100 Ways to Land a New Job

Oh, hello!

Between you and me, I had a completely different issue planned for today. But being the self-proclaimed pivot queen, I decided this one felt more urgent.

Here's where I'm at: we're officially past the point of pretending there's a "right" way to find new work. Just like there's no single correct place to land on the spectrum between corporate and entrepreneurship,  there's no single correct job search strategy either. The rules dissolved. The playbook got rewritten. And the people landing roles right now are just trying more things. Increasing their surface area for luck, if you will.

So, in that spirit, here are 100 different ways you could realistically find yourself a new role right now. Whether that's a 9-5, your own thing, or something the org chart doesn't have a name for yet.

And keep reading for this week's Playbook: proven tutorials for putting the best of these ideas into action. (By "proven," I mean they've resulted in actual job offers — for friends, former clients, and yes, me.)

Highlighted = tutorial in this week’s Playbook

⭐ Direct Job Search (we start here, but we don’t stay here):

1. Apply on LinkedIn, find the hiring manager’s email, and send them a direct follow-up email to raise your resume to the top

2. Apply on company career pages

3. Use niche job boards

4. Use alumni job boards, and send your alumni career center a personalized note with the role you’ve applied to asking for a warm intro the hiring manager

5. Use recruiter job portals

6. Use government job sites

7. Apply through referrals listed in postings

8. Apply directly via email to hiring manager

9. Submit speculative applications

10. Re-apply to roles after improving your résumé, and send a personalized note highlighting the improvements

11. Apply through staffing agencies

12. Apply through temp-to-perm agencies

13. Apply to contract roles first, like parental leave covers

14. Apply to internships/fellowships for pivots

15. Apply to rotational programs

⭐ Networking That Actually Works

16. Ask friends who’s hiring

17. Ask former coworkers for leads in your industry

18. Reconnect with your favorite past managers, who likely know other great managers you’d like to work with

19. Message second-degree LinkedIn connections

20. Attend industry events

21. Attend alumni meetups

22. Join professional associations, and use their job boards/find a mentor/ask for leads

23. Join Slack communities in your field

24. Join WhatsApp job groups for local networks

25. Join coworking spaces, and ask if they share “member of the week” spotlights. If they do, nominate yourself and include what you’re looking for in your bio.

26. Volunteer at industry conferences

27. Host your own small networking dinner

28. Ask for informational interviews

29. Ask directly: “Who should I talk to?”

30. Tell everyone you trust that you’re job searching + give them a “blurb” about you+ what you’re looking for that they can easily copy/paste into an email or DM to someone they know

⭐ Visibility → Opportunity Pipeline (aka, career gravity in action)

31. Post thought leadership on LinkedIn

32. Share case studies from your past work

33. Publish a newsletter (!!)

34. Start a niche blog

35. Create short-form video content

36. Speak on podcasts

37. Write guest articles

38. Present at meetups

39. Teach a workshop, live or virtual

40. Share portfolio projects publicly

41. Document your learning journey online

42. Build something new in public/share your progress and that you’re open to collaborations

43. Comment thoughtfully on industry leaders’ posts

44. Publish research or insights

45. Create a personal website showcasing work, and send it to the same trusted peers in #30

⭐ Recruiters, Headhunters, and Matchmakers (let someone else run the search)

46. Connect with in-house recruiters

47. Connect with agency recruiters

48. Join recruiter talent pools

49. Update LinkedIn “Open to Work” privately

50. Send quarterly update emails to recruiters

51. Ask friends to introduce you to recruiters

52. Attend recruiter-hosted events

53. Follow recruiters on LinkedIn and engage thoughtfully with their posts (don’t spam!)

54. Share your portfolio with recruiters

55. Ask recruiters what roles are opening up soon (1-2 Quarters in advance) 

⭐ Skill-First Entry Points

56. Take a certification tied to hiring demand (here’s 50% off Coursera plus!)

57. Complete a portfolio project

58. Contribute to open-source work

59. Do freelance gigs for experience

60. Do volunteer work in target field

61. Join hackathons or build-a-thons

62. Compete in case competitions

63. Publish a capstone project

64. Shadow someone in the role

65. Do a short apprenticeship to strengthen key skils

⭐ Inside Moves (the easiest job to get is often inside the building you’re already in)

66. Apply internally at current company

67. Ask for cross-functional projects

68. Request stretch assignments

69. Move to a different team

70. Ask to backfill someone on leave

71. Transition from contractor → full-time

72. Relocate to a new office for a new role within the same company

73. Ask internal leaders you trust about any upcoming roles + ask to stay updated

74. Build a role proposal around unmet needs

⭐ Creative & Hidden-Market Strategies (turn side work into something official)

75. Pitch yourself for an unposted role

76. Audit a company and suggest improvements

77. Send a short Loom/walk-through video explaining how you’d help with a specific initiative

78. Create a 30-day action plan for a target company

79. Build a mock project for them

80. DM founders at small startups

81. Respond to people’s “we’re growing” posts!!

82. Track funding announcements and reach out

83. Track new leadership hires and reach out

84. Offer to consult first, then convert to full-time

⭐ Community → Opportunity Loops

85. Join cohort-based courses (I like these)

86. Join mastermind groups, or better yet, create your own peer cohort of your favorite former coworkers who still work in the same field but at different companies, and keep each other top of mind for leads or other creative ways to find new work

87. Join founder/operator communities

88. Participate in online forums

89. Attend retreats or intensives

90. Teach inside communities (I do this often + it almost always yields a new client or gig)

91. Help organize events

92. Become known as a connector

93. Share job leads with others first #careerkarma

94. Stay visible in recurring spaces

⭐ Portfolio Career → Job Offers (ironically, not chasing a job often creates one)

96. Start freelancing in your skill
97. Build a small client base
98. Turn a client into an employer
99. Grow a personal brand that attracts recruiters
100. Create work so valuable someone hires you to keep doing it 😉

And now, the plug-and-play steps + scripts to use to:

• Find niche job boards

• Apply on LinkedIn, find the hiring manager’s email, and send them a direct follow-up email to raise your resume to the top

• Message second-degree LinkedIn connections

• Tell everyone you trust that you’re job searching + give them a “blurb” about you+ what you’re looking for that they can easily copy/paste into an email or DM to someone they know

• Connect with in-house recruiters

• Send quarterly update emails to recruiters

• Build a role proposal around unmet needs

• Pitch yourself for an unposted role

• DM founders at small startups

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