamwork, deadlines, or inventory handling — but keep it brief. Problem 4: Projects without purpose Projects sound impressive but lack outcomes. E.g., “Built an AI model to detect human emotion.” Questions recruiters ask: What accuracy did it achieve? Was it deployed? How did it solve a problem? Instead: ➡️ Add metrics — e.g., “Improved emotion detection accuracy by 20% and reduced processing time by 15%.” Here’s the hard truth: Most resumes don’t fail because candidates lack skills. They fail because they fail to communicate impact. If you're not receiving calls from recruiters despite applying to 100s of jobs, it could be due to your resume. Repost this if you found value. P.S. Follow me if you are an Indian job seeker in the U.S. I share insights on job search, interview prep, and more.

I get a lot of messages asking for career advice. Here are 10 pieces of career advice I wish I knew at 22: 1. Be the person who can figure it out. Early on, you'll be given a lot of tasks you have no idea how to complete. There's nothing more valuable than someone who can just figure it out. Do some work, ask key questions, get it done. People will fight over you. 2. Build a reputation for reliability. You can get pretty damn far by just being someone that people can count on to show up and do the work. Being reliable is entirely free. 3. Work hard first (and smart later). It's trendy to say that working smart is all that matters. Wrong. If you want to accomplish anything significant, you have to work hard. Work hard early—take pride in it. Then you can start to build leverage to work smart. 4. Build storytelling skills. World-changing CEOs aren't the smartest in their orgs. They are exceptional at: (1) Aggregating data and (2) Communicating it simply & effectively. Data in, story out. Build that skill and you'll always be valuable. 5. "Swallow the frog" for your boss. This is one of the greatest "hacks" to get ahead early in your career. Observe your boss, figure out what they hate doing, learn to do it, and take it off their plate. Easy win. 6. Be a "yes" person early in your career. Saying "yes" expands your luck surface area. It may mean you're a bit overwhelmed at times, but the benefits from the increased luck outweigh the downsides of feeling stretched. 7. Wake up early and work out. When you wake up early and work out, you do a hard thing to start your day that sets the tone. You start to self-identify as a winner. That has ripple effects all across your life. There's no such thing as a loser who wakes up at 5am and works out. 8. Dive through cracked doors. I recently had an experience to bring this to life: A young guy saw on my story that I was at a coffee shop working. He messaged me asking if he could come by and ask a question. I said ok. He got there an hour later and we hit it off. Turns out he lived far away and made it work. I'd always bet on people with that kind of energy. If someone cracks open a door that may present an opportunity, dive through it. 9. Show up early, stay late. Showing up early and staying late is a free way to materially increase your luck surface area. The most interesting side conversations come up before meetings start or after they end. When you're in the room, you're more likely to get pulled into a follow-up call, coffee, or discussion. It pays off handsomely in the long run. 10. Do the "old fashioned" things well. Look people in the eye, do what you say you'll do, be early, practice good posture, have a confident handshake. It sounds silly, but these things are all free and will never go out of style. *** Embrace those 10 pieces of advice and you'll stand out and be on the right track. If you enjoyed this, share it with others and follow me Sahil Bloom for more in the future!

I've reviewed 2,000+ resumes this year. Avoid these mistakes that 90% make. 1. Generic Summaries ❌ "Motivated professional seeking opportunities to leverage my skills..." ✅ "Marketing Director who increased e-commerce revenue 47% through data-driven campaigns and strategic partnerships." 2. Missing Numbers ❌ "Led large team and improved sales." ✅ "Led 15-person sales team to deliver $3.2M in new business, exceeding targets by 28%." 3. Cluttered Formatting ❌ Tiny margins, dense paragraphs, and multiple fonts. ✅ Clean headers, consistent bullet points, and enough white space for easy scanning. 4. Outdated Information ❌ Listing your high school achievements and every job since college. ✅ Your most relevant accomplishments from the past 10-15 years that showcase your career progression. 5. RESPONSIBILITY LISTS ❌ "Responsible for managing client relationships and handling complaints." ✅ "Retained 98% of key accounts and turned 3 dissatisfied clients into top referral sources." 6. ATS-UNFRIENDLY DESIGN ❌ Creative formats with graphics, text boxes, and unique fonts. ✅ Clean, standard formatting with relevant keywords that match the job description. Your resume has 7 seconds to make an impression.  Use these tips to make them count. Share this to help others level up their resume! 📈 And follow me for more advice like this.

