September 10, 2024 • 42 mins
Entry-level positions often require 3+ years of experience. But how are you supposed to get years of experience before qualifying for an entry-level role? And what does “entry level” even mean? We’re talking with resume specialist Morgan Sanner, aka Resume Official, about how to reframe your work experience and show hiring managers that you’re a qualified candidate.
Do you have any burning questions about work? We want to hear them! You can email us your questions at letstalkoffline@linkedin.com.
And thank you to Morgan Sanner for joining us this week! Follow Morgan on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/morgansanner).
For more, follow Gianna (http://linkedin.com/in/giannaprudente) and Jamé (http://linkedin.com/in/jamejackson) on LinkedIn and subscribe to Gianna’s weekly newsletter: https://linkedin.com/letstalkoffline.
Credits
Gianna Prudente - Co-host, Early Career Development Editor, LinkedIn
Jamé Jackson - Co-host, Community Manager, LinkedIn
Sabrina Fang - Producer, Western Sound
Maya Pope-Chappell - Director of Content & Audience Development, LinkedIn
Jessi Hempel - Chief Content Officer, LinkedIn
Savannah Wright - Senior Producer, Western Sound
Sarah Dealy - Associate Producer, Western Sound
Alex MacInnis - Engineer, Western Sound
Courtney Coupe - Head of Original Programming, LinkedIn
Dan Roth - Editor in Chief, LinkedIn
Ben Adair - Executive Producer, Western Sound
Katrina Norvell - Executive Producer, iHeartMedia
Nikke Ettore - Executive Producer, iHeartMedia
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
LinkedIn News.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
I had an engineer once who was specifically working in Python.
It was looking for roles that were heavily using Python.
His resume did not say Python anywhere, and when I
asked why, he said, well, I thought it was obvious.
We forget that the recruiters have not done the jobs
that they are hiring for. So if you don't say
it and you don't point it out, they're going to
assume you don't have it.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (00:27):
I hope everyone heard that, because I definitely would leave
things out and be like, well, of course I would
have it.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
I still leave things out now, like we just naturally assume,
oh right, the person would just know, No, they don't.
Speaker 5 (00:38):
Baby.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
It's like, if someone likes you like, they can't just
assume that you know you like them. You gotta tell them.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
O God from LinkedIn News and I heard podcasts.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
This is Let's Talk Offline. I'm Giana Prudenti.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
And I'm Jamaie Jackson Gadsden. You guys, this is a
brand new podcast and gian and I are super excited
to help you navigate your work life. I want you
to think of her and me as your two new
work besties. We're gonna be having super honest and real
conversations and answering the questions that you might not feel
comfortable asking your manager, co workers, or even your best friend.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
And we've got lots to cover, negotiating your pay, setting boundaries,
making friends in the office, you know, all those unspoken
rules of work. This is let's talk offline, a show
about what it takes to thrive in the early years
of your career without sacrificing your values, sanity, or sleep.
(01:46):
Today we're talking all about applying for jobs and me
many many challenges that come with that, specifically what you
should do if you feel like you just don't have
enough experience for the job. Imagine you're looking at a
job opening for an entry level position. You're going through
the job description and it's looking good, but all of
a sudden, you see that one requirement that stops you.
(02:09):
It says this job requires three plus years of experience.
Dunt dunt dun, And you're like, well, I'm a new
grad or maybe I'm early in my career and I'm
making a pivot. How the heck am I going to
land this job when it requires three plus years of experience?
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Oh, we've all been there before.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
We've all been there, and listen, we're going to talk
to you today about why all experience is valid. And
joining us in just a bit is Morgan Sanner. She
is resume official on TikTok and she's going to tell
us how we can all effectively tell our stories to
show employers why we are the right candidates for the jobs.
But before we get into that, Tomay, I think we
(02:47):
should introduce ourselves.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
What do you think, Yeah, let's do it. Why don't
you start us off?
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Okay? Cool? Hey y'all. So I am Jamaie Jackson Gatston.
