Explore every episode of the podcast The Job Trawlers Podcast

Job-search research and guides, read aloud. Every episode starts as a post researched and written by humans, then read by JT, an AI voice.

A buyer's guide for product managers in the US or Canada. A Job Trawlers search reaches about two-thirds of Lenny's PM listings, big tech's own sites are the part it can't, and most of what our users found wasn't on Lenny's. Measured October 2026. Key takeaways - Lenny's Jobs is built for tech companies, Series A and later, in four roles. It's free to use, has company data we don't have, and builds its AI fit tools into every listing. - A Job Trawlers saved search can surface about two-thirds of Lenny's US and Canada PM listings (67.3% when we checked on October 6). About one in five (20.7%) sit on a big-tech career site we don't reach. Amazon, Google, Apple and Microsoft are in that group. - Going the other way, 78.1% of the live US and Canada product roles our users' searches surfaced weren't on Lenny's Jobs. So Lenny's held roughly a fifth of what our users found. The rest span software companies and the banks, insurers, healthcare companies and retailers that Lenny's doesn't track. - A Lenny's search shows at most 300 results. Job Trawlers runs your saved search every day and sends you what's new. - Big tech? Lenny's, plus the company's own careers page. Tech startups and scale-ups? Run both. Product role outside tech? Start with Job Trawlers. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:42 What Lenny's Jobs is 00:03:56 What Job Trawlers is 00:05:09 Side by side 00:05:19 Where Lenny's Jobs is the better tool 00:07:41 Where Job Trawlers is the better tool 00:10:39 If I were looking for a PM role 00:11:54 How we measured 00:15:30 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/lennys-jobs-vs-job-trawlers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=lennys-jobs-vs-job-trawlers Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=lennys-jobs-vs-job-trawlers Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

Applications per job are up 111% since 2022 and recruiter headcount is down 56%, so most applications are never properly read. Here's what's happening on the other side of the Apply button, why auto-apply makes it worse, and how to run a search on fewer, better-aimed applications and more people. Key takeaways - Applications per job are up 111% since 2022 and the number of recruiters is down 56%, per Greenhouse data cited in Fortune. Most applications are never properly read. That's a volume problem, not a verdict on you. - Across 38 million applications, Ashby found about 3% of inbound applicants reached an interview. Referred candidates reached one 40% of the time. - Auto-apply tools add to the pile everyone else is stuck in. Greenhouse's CEO calls it the AI doom loop. - The way out is fewer, better-aimed applications, and a person at each company you care about. - Flip where your time goes. In the searches I've watched, about 80% of it went to hunting for roles. Spend that 80% on targets, outreach and the people behind the roles instead. - Use AI to pick targets and interview yourself, never to write the application. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:32 What the other side looks like 00:02:43 The 3% number 00:04:00 Why does applying to more make it worse? 00:05:55 What to do instead 00:08:04 Where Job Trawlers fits 00:09:23 Where to start this week 00:10:09 One more thing about the silence 00:10:59 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/a-thousand-applicants-for-one-job?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=a-thousand-applicants-for-one-job Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=a-thousand-applicants-for-one-job Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

Searching from inside a job is mostly a risk-management problem, not a search problem. LinkedIn says outright it can't guarantee its recruiters-only signal stays hidden from your employer. Here's what actually leaks, and how to run a search that survives being noticed. Key takeaways - LinkedIn's recruiters-only signal is not a guarantee, and LinkedIn says so. It "can't guarantee complete privacy." - You can't get the risk to zero. Decide what you're willing to accept, then stop re-deciding it every week. - Never search from a work laptop, a work account, or the company network. This is the one rule with no nuance. - Your references don't have to include your current manager, and an employer who insists before an offer is telling you something. - Patterns get noticed. A single afternoon off doesn't. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:38 You have more company than it feels like 00:02:18 What actually leaks 00:04:56 Decide your risk tolerance once 00:06:02 References when you can't use your manager 00:06:58 Interviews without lying 00:07:51 Where Job Trawlers fits 00:08:50 A prompt to plan the confidential version 00:09:22 The part nobody says out loud 00:10:15 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with the prompt, sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/searching-while-employed?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=searching-while-employed Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=searching-while-employed Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

