Job Seeking Advice vs. Pickled Herring

The job market feels a little slow. I've tried to analyze the trends & patterns but I can't tell who's getting hired, in what parts of the country or in what sectors. I also can't understand why so many people are still unemployed when the employment numbers and job reports for the past few months have been strong.

And silly me, I keep going to LinkedIn for answers! Daily, I'm looking at people's updates, reading posts authored by thought leaders, occasionally commenting when a friend lands a new job or loses one. While that's all fine & dandy, one thing is for certain: there's a lot and I mean A LOT of advice out there. So, let me give you some more!

Advice on job seeking is like pickled herring, you can take it or leave it. So unless you're from someplace in Scandinavia or just love pickled herring, most people should leave it. I believe the majority of job seekers knows what to do, we know what to wear for an interview, how to negotiate our compensation packages etc. What's not being said is to use your best judgement. If you're interviewing at a 20 person AI start up, maybe showing up in a 3 piece suit & tie, an hour early is overkill. But use your best judgement. If you're responding to an inquiry from an in-house recruiter, maybe omit profanity to express excitement & interest. Again, use your best judgement. Finally, feel free to take in boat loads of advice but at the end of the day, the decision is yours and yours alone. So, do what's best for you, trust your intuition, use your best judgement & leave the pickled herring.

Happy job hunting!