I went to Howard and then when I graduated a
couple of years later, I got my master in business
at lam College here in New York. UH. For the
past decade, I've been working in media, the arts, the
entertainment space. I am an actor, so a lot of
my work has been figuring out, well, how do actors
(03:13):
and creatives show up and how do we talk to
each other and how do we market our services? And
that's kind of a little bit about what I do
at LinkedIn too. I get to do things like host
workshops and I essentially get to coach people on how
they can show up authentically on the platform and remove
that nasty dick out of like tooting their own horn, baby,
because let me tell you that horner will get you paid. Okay,
what else? I'm a dog mom of three, and I
(03:35):
also love anything that is scary. So if you love
scary things, scary movies, TV shows, genres, YouTube channels, send
me everything. Let us bond together in scary secrecy. Gianna,
what about you?
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Okay?
Speaker 4 (03:47):
So I don't like horror. Something about me is not
my vibe but more of a rom com.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Gal, but we'll get in.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
I scary rom coms.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
That sounds like my worst the genre for me. Okay.
So I graduated college.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
In twenty twenty one, which, well I was going to say,
that makes your recent grad But I think I need
to retire the term.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
It's time time to give it up.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
But I studied journalism at Syracuse University, and if my
parents had it their way, I'd be an accountant. No
shade to accountants, but it just wasn't the life for me,
you know. I wasn't there to crunch numbers all day.
And so since then, I've been at LinkedIn for three
years now. I was first an intern. I was on
(04:33):
a contract and then I went full time, and so
my job's changed quite a bit in between all of that.
But right now, my day job is that I get
to speak to people like you, listening about your careers,
so what you do all day and how your path
is taking shape, and also experts who can give us
advice on navigating all of our career first, because if
(04:53):
you haven't realized it already, there's no career one oh
one class in college that will tell you what to do.
A lot of it is trial and error, and I
hope to help you guys along the way.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
And what else. I love baking.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
That's what I do outside of my day job. If
you have any great recipes, please send them my way.
I love to bake. I'm passing down recipes through my
family carry on traditions, and one day I think I'm
going to do like a complete one eighty and just
completely become a chef. I want to go to Italy,
go to culinary school. Oh my god, don't tell my manager,
(05:29):
just kidd he.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Knows I would love that. And guys, please send Gianna
all the recipes because that means she will make them,
and that means that she will bring them to.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Us and we'll review that. Maybe we TVD on that.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
But as you can see, Jamay and I have different
career experiences, and you guys are going to get to
know us even more throughout the show. We're going to
continue to talk about our own careers throughout different topics,
and we'll even bring in experts at times who can
lend their expertise.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
I love that, but I want you guys to remember,
this show was about y'all. This is not about me
and Gianna. Okay, we want to hear from you. We
want to answer all of those career questions, the things
that are burning in your heart. Okay, if it's not indigestion,
it is a career question. We want to help figure
out your workplace dilemmas, and we want to hear your
work stories. We want to laugh, cry, cringe all that,
(06:17):
So don't be shy. We want the real, unfiltered tea.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Yes please, and you can send us your questions over email,
leave us a voicemail, or message us on LinkedIn. You'll
find all the ways you can reach out to us
on our show page, and each week we'll address some
of your questions on the show.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Okay, back to today's topic. Y'all, when you're first starting
out in your career, you're just looking for those opportunities
to get your foot in the door. So when you
are finding entry level jobs that require all those years
of experience that you don't even have, it's really discouraging.
So Gianna, I want to ask you, how did you
(06:54):
approach looking and applying for jobs, Like what was that
experience like for you.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
I remember feeling so discouraged when I was looking for
jobs and saw years of experience required for what were
considered entry level positions.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
And when I was.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
Job searching, it was mostly during my senior year, so
I was like, I'm approaching graduation and I don't really
know if I'm going to have a full time job,
and was just applying to like a ton of entry
level programs and internships, which already I was like, ugh
as a senior, like I'm going to be applying for internships.
But I had to broaden my job search a bit,
(07:32):
so I was full in on the job search. And
when I was applying for these entry level programs, some
of them were rotational, so it was for people who
were considered new grads, and that felt comfortable for sure,
but I remember going for more like associate roles where
maybe two years of experience were required, and I was
like definitely discouraged at first, and then I think, what's
(07:56):
unique about our industry is, you know, I studied journalism
in my journalism school, I wasn't going to class learning
how to be a journalist. I was since freshman year
out doing field assignments, and like, literally why I had
one of my worst panic attacks ever was because of
how demanding the work was outside of class. And I
remember like ubering off campus in between classes to like report,
(08:17):
and that was all the way through senior year. I
always had to be We were always out in Syracuse reporting.