The famous stat that 75% of resumes are auto-rejected came from a company selling resume optimization, and it folded in 2013. What's actually true is more useful and more unsettling. The parser doesn't judge you, a person configured the filters you can see, and two class actions are now testing the AI screening layers you can't. Key takeaways - The 75% figure traces back to a 2012 sales pitch by a company selling resume optimization. It folded in 2013, and no methodology was ever published. - The parser doesn't judge you. It extracts your data into fields. In the base case the judging happens later, by a person searching a database. - But AI screening layers sit on top, and employers switch them on. Those do rank and reject. Mobley v. Workday is a certified nationwide collective action on that question, and Workday's own filings put ~1.1 billion applications rejected through its system in the relevant period. - The score your resume checker shows you is still invented. It has no connection to any employer's system. - The part you can actually see is the knockout question. Eligibility rules a recruiter configured, readable before you apply. - The best-documented filter is brutal and has nothing to do with your wording. Half of US companies screen out anyone with a six-month employment gap. - Mirror the posting's language for things you've actually done. Don't stuff, and never hide white text — it shows up in the plain text a recruiter reads. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:20 So where did the 75% number come from? 00:02:31 What the software actually does 00:05:57 So what actually removes people? 00:07:53 So what actually helps? 00:11:34 How do you mirror without regurgitating? 00:14:35 The gap filter, and what to do about it 00:15:45 Where Job Trawlers fits 00:16:44 A prompt to check an application before you send it 00:17:26 The useful version of the worry 00:18:52 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with the prompt, sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/what-an-ats-actually-does?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=what-an-ats-actually-does Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=what-an-ats-actually-does Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

The personal README has a serious critic, and she's right about almost everything. Her objections are aimed at managers publishing rules for their teams — which is not what a job seeker is doing. Written privately and checked by someone who knows you, it's the best interview prep most people never do. Key takeaways - The strongest criticism of these documents is about managers publishing rules for the people who report to them. A job seeker has no such power, and most of the objection dissolves. - What survives the criticism is real. These things are self-serving, people are poor witnesses to themselves, and the document rots. All three have fixes. - Every line needs an incident behind it. If you can't name a time it was true, it's aspiration and it gets cut. - The step everyone skips is having two people who've worked with you mark it up. That's what separates this from an exercise in self-flattery. - Don't send it to an employer. The whole job-search value is in the writing. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:47 Where did the idea come from? 00:03:15 The best criticism of it is correct 00:04:40 So why write one anyway? 00:05:42 What survives, and what to do about it 00:06:29 What goes in it 00:08:03 The evidence test 00:09:11 Get it marked 00:09:56 What does it do during a search? 00:10:47 Don't send it 00:11:36 Where Job Trawlers fits 00:12:09 A prompt to draft it with 00:12:43 The document isn't the point 00:13:38 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with the prompt, sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/personal-readme?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=personal-readme Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=personal-readme Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

We looked at 134,840 roles collected over 30 days. About one in seven was entry level — and 97.7% of those said nothing in the title about being entry level. If you're searching your dream title with 'junior' in front of it, you're looking at roughly 2% of the market that would take you. Key takeaways - Entry-level roles aren't rare. About one in seven of everything we saw in a month. - 97.7% of them carry no early-career word in the title at all. Not junior, not graduate, not entry level, not trainee. - Seniority mostly isn't in the title. It's in the requirements, three paragraphs down. So search the function, then filter by level. - Searching six ordinary words instead reaches about twelve times as many entry-level roles as "junior" does. - Internships barely appear in a general job search. That's a different pipeline, and if you're a student it's the one to work. - A referral doesn't get you the job. It gets you read, which is the scarce thing. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:44 What does a month of hiring look like? 00:02:51 The word you're searching for barely exists 00:04:13 So what are they called instead? 00:05:57 Where are the internships? (Mostly, not here) 00:07:20 What does a referral actually do? 00:09:04 Networking when you'd rather not 00:11:09 Build a board, not a mentor 00:12:52 Where Job Trawlers fits 00:13:43 A prompt for the search you should be running 00:14:11 The market isn't hiding from you 00:15:24 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with the prompt, sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/finding-your-first-real-job?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=finding-your-first-real-job Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=finding-your-first-real-job Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

