All the best advice we could find on how to get a job | The 80,000 Hours career guide (2023 edition)

Core Premise and Strategy

• Getting a job is fundamentally a sales process requiring the persuasion of an employer to assume risk for results, rather than a matter of entitlement or fairness.
• Success requires prioritizing the employer's perspective, specifically seeking methods that reduce their screening effort and risk, such as referrals and proof of capability.
• The process is divided into three stages: generating leads, converting leads into offers, and negotiating terms.
• Applying sales techniques to a role one is unqualified for is counterproductive; one should only pursue roles where they can perform better than the next best applicant.

Stage 1: Generating Leads

• The volume of leads required is high; early-career job seekers typically need 20 to 100 leads to secure one offer, with an average US unemployment duration of six months.
• Competitive roles, particularly in high-impact fields like pandemic prevention, often yield fewer than 10 viable leads, necessitating applications in adjacent career paths until at least 30 leads are identified.
• Luck and team fit play a significant role, meaning talented candidates may still fail to secure jobs due to organizational mismatch or poor timing.
• Applicants should maintain a portfolio of both "backup positions" (high probability of landing, lower attractiveness) and "stretch positions" (low probability, high upside) to mitigate risk and improve negotiating leverage.
• Job applications serve a dual purpose: they are a mechanism for securing employment and a critical tool for assessing career fit and discovering new paths.
• Cold emailing resumes has an estimated success rate of 1 in 1,000, whereas referrals via trusted connections are significantly more effective because they vouch for the candidate's work.
• Most hiring managers prefer to fill roles internally or via referral before utilizing job boards; the ideal hiring funnel prioritizes internal promotion, known candidates, referrals, and referrals via agencies before online ads.
• Approximately 50% of jobs are found through connections, and many positions are never publicly advertised.
• Job seekers often inefficiently reverse the hiring funnel by relying on unsolicited resumes before exhausting referral and proof-of-work channels.
• Referral success requires mastering the art of asking for introductions, including updating LinkedIn profiles to feature concrete, impressive achievements rather than vague descriptions.
• Search self-reviews on Google to ensure online results are professional and free of embarrassing content before initiating contact.
• Informational interviews should be framed as seeking industry advice rather than requesting a job, with follow-up requests for introductions reserved for when the conversation is successful.
• Specificity in networking requests increases success; vague requests like "a job in software" are less effective than "an entry-level marketing position at a tech startup in education."
• Utilizing LinkedIn and social networks to identify second- and third-degree connections at target companies can expand reach to thousands of potential contacts.
• If direct connections are unavailable, candidates should build industry networks through alumni groups, conferences, or cold emailing guided by specific scripts.

Stage 2: Conversion and Interviewing

• Employers prioritize candidates who can prove they will solve specific problems, often valuing this over social fit or formal credentials.
• In standardized hiring processes (e.g., government, Teach for America), candidates must rigorously research and practice specific competencies and rubrics.
• Demonstrating capability by actually performing the work is the most powerful conversion tactic for candidates with limited formal experience.
• Four primary methods to prove capability include: creating portfolio projects, submitting pre-interview solutions (the "briefcase technique"), offering short-term trial periods, and applying for adjacent roles within the target organization.
• Pre-interview projects should involve desk research to identify organizational problems, followed by a weekend effort to propose solutions, sent as a one-page summary to key contacts.
• Applying for a "nearby position" (e.g., operations vs. research) can serve as a gateway to the desired role, provided the tracks are not mutually exclusive.
• Effective interview preparation involves asking employers questions about their challenges, as sales research links high question volume to interaction success.
• Candidates should prepare exactly three key selling points, as this is the cognitive limit for what an audience can retain.
• Concrete stories and facts are far more memorable than abstract claims; candidates should prepare specific anecdotes to back up their three key messages.
• A one-sentence "vivid summary" of one's value proposition (e.g., "the guy who advised Obama on climate policy") facilitates peer-to-peer promotion.
• Candidates must practice answering standard questions ("Tell me about yourself," "Why this position?") and behavioral questions aloud.
• Post-interview debriefing is essential; candidates should document what went well and what failed after every interview to adapt their strategy.
• Statistical benchmarks suggest that failing to get past initial stages after 5–10 interviews indicates a presentation or fit issue, whereas securing multiple final-stage interviews with no offers usually requires 3–10 more final interviews.
• Candidates who receive offers easily should increase the number of applications to "stretch" positions.

Stage 3: Negotiation

• Negotiation should occur only after a formal offer is extended, as employers have invested significant time and resources by that stage.
• A 10-minute negotiation can yield substantial long-term benefits, including salary increases, flexible hours, remote work options, or charity donation matching.
• Negotiation is inappropriate for highly standardized roles (e.g., civil service) or when the candidate is not significantly stronger than other applicants.
• The strongest negotiating position exists when a candidate has multiple offers, providing a necessary fallback option.
• Effective negotiation relies on explaining the value provided and finding win-win solutions, such as trading a preferred schedule for a specific skill-building opportunity.
• Candidates with weaker leverage can negotiate for future promotions or salary increases tied to specific performance conditions over the next six months.
• Post-hiring negotiation is highly effective; performing exceptionally well in a role often allows for better terms in the next review cycle.
• Most companies have standard performance review processes; candidates should wait for these cycles to request significant changes.

Motivation and Long-Term Strategy

• Job hunting is often the hardest career phase, requiring the adoption of motivational techniques such as pairing with a job search partner.
• Candidates should set specific, public goals (e.g., "speak to five people weekly") with forfeits for missed targets to maintain accountability.
• Reframing rejection as a game (e.g., a loyalty card system) can reduce the psychological impact of failure.
• Treating the job search as a full-time job (9 AM to 5 PM) increases the likelihood of securing a position within the standard 1–2 month timeframe.
• Building career capital (connections and skills) makes future job searches significantly easier, potentially shifting the dynamic so employers seek out the candidate.
• Word-of-mouth marketing becomes the most effective strategy once a candidate excels in their role.

Implementation and Conclusion

• Candidates are urged to define specific "implementation intentions" for their job search, such as "follow up with my last boss" or "meet three industry contacts."
• The core strategy is to view hiring as a sales process, generate high volumes of leads via introductions, prove capability through work samples, and negotiate for better terms.
• The ultimate goal is to transition from hunting for jobs to having jobs hunt for the candidate by developing a reputation for excellence.