So because of that, I was like, I know that
I can frame these classes as actual experience and put
that on my resume. So I did, and because of
the competitive nature of my school, I was involved on
campus in different news publications, so I had those on
(08:40):
my resume. So I always felt like, yes, Okay, maybe
this requires two years of experience, but for the past
four years, basically I've been out in the field, reporting
and doing the thing.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
So I did include those on.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
My resumes starting out, which I think is something a
lot of students are hesitant to do because we are
not always sure how to frame that experience correctly.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Yeah, I definitely can relate, and I think that it's
always a challenge to figure out how to even start
the conversation when you feel like you're starting from ground zero.
I thought I was in a good position by the
time I had graduated. I had intern at AARP the
magazine and two years and I knew then, Okay, if
(09:22):
I'm not going to be an actor, I want to
be an editor. And so I already had started to
get the internship experience. And so by the time I graduated,
I thought, you have a portfolio, you have your writing clips,
you can do this. And it was crickets. I was
applying for everywhere I couldn't even get an internship. And
(09:44):
it was a little jarring for me that I wasn't
getting the receptiveness back from people or if I was
getting offers. It was like, you have to start back
at like being like almost even like a level below
an intern right, And I was like, how on earth
am I supposed to get the experience if nobody's giving
me a chance, I will never forget I this was
(10:04):
back in the day when I still used to physically
send out my resume and portfolio. I would literally go
to the post office and get stamps. Yep, I would package. Girl.
Let me tell you before your time.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
Wait, if you printed out your resume, I well, I.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Would print out you. What you would do is you
would go to the library or you would look at
the masthead and you would see who the editor of
your department was, and you would address your envelope to
that person. And back then editors editor in chiefs even
used to actually read these, and so you would prepare
your resume, you would prepare your portfolio, maybe some writing
(10:41):
samples in the tone of the magazine or whatever, just
to give them a sense. I will never forget. I
sent this out to a particular editor that I really
wanted to work for, and she wrote back to me,
which I was excited about, thinking, oh, you wrote back,
But she said, you are really talented, but I already
have a black girl on my team. And that was
(11:05):
such a jarring experience, because you know, I've seen racism
in all different forms of my life, but for it
to be that up close and personal like that was
such a jarring experience. That it actually said, you know what,
I'm going to create my own platform where I can
control the editorial voice, the editorial nature, and I can
(11:26):
ensure that women who look like me are going to
be represented, because if you're going to say that to
someone who you see is talented, then you don't deserve
my words in the first place. And so in some
ways I kind of see that as a blessing. And
in fact, I was able to start using writing samples
from my website when I started applying for new jobs
(11:48):
and they were like, wait, you did this, and I said, yeah,
I was able to do the writing. I did the research,
I did the visuals. I would take my camera out
on Saturdays and make my man take photos like I
I was able to show them if you hire me,
you are getting a great deal because I'm not just
a writer, but I can do all these things. And
so I've always had to be very scrappy about what
(12:10):
that early career experience can look like. But that's also
why I have a really really soft spot in my
heart for all of the entrepreneurs or people who you
know are in that position. They're like, I don't know
where to start. Yeah. My answer to that is just.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
Start, start and just start, and you're such a great
example of doing the work, which I think for my year,
we really realized you have to just do it yourself
if you're not going to get the opportunities. And I
will just say when I was mass applying, I received
a ton of reductions, yeah, and no feedback, so I
never really knew exactly why I was not getting these
(12:44):
internships in jobs.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
So it is super discouraging.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
And part of that, you know, it just feels like
there's so much red tape and like hoops you have
to go through to land an entry level position. But
the reality is you likely have so much more experience
and you're giving yourself credit for It's just about reflecting
on your college journey or your high school journey and
framing it in a way that positions you for whatever
(13:08):
role you're applying to.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
All experience is valid. And after the break, we're gonna
be chatting it up with HR and Resumes specialist Morgan Sander.