Most 30-60-90 day plans are performances: deliverables in month one, written to look impressive. The research says a new manager takes about six months to break even, and that acting before you've diagnosed is how people burn the credibility they'll need later. Here's the version that flexes to the job you actually took. Key takeaways - A typical new mid-level manager takes around six months to contribute as much value as they consume. Your plan's job is to shorten that, not to pretend it isn't happening. - Most plans are performances. The tell is deliverables in month one. - Before choosing how fast to act, work out which of five situations you've joined. A turnaround and a healthy team punish opposite behaviours. - The plan is a conversation with your manager, not a private document. Written alone and never shared, it's a to-do list with ambition. - The version an employer asks for during interviews is a different document, and it should be mostly questions. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:34 The number that reframes everything 00:03:16 Why are most plans performances? 00:04:24 Which job did you actually take? 00:05:55 The plan is a conversation 00:07:33 What goes in each phase 00:08:53 Early wins, chosen properly 00:09:52 What if they ask for one in the interview? 00:11:17 The week between signing and starting 00:12:05 Where Job Trawlers fits 00:13:02 A prompt to build the plan with 00:13:33 The plan is not the point either 00:14:42 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with the prompt, sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/your-first-90-days?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=your-first-90-days Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=your-first-90-days Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

A job search is a machine that produces verdicts without reasons, hundreds of them, for months. Benjamin Zander's letter exercise is a counterweight — and the thing it protects turns out to be one of the better-supported predictors of actually landing. Key takeaways - A search hands you verdicts without reasons. With no reason supplied, most people invent one about themselves, and it's never kind. - What erodes under that isn't your mood. It's job-search self-efficacy, which meta-analysis puts on the causal path to landing a job. - Benjamin Zander's exercise. Write a letter dated months from now that begins "I got my A because," in the past tense, describing who you became. - In research terms this is a Best Possible Self exercise. The evidence is real and modest. Moderate effects on optimism and positive affect, weak effects on negative states, unknown durability past three months. - So use it as a practice you repeat when it wears off, not a cure. And it's no substitute for real help if you're struggling. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:45 What does a rejection actually tell you? 00:03:59 Zander's A 00:06:02 Why isn't this just a nice idea? 00:07:57 So how do you write one? 00:10:47 Why this pairs with the honest audit 00:11:43 When should you skip it? 00:12:25 Where Job Trawlers fits 00:13:21 A prompt to write it with 00:14:08 The grade isn't the point 00:14:52 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with the prompt, sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/give-yourself-an-a?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=give-yourself-an-a Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=give-yourself-an-a Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

Read one job posting and you learn what one hiring manager wishes for. Read fifteen at once, tally what repeats, and rate yourself honestly against the tally, and you get something far more useful: a map of where you're strong, where you're only unproven, and the single gap worth working on. Key takeaways - A requirement that appears in twelve of fifteen postings is the market talking. One that appears once is somebody's preference. Tally, don't list. - Rate your capability against evidence, not feeling. "High" should mean I can prove this to a stranger, not I'm good at this. - Most of what looks like a skills gap is an evidence gap. You've done the thing and can't point at it. Those close in an afternoon. - Pick one gap to develop. Two development goals during a live search reliably produces zero. - The exercise is meant to help you apply with a sharper case, not to talk you out of applying. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:04 Why does one posting tell you so little? 00:04:43 Build the sheet 00:06:26 Rate yourself, and change what the rating means 00:07:50 Read the sheet as a grid, not a list 00:09:05 Is it a skills gap, or an evidence gap? 00:10:21 Pick one gap. One. 00:11:30 What if the sheet talks you out of applying? 00:12:50 Where Job Trawlers fits 00:13:37 A prompt to run the audit with you 00:14:14 What you walk away with 00:15:21 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with the prompt, sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/skills-gap-audit-before-you-apply?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=skills-gap-audit-before-you-apply Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=skills-gap-audit-before-you-apply Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