I got fired twice because I had poor soft skills. Then, I became VP at Amazon, where my job was more than 80% based on soft skills. This was possible because I stopped being an outspoken, judgmental critic of other people and improved my soft skills. Here are 4 areas you can improve: Soft skills are one of the main things I discuss with my coaching clients, as they are often the barrier between being a competent manager and being ready to be a true executive. Technical skills are important, but soft skills are the deciding factor between executive candidates a lot more than technical skills are. Four “soft skill” areas in which we can constantly improve are: 1) Storytelling skills Jeff Bezos said, “You can have the best technology, you can have the best business model, but if the storytelling isn’t amazing, it won’t matter.” The same is true for you as a leader. You can have the best skills or best ideas, but if you can’t communicate through powerful storytelling, no one will pay attention. 2) Writing Writing is the foundation of clear communication and clear thinking. It is the main tool for demonstrating your thinking and influencing others. The way you write will impact your influence, and therefore will impact your opportunities to grow as a leader. 3) Executive Presence Executive presence is your ability to present as someone who should be taken seriously. This includes your ability to speak, to act under pressure, and to relate to your team informally, but it goes far beyond any individual skill. Improving executive presence requires consistently evaluating where we have space to grow in our image as leaders and then addressing it. 4) Public Speaking As a leader, public speaking is inevitable. In order the get the support you need to become an executive, you must inspire confidence in your abilities and ideas through the way you speak to large, important groups of people. No one wants to give more responsibility to someone who looks uncomfortable with the amount they already have. I am writing about these 4 areas because today’s newsletter is centered around how exactly to improve these soft skills. The newsletter comes from member questions in our Level Up Newsletter community, and I answer each of them at length. I'm joined in the newsletter by my good friend, Richard Hua, a world class expert in emotional intelligence (EQ). Rich created a program at Amazon that has taught EQ to more than 500,000 people! The 4 specific questions I answer are: 1. “How do I improve my storytelling skills?” 2. “What resources or tools would you recommend to get better in writing?” 3. “What are the top 3 ways to improve my executive presence?” 4. “I am uncomfortable talking in front of large crowds and unknown people, but as I move up, I need to do this more. How do I get comfortable with this?” See the newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/gg6JXqF4 How have you improved your soft skills?

Early in my career, I landed my dream job… and immediately felt like an imposter. On day 3, my new colleague, Rina, spotted an error in my strategic plan. My first instinct? → Defend myself. → Prove I belonged. → Protect my ego. Instead, I swallowed my pride and said: “Walk me through how you’d approach it differently.” That single conversation unlocked solutions I’d never have seen alone. Six months later, we co-led a project that saved the company $1.4M. Not because I knew more than her. But because I realized: ✅ Working with people smarter than you is a blessing, not a threat. Here’s what most leaders get wrong: • They think leadership is about being the authority in the room. • They worry that smarter colleagues will overshadow them. • They fear being seen as “less than” if they ask for help. But the highest-impact leaders I’ve coached share one trait: They’re fiercely coachable. → They seek out people who know more. → They treat differences as assets, not threats. → They let go of needing to be the hero. That’s how careers grow, not in certainty, but in curiosity. The C.H.O.I.C.E.™ Framework makes this real: • Courage: Ask, even when your ego screams “don’t.” • Humility: Recognize brilliance in others. • Openness: Let new ideas replace old assumptions. • Integration: Apply what you learn fast. • Curiosity: Keep asking “What else could be true?” • Empathy: Celebrate others’ strengths instead of competing. 🛠 3 Ways to Turn “Smarter People” into Your Career Advantage: ✅ Flip the script. → Instead of thinking “They’ll make me look bad,” ask: → “What could I learn from them that would take me years to figure out alone?” ✅ Invite co-creation. → Pull in the experts. → Say: “Can I get your eyes on this?” → Collaboration is rocket fuel for your influence. ✅ Say the magic words. → “I didn’t see that. Thanks for helping me get better.” → That’s leadership, not weakness. Here’s the truth no one wants to admit: If you’re always the smartest person in the room… you’re in the wrong room. 💭 Who’s the “smartest person” who made you better at your craft? ♻️ Tag someone who turns intelligence into collective wins. ➕ Follow Loren Rosario - Maldonado, PCC for human leadership.

There seem to be more exit options for experienced lawyers than there ever were before. A few trends I’m seeing and hearing: 1. Using legal as a springboard to leading other business functions. Common among high performing CLOs and GCs who end up taking over other departments, including HR, technology, operations, etc. Ideal for in-house lawyers who like business/management more than pure law work. 2. Leading a new function within a traditional law firm. Classic examples include leadership roles related to talent or client development; includes ongoing trend of chief innovation or client value officers. Recent trend: AI experts brought in from the outside. 3. Pivoting to a pure business role at a legal-adjacent company/firm. This was my path. Back when I made the pivot in 2016 it felt like the only real option was legal recruiting. These days you have AI startups, large legal tech companies, legal talent staffing/outsourcing, and more. 4. Leveraging expertise to shift to hybrid employee/entrepreneur roles. Could be a fractional GC practice, e.g. using your former employer as an anchor client and then looking for other clients. Or could be practicing law as a remote freelancer, working on specific, limited scope matters that interest you. The ones who have done the best seem to be those who thoughtfully consider what type of work they want to do, and the context (hours, location, flexibility) in which they work—before they plunge head first into something else. 