She's gonna spill the tea about how you can show
employers that you're the right candidate for that job. Honey, Okay, Gianna,
(13:39):
we have both talked about the first time we were
ever trying to look for jobs and the experience that
we needed or didn't have, and all of the highs
and lows with that. But I'm sure that we're not
the only ones going through this. Girl like other people
also have to be going through this, but we also
need to talk to the experts who know what they're
talking about. I think we have one today.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
Yes, joining us today is Morgan Sanner. She is an
HR professional and resume specialist who works with job seekers
on how to optimize the resumes. She's a gen zer
herself and is passionate about uplifting young professionals as they
navigate the workforce. And if you're on TikTok, which you
probably are, she goes by a resume official where she
offers career advice and breaks down myths about gen z
(14:23):
at work. My favorite, Morgan, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Yeah, abso really thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
I like resume official, you telling them I'm legit, I'm
the one, not the two. Okay, I thank you.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
I was going for I was very dazing at the
beginning trying to come up with a name, but I thought, well,
if they think I'm official, that certainly should help.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
I love it, so Morgan, to start us off, how
would you even describe entry level jobs these days?
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Yeah, I think entry level jobs can be tough to get.
I actually have my younger sister just graduated from undergrad
and is trying to find her first position in marketing,
So the job market is definitely challenging for that time.
I graphic right now, and I think too, there's this
confusion about what entry level truly means because I think
on the job seeker side, and it makes sense to
me that we would believe that would mean no experience.
(15:11):
But unfortunately, when you look at applicant tracking systems or
any job boards, they don't really have a section that
is dedicated to no experience. So unfortunately everything kind of
has to fall into entry level. So usually I've seen
that be seven years or less. Sometimes it's five years
or less, and that can be really frustrating for job
seekers because there's no true way to filter out jobs
that are really looking for no experience.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
That's so true. I remember when I was job seeking
like three years ago now, and I was looking at
job postings. I thought, whatever is listed on this job
ad is an absolute requirement, Like I need to check
every single box to be considered qualified for the job.
I'm wondering from you, as somebody who works in HR
and as a resume writer, what's your take on job descriptions.
(15:57):
Are they a non negotiable list of requirements or more
of a wish list?
Speaker 2 (16:02):
That can really depend on the industry. There are some
rules where if they are working with the government or
contracted with the government in some way, they can be
one hundred percent requirements. There are others where it can
absolutely be a wish list where if you see the
section that says prefer to have, those are absolutely not necessary.
They're nice to have, but you definitely don't need them.
So I think it's great if you match seventy percent up.
(16:23):
I would tend to apply just because you never know
they might take a chance and you don't know which
of those I'll say, quote unquote requirements are actually requirements
for that hiring manager.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
I think that's really important because I think a lot
of people when you are applying, you're trying to figure out, Okay,
I need to land a job to get the experience,
but I need the experience to land the job. It's
like a chicken or an egg, like which one comes first,
and that starts to knock your confidence. Like, I don't
know about you guys, but like when I was like
first graduating and I couldn't get a job to stay
(16:55):
in my life, I was just sleeping having panic attacks,
Like aren't pit sweaty twenty five or seven cortisol levels up?
It was just not sexy whatsoever. So, Morgan, what advice
would you give to people who are talking themselves out
of applying because they think that they're not going to
get it or they think that the opportunity isn't there.
(17:15):
It's like, how do you overcome this mental trap honestly
of applying, rejection, experience, jobs, everything.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Oh yeah, I could probably do a whole ted talk
on this, But there are so many clients that I've seen.
I would say almost every client I've ever had has
believed that they were not qualified for the roles that
they were applying for. It doesn't matter if they were
at the past CEO, if they had a very successful business.
They all believe in some way that they are not
the right person for the role and that nobody would
(17:45):
ever pick them. So that's very common. And if your
fellow job seekers are feeling that you're definitely not alone.
The only difference between the person who doesn't get the
job and the person who gets the job is usually
who applies, because usually the qualifications and the experienced levels
are very, very very competitive, especially in this market where
we have so many amazing people that are unfortunately unemployed.
(18:05):
After we saw all these layofs these past couple of years.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Yeah, I think a lot about that quote. What is
it like you miss one hundred percent of the shots
you never take? So sometimes you just got to get
out there. And I know, like for me, the initial
jobs that I applied for that I didn't get were
also really great experiences for me to learn how to improve,
whether it was my cover letter or my resume or
my interview skills. I don't like to see anything as
(18:31):
wasted experience, and so I really appreciate you saying that, because, Yeah,
a lot of this does come down to mentally putting
yourself out there and being okay with whatever happens, but
knowing that the first step is putting yourself out there.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Yeah, rejection is scary, but it's better than you rejecting yourself.