Before the phone screen, a lot of employers hand you 60 statements and five boxes from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree. It isn't measuring whether you're a good person. It's measuring whether you answer the same way twice. Key takeaways - These screens are common enough to plan for, and they usually sit before a human reads anything you wrote. - The dominant failure is mechanical, not moral: contradicting yourself across related items, or misreading the negatively-worded ones while rushing. - A degree of self-presentation is already assumed by the people scoring these. Inconsistency is not. - Decide your actual positions in advance, in your own words. That is the entire preparation, and it is why you answer the same at item 8 and item 61. - Strong answers should be rare enough to mean something. All-neutral and all-Strongly-Agree both produce a profile nobody can use. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:42 How common is this, really 00:03:06 What the questionnaire is actually looking at 00:05:11 The mechanical traps 00:06:27 The preparation that actually works 00:08:06 On answering strategically 00:09:24 Where Job Trawlers fits 00:10:14 A prompt to practice the format 00:11:17 Sixty clicks 00:11:56 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with the prompt, sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/personality-test-job-application?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=personality-test-job-application Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=personality-test-job-application Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

The first week after a layoff decides how the next six months go. Here's the playbook: handle the paperwork with real deadlines, do your runway math, tell people on your terms, and build the search system before you sprint. Key takeaways - Don't apply to anything in week one. Applications sent raw are aimed badly and written worse, and they spend your best leads at your worst moment. - Two clocks start immediately: benefits (in Canada, apply for EI right away. Waiting past four weeks can cost you) and health coverage. Severance can wait for a careful read. These can't. - Do the runway math once, honestly. One number, months of runway, will anchor every decision you pre-commit to. - Tell your network on your terms, and bank goodwill now: references, recommendations, and intro offers are never easier to get than in the first two weeks. - Spend the rest of the week building the system: a routine, trigger metrics, and a focus statement. Your first application should be a week-two event, sent from a search that's already standing. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:26 Grieve first, apply later 00:02:37 The paperwork days 00:04:53 One honest number 00:06:16 Tell people, on your terms 00:07:47 Build the system before you sprint 00:09:08 Where Job Trawlers fits 00:09:53 A prompt to run your first week 00:10:39 The week that sets the tone 00:11:20 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with the prompt, sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/first-week-after-layoff?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=first-week-after-layoff Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=first-week-after-layoff Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

Referrals are barely 1% of applications yet convert to interviews at 40% — while the rest of the queue waits. Here's how to work the network you already have, contribute value to your communities while you look, and run informational meetings that turn strangers into advocates. Key takeaways - The referral effect is real and current. Across 38 million recent applications, referred candidates went from application to interview 40% of the time, while referrals made up barely 1% of the queue. It's information, not nepotism. - Stop "networking." Make small, specific asks instead. Ask for advice and context, never for a job. Specific asks are easy to say yes to. - Give before you ask. Share roles, make introductions, help peers, and show your thinking in public. Reputation is the asset that makes every later ask land. - For every target role, look for three people. The hiring manager, a future peer, and a warm connection who can walk your name in. - Informational meetings turn strangers into advocates. Treat the other person as the expert, and leave with what no posting will tell you. - The message has to be yours. Short, specific, referencing something real, and written in your voice, not a template's. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:36 Why the person beats the portal 00:03:54 Stop networking. Start asking for help. 00:05:42 Contribute while you search 00:08:43 The three people behind every role 00:10:05 Work the network you already have 00:11:47 Cold, done warmly: the informational meeting 00:13:39 The message that gets a reply 00:15:47 Make it a rhythm, not a campaign 00:16:47 A prompt to build your outreach plan 00:17:36 The compounding asset 00:18:10 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with the prompt, sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/networking-warm-outreach?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=networking-warm-outreach Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=networking-warm-outreach Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

The moment an offer lands is when your leverage peaks and your judgment is most tired. Here's how to evaluate it against the search you meant to run, negotiate it in your own voice, and know when to walk. Key takeaways - An offer means the deciding is over. They want you. The realistic downside of a respectful, prepared ask is a no, not a lost offer. - Evaluate before you negotiate. Score the offer against the search you set out to run, not against your fear of restarting it. - Ask for their budgeted range before you give yours. When you do name numbers, give a researched, situational range with precise figures, not a hopeful round one. - Negotiate the way the professionals phrase it. Depersonalize the ask, keep momentum with a specific date, and bring measurable results instead of feelings. - Compensation is a package, not a number. Rehearse the conversation before you have it, get the final terms in writing, and know your walk-away floor before the pressure is on. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:41 The fear, first 00:03:00 Evaluate before you negotiate 00:04:33 The homework is the negotiation 00:06:18 The mechanics 00:10:37 In your own voice 00:11:55 Deciding — and walking away 00:12:54 Where Job Trawlers fits 00:13:44 A prompt to prep your negotiation 00:14:37 The last five minutes 00:15:07 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with the prompt, sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/negotiate-your-offer?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=negotiate-your-offer Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=negotiate-your-offer Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