Whether you like it or NOT the most important decisions about your career are made when you’re not in the room. Your title Your pay Your opportunities All shaped in conversations you are not invited to. As a former leader and exec I've sat in on them. Years ago, I was up for a promotion in another part of the business. I had just started working with a new manager, and when I asked if she would support my candidacy, she said yes. Later, I found out she told someone I was too junior for the role. She didn’t stop the promotion, but she tried to. What protected me was the brand I had already built. And the advocates who already knew my work. → I led a process improvement project with measurable results → I built trust with leaders beyond my team → I earned visibility through recognition programs That reputation made it easier for others to speak up. And harder for her doubt to carry weight. If you’ve ever had a manager say the right things in public but block you in private, you are not alone. When I became a leader, I made it a point to speak up for my team. Not just when it was easy, but especially when they were not in the room to speak for themselves. Because I know what it feels like when someone stays silent or worse they don't protect you at all. If you want to protect your career, start here: → Be consistent Show up the same way in high-stakes rooms and day-to-day meetings → Be clear Speak in a way that leaves no one guessing what you do or why it matters → Be credible Follow through on what you say, and let your results speak without over-explaining Your boss or [insert here] may not be your biggest advocate. But you can still have a strong campaign. And when you become a leader, do not stay quiet in rooms where decisions are made. Because if your name is going to be spoken, make sure it is by someone who protects it. Who spoke your name when you weren’t in the room? Tag them below and thank them. —- Hi, I’m April, and I specialize in helping women leaders prepare for executive roles by enhancing their influence, presence, and communication skills. Executive Material

I asked 443 people who landed a job in the last 6 months how they did it - and because I'm relentless, I DM’d several of them for the details 👀 Here’s what they said: - 39% got hired through a job application only - 38% landed their role through a referral or someone in their network - 11% were reached out to directly - 12% marked “other” and DM'd me (saving these gems for another post!) For this post, I wanna talk about referrals. Because every time I bring them up, I get feedback from people who swear that referrals don’t make a lick of difference in their application. But the data says otherwise!! Referrals are JUST as effective as job applications. So why do so many people think they don’t work? My guess - it comes down to how people think about networking, and who they are networking with. Many assume networking = cold DM’ing your LinkedIn connections that work at your target company, and asking them to essentially tag you in the company’s ATS as a “referral”. This might work… sometimes… if you’re lucky. But for all the people that landed jobs and shared their stories, this was what actually worked: 💡 It’s not just about knowing someone at the company - it’s about knowing someone with hiring influence. - A hiring manager referred a rejected candidate to a colleague at another company - and they got hired. - A former supervisor vouched for someone internally, even when no job was posted. - Someone got passed over at first, but their referrer kept advocating for them - so when the first-choice hire didn't work out, they got the offer. 💡 Most referrals didn’t come from cold outreach - they came from past colleagues, former bosses, or professional acquaintances. - Someone caught up with an old coworker and learned about an unposted job. - Another had a standing check-in with a former boss, who later hired them at a new company. - One person told their manager they wanted to leave, and instead of quitting, the company created a role just to keep them. 💡 Cold outreach worked - but only when it wasn’t just about asking for a referral. - Someone cold-called companies just to ask what they look for in an employee. The CEO liked their initiative and invited them for an interview. - Another reached out on LinkedIn not for a referral, but to learn about someone's career path. That conversation led to a job. 💡 Some of the best networking didn’t even feel like networking. - A job seeker met a company director at trivia night, followed up, and got an interview. - Another ran into someone at the gym, and that casual chat led to a job. - A plus-one at a work event struck up a conversation - months later, they got hired at the company. So, the TLDR: Networking is effective when approached with the goal of building meaningful relationships, with people in positions of hiring influence, so that you are top of mind when the right opportunities come up. Have a story to share about networking efforts that lead to new opportunities? Let's hear it!

Behind every opportunity is a relationship, and behind every relationship is a conversation. Networking is about building real connections that last and have the potential to help you find your next opportunity. Data shared by the University of Maryland’s Department of Economics indicates you won’t find 70% of available jobs on any site that posts open positions. Those positions are usually found on a company’s internal network, often by referral. In other words, relationships can make the difference between finding a job or not. That’s no surprise to me. Throughout my journey, from engineer to investor, relationships have been a constant driver of growth. Mentors, colleagues and peers have not only opened doors, but also challenged my thinking, sharpened my skills and inspired my vision. Here’s what I have learned: - Be curious: Ask questions that show you care about people’s stories. - Be intentional: Connect with purpose, not just for your own gain. - Be consistent: Follow up, follow through and add value where you can. Networking isn’t a one-time event. It requires maintaining ongoing relationships rooted in trust and genuine interest in other people’s lives. Whether you’re just starting out on your professional journey or deep into your field, relationships are what power careers.