Speaker 4 (18:50):
Oh yeah, self rejection. I think it's important too to
acknowledge like there's an opportunity gap when it comes to experience.
So a lot of people aren't able to take unpaid internships,
which whole other topic we could talk about another tool,
or you don't take hold topics or take risks to
really build their resume. So what's your advice for people
(19:11):
who don't have, you know, traditional work experience in their
desired field that they're interested in.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Oh, yeah, it's all about selling yourself and branding because
when you're graduating college especially, a lot of people probably
don't have direct experience in the field that they'll be
applying to. So it's really about taking the experience that
you do have and selling it in a way where
you're really highlighting those transferable skills and talking about what
problems you were able to solve for them. And I've
(19:38):
also had people who didn't have any work during college,
so we actually took their student experience and we wrote
that as if it were a full time job. So
we're talking about the research that they're doing, the teams
that they're working on, all the other assignments that they
did do that were related to that field. I don't
know if it was just my college, but we had
opportunities in my classes to actually work with local businesses,
(19:58):
and those are really like small skill consulting projects if
you allow yourself to think of it that way.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Yeah, that's so true.
Speaker 4 (20:06):
You mentioned taking transferable skills and selling them on your resume,
and that kind of brings us to our segment, Dear
Work Beastie, where we answer questions from our listeners, and
this week we have a question from Samuel in Colorado.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Let's take a listen.
Speaker 5 (20:22):
So I have been finishing up my shared course work
for an accelerated Masters of Science and Global Health. I
have just completed my degree requirements for my Bachelors of
Science in the same field with a minor sustainability and
a certificate and evolutionary Medicine. I'm currently searching for jobs
or internships and hopes of transitioning out of Starbucks and
(20:45):
into something I have a little bit more passion for.
I've been trying to get my resume polished and looking
nice as I start this next part of my journey.
And something that I think I would benefit the most
from is understanding what a recent graduate should do and
prioritize in order to lend one of those really good
internships or entry level positions that would really help get
(21:08):
their foot in the door.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
So Samuel, first of all, shout out to you, Bethty. Okay,
you are educated. You've got that Master of Science and
Global hell, honey, we need it right about now. Okay,
so Samuel is already doing well with the education part,
but now we are hitting this obstacle where he's working
at Starbucks and it doesn't exactly translate to the field
that he's really passionate meotist. So let's start super easy
(21:33):
for our bestie, Samuel Morgan. What advice would you give
to Samuel on how to use the experience he has
to apply for the jobs in his field of interest.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Yeah. Absolutely. One of the first thoughts that came to
mind was because it sounds like the work experience that
this person does have is within a non relevant field,
so at Starbucks. So I like to lay the resume
out in terms of most relevant down to least relevant.
In this instance, I might not even put Starbucks on there.
I would maybe put other work experience and put you know,
Barista Starbucks in the dates, and that's it, not even
(22:07):
add any bullet points, and then we can really focus
the upper half of the resume on the skills and
the coursework that you've done, especially if you've done any
projects that are directly within the field, or if you
have any publications that relate to the jobs that you're
looking for. I try to work in terms of most important,
the things that you absolutely cannot let the recruiter miss,
(22:27):
down to least important.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
Yeah, since he's a recent grad, what are things that
he should be thinking about as he's applying for jobs.
I mean, you've already broken down sort of what the
resume should look like, but what are some other things
that Samuel should be thinking about as they continue to
apply for different opportunities.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
I would say marketing yourself on LinkedIn, as well as
possibly building out a portfolio if you do have any
publications or any kind of work that could be uploaded.
Those are always really great just to see samples of
your actual work. Another thing I've had past clients do
is they will find ways to start freelancing or just
taking on small projects, because sometimes you know, they can't
(23:08):
afford to hire somebody full time with those kind of skills,
but they might have a small research project that's only
a couple of months, so possibly going outside of just
looking at full time work, which does stink. You know,
you want a permanent solution so you're not job searching
again a few months later. But sometimes it really is
just getting your foot in the door and getting some
of those work experiences under your belt first.
