#2: Ghosting, Exercise Snacking, and the new Sage Community

Hey!

We’ve been thinking about you all month. Mostly because we’ve built a community space that you can now join (for FREE) to connect more directly with us (👋) and other job seekers. We’ll be engaging with the Sage community directly and dropping job-search content there more regularly.

Think resume templates, job search strategies, wellness groups, personal development resources, webinars and more. Plus you’ll have the benefit of getting to know other community members. There’s 1 billion people on LinkedIn now!? So, making networking with others a bit more realistic and bite-sized is the goal.

As always, pass this along to anyone you feel could benefit. The more the merrier!

Tune In: Playlists to Boost Your Job Hunt

Job searching day after day can really leave you dragging.

Good news: the right tunes can help get you back on track. Cue the music! We've handpicked the best beats to accompany you through any task or mood.

Our fave Spotify playlists for when you need:

For our non-Spotify users, ask Alexa to spin up one of these 🔥 playlists:

Insight Hub: You Asked, We Answered

“What do you do or how do you improve if feedback wasn’t given when you get rejected from the interview process?”

The lack of feedback when faced with rejection has become a common complaint amongst job seekers, and rightfully so; we all want to know where we fell short and make improvements going forward.

Often times it’s no fault of your own (ie, another candidate was simply a better fit, the company shifted their priorities, etc). Assuming you directly asked for feedback and are still left empty handed, there’s a lot to gain from the experience of interviewing, regardless. That’s where we encourage candidates to put their focus when tangible feedback isn’t forthcoming.

Even if you didn’t land the role, you got to practice and fine tune your interview skills, you likely made new connections along the way, had the opportunity to sharpen your networking abilities, and hopefully got more clarity on what you want (and don't want) in your future role. Not too shabby!

Every interview, regardless of the outcome, is a stepping stone in your career journey.

That said, we often tell candidates to keep the rule of 3’s in mind. Follow up no more than three times when it comes to feedback, next steps or even to express your interest in a role. If after that you still hear nothing, it’s time to move on.

Were You Ghosted or Did You Forget to Follow Up?

If you interviewed for a role, you deserve a response. That should be the norm, and we know that it is incredibly frustrating when it doesn’t happen. However, while we’re all for hiring teams keeping candidates in the loop, things fall through the cracks in this market with the volume of applicants and conversations. And honestly? We’ve both dropped the ball sending candidate feedback a time or two because…we’re human (not 'cuz we’re trying to make your life miserable).

So if you want to increase your chances of getting hired…follow up, because follow-ups get people jobs for numerous reasons:

✍ They show that you’re invested. People want to work with other people who show that they really care about joining the team.

✍ They give you the opportunity to include anything you may have forgotten to mention in the interview or clarify something you said or did. We’ve seen this save someone who felt they offended a hiring manager!

✍ They allow you to mention yet another reason you'd be the solution to their particular challenges. Maybe it's training you've recently taken or a strategy you've had success with in the past.

There are so many ways a follow-up can help you secure the role (and ensure you don’t get ghosted). Don’t fake it, but also don’t hold back from showing your interest, adding value, and ensuring there is no doubt in their mind that you will deliver results. 🎯

Exercise Snacking

Sorry, this isn’t the part where we tell you to bring a Snickers on your next walk around the block. Rather than spending an hour to knock out a heavy workout, exercise snacking refers to taking small breaks to move your body. Doing so is critical for overall health and working a sedentary desk job is no excuse for a lack of movement. (Don’t hate us, we’re just the messenger.) Every step, squat and stretch adds up!

Here’s our favorite hacks to get active throughout the day and make sure fitness stays top of mind:

🚶Walk and talk: Have the luxury of not needing to be on camera? Take your meeting on the go. Walking can stimulate your creativity so it’s likely you’ll be even more productive and articulate. Win-Win.

🌤️ Take small breaks: Taking a few 15 minutes walk breaks throughout the day adds up. 15 minutes of walking = ~2K steps. Not to mention the incredible mood boost that comes from getting fresh air and some natural light in the eyes. (PS- Here’s Sam’s fave & Kelly’s fave sunscreens.)

⏰ Wake up earlier: Want to ensure you get a workout in? Knock it out first thing in the morning so you don’t have to worry if the day gets hectic. Bonus: you’ll be supercharged with energy for the work ahead!

🖥️ Use a standing desk: Or better yet get a walking pad to pair with it. You’ll be hitting 10K in no time. Next up, marathon?

🧘‍♀️ Stretch: Got 5 minutes between calls? Stretch it out. Here’s some simple, yet efficient poses to shake out the stiffness and tension. Work in an office? We gotchu. Here’s some exercises you can do without even leaving your desk.

Living an active life doesn’t have to mean completing a cross-fit style workout or bust. Moving your body in small increments whenever possible really does add up to health-boosting and life-changing results.

(No affiliate links here, just things we love.)

Job searching is not a forever thing. It’s a season, and for some of us it’s longer and more painful than we ever could have imagined. We’re going to keep showing up to support you as long as you need. You’re not alone.

And on that note, don’t forget to sign up for the new Sage community! PS - there’s a mobile app that can be downloaded on Apple & Android for easy access on the go.

Until next month,