We pulled a decade of official US and Canadian labor data (BLS, Statistics Canada, nothing third-party) to answer three questions: are there fewer jobs per seeker, are wages actually stagnant, and how long does a search take now? The answers reshape how a 2026 search should be run. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:37 Numbers at a glance 00:05:29 Chapter 1: roles sought vs. roles posted 00:12:01 Chapter 2: wage stagnation, yes or no? 00:15:47 Chapter 3: how long a search takes now 00:21:20 What this proves (and what it doesn't) 00:23:07 Limitations 00:26:10 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/is-the-job-market-really-worse?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=is-the-job-market-really-worse Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=is-the-job-market-really-worse Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

Month four of a job search is the worst time to make strategy decisions, so make them in week one instead. How to adapt Adam Thomas's Survival Metrics framework into pre-committed trigger metrics: sensors, thresholds, and a stop, pivot, or invest action for each. Key takeaways - Set your decision rules in week one, while you're calm, not in month four, when you're demoralized and every choice feels loaded. - Every metric needs an action attached: stop, pivot, or invest. A number without a pre-committed action is just anxiety with a decimal point. - Applications sent is a vanity metric. Track whether the effort is aimed right: the conversion rates between stages of your funnel. - Individual rejections are noise. Rates across a large-enough sample are signal. Don't let a trigger fire until it has the sample size to be honest. - The most-skipped action is invest: when one channel or niche runs hot, pull effort from everywhere else and chase it. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:13 A framework borrowed from product teams 00:03:31 Wait — didn't I just say to ignore outcomes? 00:04:59 Name your worries, then wire them to sensors 00:06:32 The action everyone skips: invest 00:07:36 Keep a decision journal 00:08:32 Where the numbers come from 00:10:09 A prompt to set up your own trigger metrics 00:10:49 Week one is the whole trick 00:11:25 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with the prompt, sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/job-search-trigger-metrics?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=job-search-trigger-metrics Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=job-search-trigger-metrics Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

Job searching is a job with no manager, no feedback, and a 100% rejection rate until the day it isn't. Here's the routine that kept me sane when I searched: real office hours, mid-week interviews, intentional networking time, and weekends completely off. Key takeaways - Give your search office hours. Use a consistent, protected block with a hard stop. A structured search predicts landing a job better than a merely intense one. - Shape the week as well as the day. Interviews mid-week, networking on the edges, and the deep work in your best hours. - Take weekends completely off. Rest is a strategy, not a lapse. - Measure inputs (tailored applications, conversations, follow-ups), not outcomes. Rejection volume is mostly noise, not signal about you. - Don't search alone. Loneliness is the default state of a job search. Peer support is the antidote, and the best networking is relationships, not extraction. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:54 Give the search office hours 00:03:54 Shape the week, not just the day 00:05:02 Take weekends off — really off 00:06:43 Motivation and the rejection pile 00:08:38 Don't search alone 00:12:12 Protect the machine 00:13:23 A prompt to design your own routine 00:14:06 The part no tool can do 00:14:39 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with the prompt, sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/job-search-routine-burnout?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=job-search-routine-burnout Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=job-search-routine-burnout Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

We collapsed 210,000 saved jobs down to the distinct openings behind them. Roughly 1 in 6 repeats a role already in the pile — and a fat head of high-volume employers, led by one posting a single title 1,741 times, inflates the count far more than the average role does. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:30 Numbers at a glance 00:03:40 In plain English 00:04:36 What we measured (and the trap we had to avoid) 00:06:11 Method 00:07:06 Results 00:10:02 What this proves — and what it doesn't 00:11:03 So what do you do about a market that repeats itself? 00:12:59 Limitations 00:15:28 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/same-job-posted-again-and-again?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=same-job-posted-again-and-again Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=same-job-posted-again-and-again Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