Speaker 4 (23:28):
Yeah, that's such good advice, and I can relate to
Samuel because when I started out on my resume, maybe
I shouldn't have had it on, but I did put
that I worked at an ice cream shop for like
four years and I was in a management role there,
which like sounded so flashy at the time, and I
was like, you know what, they're like trusting me to close,
like I'm working like the cash register, Like I'm working
(23:48):
with all this cash, So you know, I do think
there's a huge benefit of at least speaking to those
customer facing roles in the interview, or maybe there's transferable skills,
like I'm sure you a great listener because you're taking
people's orders, you're building relationships, and you know a lot
about the products at Starbucks. I'm sure like he can
take kind of those skills as well and speak to
(24:10):
them in the interview, even if it's not on his resume,
because there's a lot of value in those customer facing roles,
and I think we tend to discount that when we're
starting out because we're like, oh, it's not related to
what I want to do. But really employers like to
hear that stuff, and maybe they worked at Starbucks or
like then it starts a whole conversation about like their
favorite drink. I was talking about ice cream in interviews,
like it just broke the eye and it helped us
(24:32):
create bonds. So I think that's really good advice to
kind of at least, you know, think about the coursework
that's relevant and how you can gain experience outside of
you know, traditional work experience, and then also maybe speaking.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
To this in the interview or you know, cover letter
or whatever it might be.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Love that advice. So would you recommend if, like for instance,
Samuel or anyone else out there who's just starting out,
that they look at the job description and make sure
that at least from the skills perspective, that everything in
there is included in some way, shape or form in
the resume.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
Oh yes, this is I've probably said this sentence and
more of my videos than any other, and it's that
if it is in the job description, it has to
be in your resume if you have that skill or
have done that responsibility, because the recruiters never going to
make positive assumptions for you because they don't know you.
They haven't met you. They have this piece of paper
and that's how they get to know you. I had
(25:27):
an engineer once who was specifically working in Python. It
was looking for roles that were heavily using Python. His
resume did not say Python anywhere, and when I asked why,
he said, well, I thought it was obvious. And I think,
especially when it comes to technical people, we forget that
the recruiters have not done the jobs that they are
hiring for. They have done recruitment. So if you don't
(25:47):
say it and you don't point it out, they're going
to assume you don't have it.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (25:52):
I hope everyone heard that, because I definitely would leave
things out and be like, well, of course I would
have it.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Why else would I be applying to this role.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
I still things out now, like we just naturally assume,
oh right, the person would just know. No, they don't.
Speaker 5 (26:05):
Baby.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
It's like if someone likes you, like, they can't just
assume that you know you like them, you got to
tell them. O.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
God.
Speaker 4 (26:12):
This has got me thinking now as we talk about skills,
I see this a lot on LinkedIn debate on how
to add skills to your resume. Do you recommend a
completely separate skills section or weaving in those skills as
keywords throughout your experience section in the bullet points.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
So I prefer both. I will say for the skills section,
I usually call it core competencies, and I really try
to focus on the hard skills. So when I say that,
it's not to say that soft skills are not important,
because they are. But a lot of times I can't
tell you how many resumes I've seen where it has
a skill section it says things like leadership, detail, orientation, communication,
(26:51):
just those things that we assume you have. You know,
to be in the workforce, no matter what role it is,
you have to have good communication skills. And if you
think of how recruiters might use the search functionality in
an applicant tracking system. If I'm trying to slim down
my list of one thousand resumes and I'm looking for
someone that has Python skills, what are the odds I'm
(27:12):
going in and typing in communication probably very slim to none.
So think about what skills you would search for if
you were applying to this role.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
And the other thing.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
When it comes to the bullet points, I like to
use what's called the who format. It stands for what
did you do? How did you do it? And what
was the outcome? And the how did you do it?
I think is very often missed because that's where people
make assumptions. So the other day I had a client
that said, you know, I built the client's website, and
I said, Okay, what goes into that? And then all
of a sudden, it's all this requirements gathering. You have
(27:43):
to understand what system and framework they use in their website,
their sales system. There's so much that goes into designing
a website that when you just say you develop a website,
it leaves a lot up to assumption and a lot
of your hard work it's left on the table. So
it's important to do a little bit of both.
Speaker 4 (27:59):
Yeah, don't leave your hard work on the table. And
I love that framework. I think Jamay and I are
gonna have to go look at our resumes after this.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Yeah, Morgan, can you just like elaborate just a little
bit more on the WHO method, only because I'm thinking
a lot about how a lot of people, myself included,
sometimes struggle with quantifying the experience or quantifying the impact,
and from the WHO method, it seems like even if
there are no numbers to support it, there's still qualitative
(28:26):
things that you can share that really gets to show
that impact. And I'm thinking a lot for like early
career professionals that really being something that they can lean into.
Can you maybe give like a couple more tips on
how we can incorporate the WHO asking for a friend.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Oh yes, this is probably the second most common thing
I say on my page, and it's that at the
end of the day, you've always had an impact, whether
you realize it or not. So if my clients are
really struggling with this, I play a little game called
what if you vanished? So let's pretend you're a customer
service representative and all of a sudden you don't go
to work, and not only that, but your coworkers actually
(29:01):
can't step in for you. So now, all of a sudden,
there have been fifty customers that haven't been able to
check out. That's ten thousand dollars of merchandise that wasn't sold,
the truck wasn't unloaded. Now there's how many items that
are not on the sales floor. It doesn't matter that
wouldn't actually happen, and that your co workers would step
in for you, because it's your resume. You're selling yourself.
So I would start there. Just think about what would
happen if I didn't show up. And another tip I
(29:24):
use is if you just go to chat GBT, ask
it what metrics can I use as this person? It'll
give you hundreds of examples if you need that many.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
Oh, I love that. What if I just disappeared for
a day, what would happen?
Speaker 2 (29:36):
What if I did move to Switzerland and opened a
coffee shop?
Speaker 3 (29:39):
What if I did that?
Speaker 2 (29:39):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (29:41):
You know, we talked a lot about building a resume,
and that's a big part of the job search process.
First finding jobs, going through the job description, then you
create your applications, you apply, you interview. It's a lot
and I hear from a lot of new grads, especially
on LinkedIn, that they're applying to like one hundred jobs
and not hearing back, which is so discouraging. So I'm
(30:04):
wondering what's your advice to people like them who have
applied to a ton of jobs haven't had much luck
hearing back from employers. What should they be doing?
Speaker 2 (30:12):
It is important to acknowledge that the job market is
not the best right now, so it is absolutely possible
that your resume could be in the best shape it's
going to be and you might still not hear back.
At that point, though, I would start to consider switching strategies,
whether it be applying for roles that maybe you weren't
initially considering, so maybe expanding your range. This happens a
(30:33):
lot too, where some companies just have weird job titles,
quite frankly, so you might need to scale back and
maybe use less words, search for the most simplistic job
title that you can think of, because sometimes there's some
hidden gems in there. And then you might also consider
looking at your resume, just maybe getting a second opinion
on it from somebody within your field especially, and just
making sure that at the end of the day, when
(30:54):
you look at your resume and you look at the
job description, when you think do I look qualified for
this role, the answer is yes. The answer needs to
be yes.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
Yeah, definitely. So we've talked a lot about experience, but Morgan,
we got to send you out on a spicy note. Okay,
and I have a couple of things. First of all,
what is the wildest thing you have ever seen on
a resume? And have you ever seen people lie to
get their first job.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
I've definitely seen people lie. And I think a lot
of people unfortunately don't know about background checks and how
thorough those can be, especially when it comes to job
titles and education. Those will be checked. Please do not
lie about those. And the craziest thing I've ever seen
on a resume it was somebody who was in graphic
design and they put it was the weirdest resume I've
(31:44):
ever seen in my life. There was in the middle
a circle pie chart and it had broken down how
he spent his day down to like sleeping, so it
said like eight hours asleep. I spent some time doing this,
this is when I make dinner. And then on the
outskirts of the resume were his actual it's experiences I'll
say quote unquote because they still were not super related
to the job. I was just incredibly confused. I also
(32:07):
one time had somebody send in a W two instead
of a restume. So that was that.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
You guys are turning around. At least with the pie chart.
He should have put like his roles and responsibilities in
the chart and then everything else secondary, like don't make
the name bread buddy, your sleep and food and rest
and everything.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
He was like, you guys can take away that I
sleep eight hours a day. I'm a well rested candidate.