AI can find the jobs and check the boxes. Your resume is the one part that still has to sound like you. Here's why AI-written resumes blend in — and how to use AI to surface your own stories instead of replacing them. Key takeaways - A fully AI-written resume optimizes for average. In a pile of AI-written resumes, average is invisible. - Recruiters who screen at volume can smell generated copy: the over-selling, the buzzwords, the metrics that all end in a 0 or a 5. - Don't tailor the whole resume for every job. Tailor the summary; leave the experience section as a factual record of what you actually did. - What wins is a differentiator plus a few real stories: here's a problem I saw, here's what I did, here's what changed. - Use AI as an interviewer and editor that pulls your own stories out of you, not as a ghostwriter that invents them. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:06 Why AI-written resumes lose 00:03:33 The human's job: stories, not tasks 00:05:32 Stop tailoring the whole thing 00:07:07 But everyone says to tailor for the ATS 00:09:30 How to use AI the right way 00:10:37 Why we don't write your resume for you 00:12:32 A prompt to pull your stories out of you 00:13:16 The point 00:13:48 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with the prompt, sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/your-resume-is-where-you-come-in?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=your-resume-is-where-you-come-in Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=your-resume-is-where-you-come-in Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

Applying harder is the slowest way to find a job. Here's the upstream version of a search: get clear on what you want, target a short list of real companies, and reach the people who own the roles. Key takeaways - Flip the ratio. Most searches spend their hours finding jobs. Let a tool do that so your time goes to targeting, outreach, and the interview, the parts that actually land offers. - Get specific about your focus. If you can't name the role, the kind of company, and your edge, you're not ready to apply yet. You're ready to decide. - Let one search surface real, currently-hiring roles, triage them into a short list, then reach the human who owns the role directly instead of submitting into a portal. - Keep every role, contact, and stage in one pipeline so warm threads don't go cold. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:23 Get clear before you do anything 00:03:43 Target like it's due diligence 00:05:03 Reach the person, not the portal 00:06:20 Make the message worth a reply 00:07:32 Keep it all in one pipeline 00:08:13 The last mile is the interview 00:08:50 A prompt to do the upstream work for you 00:09:38 The shift 00:10:03 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with the prompt, sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/stop-applying-start-targeting?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=stop-applying-start-targeting Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=stop-applying-start-targeting Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

We measured how much basic information is simply missing from job listings as the source publishes it. Across ~238,000 roles pulled from 41+ hiring systems: 93% have no expiry date, 97% no industry, and 1 in 5 weren't even structured data. Full method and limits. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:46 In plain English 00:03:17 What we measured, and how 00:04:14 What this doesn't prove 00:04:53 What we do about it 00:07:34 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/how-broken-is-job-listing-data?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=how-broken-is-job-listing-data Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=how-broken-is-job-listing-data Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

Almost every unemployment program makes you document your job search to keep your benefits. Here's what a work-search log needs — and how to pull one straight from our Pipeline page, anytime. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:43 Two things are true almost everywhere 00:02:27 What a work-search log actually has to contain 00:03:29 The trap: keeping the log by hand, separately from your actual search 00:04:13 How to pull a work-search log from your pipeline 00:06:40 An honest note on what the export does and doesn't do 00:07:53 Why this matters beyond the paperwork 00:08:36 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/unemployment-work-search-log?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=unemployment-work-search-log Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=unemployment-work-search-log Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.

When you Google a job, what actually comes back? We classified 3,238 results across 9 countries. ~86% are aggregators, job boards, or agencies — and direct-employer ATS pages were 1 in 3,238. Full data and method. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:57 In plain English 00:04:12 How to read the stats in this report 00:05:24 What we measured — and the one thing we didn't 00:06:07 Method 00:07:41 Results: the result mix, by country 00:08:50 Results: by role 00:09:30 Does it get better if you dig deeper? 00:10:39 What this proves — and what it doesn't 00:12:20 Limitations 00:13:49 Try Job Trawlers Read the full post, with sources and charts: https://jobtrawlers.com/blog/what-google-shows-job-seekers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=what-google-shows-job-seekers Try Job Trawlers: https://jobtrawlers.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=what-google-shows-job-seekers Written by Scott Baldwin. Music by Giants Killed Patrick. Narrated by JT, an AI voice, from the Job Trawlers blog post.