That's what my takeaway was.
Speaker 4 (32:36):
Honestly, I'm jealous of his eight hours, but I know
it was a very balanced day.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
That is balanced.
Speaker 4 (32:41):
Those are really good examples of what not to do,
and you shared so much great advice on what you
should be doing. So I hope everybody finds this conversation
super valuable.
Speaker 3 (32:51):
I know they will. Morgan, thank you so much for
joining us.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
Thank you guys so much for having me. This was great.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
That was so much fun.
Speaker 4 (33:00):
But we got more to come, so stick around because
we'll be right back after the break.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
Wow, Gianna Morgan was dope.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
I loved her advice.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
I loved her advice, and she gave me so much
to think about. So, Okay, a couple of takeaways that
I took was, first of all, you got to get
into the business of highlighting yourself like a salesperson, you
are your best advocate. And then I loved that she
referenced the whole method because I think, especially for early
career professionals or people who are navigating in new spaces,
(33:39):
you may not have the data points yet to back
up what you're doing, but you at least have the
insight to know the impact of what you are doing.
So really focusing on those things, and those are things
I'm taking with myself. I'm going to give my resume
a nice little you know, spruce, a little facelift, a
little boatox this weekend. What about you? What did you
take away?
Speaker 4 (33:57):
Listen, my resume is collecting dust, which it s not be,
but we got to get in there and refresh it.
But I totally agree. I loved all of those tactical
tips she shared. I really love that she emphasized this
idea that you need to broaden your definition of experience.
If you're thinking about just what jobs have I had
that are relevant to the field I'm going into, you
(34:20):
might not have anything to put on your resume, but
when you think back and you spend some time reflecting, Okay,
what courses did I take? What projects? In those courses
you know, really stood out to me and maybe I
did a senior capstone that I can speak to.
Speaker 3 (34:35):
What volunteer work did I do?
Speaker 4 (34:36):
What clubs were I involved in? There's probably so many
things you have done throughout your college experience in and
out of school that you can frame as actual work
experience once you reflect on them. And I think with
that framing which she mentioned, is including metrics so important
and telling a story instead of just listening your responsibilities
(34:58):
on your resume, share actual anecdotes about that time when
you and your team had to build a capstone project, right,
And I think that's what really resonates. Everyone loves to
hear stories, and that is what's important.
Speaker 3 (35:12):
Right.
Speaker 4 (35:12):
Your resume isn't going to speak for itself. You have
to then sell yourself in an interview and or in
your networking, in your outreach to make these connections with humans. Right.
Speaker 1 (35:24):
Yeah, definitely all great takeaways. Oh.
Speaker 4 (35:27):
I love Morgan, me too, And I want to give
a quick shout out to Samuel for sending us his question. Now,
if you're like Samuel and you have a burning question
that you want Ja May and I to answer on the.
Speaker 3 (35:36):
Show, which I know you do please tell us.
Speaker 4 (35:39):
You can leave us a voicemail, send us an email,
or message us on LinkedIn. All the information on how
you can reach out to us is in the show description.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
Mm hmm. Now, Gianna, let's do something a little different.
Speaker 3 (35:50):
I'm ready.
Speaker 1 (35:50):
I am really excited for this next sette, which I
think is going to be a little controversial. It's gonna
get the girls talking. Okay, this is called cool or Cringe.
We're going to be sharing our tape on a topic
that's going to change out each week and deciding if
it's cool or cringe. What do you have this week?
Speaker 4 (36:06):
Okay, it's eighty five degrees today. So the topic is
shorts at the office. And the reason I bring this
up is because in some industries, like you work a
finance job, I'm sure people would not imagine wearing shorts
to the office. But in more casual workplaces like LinkedIn,
I see shorts all the time. So I'm wondering, what's
(36:27):
your take? Cooler cringe?
Speaker 5 (36:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:28):
The first time I ever brought my mom up in here,
she was like, this is how people dress. I mean,
she wore like a suit every day because she worked
in the government, so she was very like, oh, this
is strange. You know, I like a little short moment
like but okay, so there's you need to look at
the end seams. Okay, all right, there's a certain level
of your knee.
Speaker 3 (36:48):
Your fashion expert is coming out.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
Because I think what ends up happening is if I'm
seeing too much of your kneecap. That's what I'm starting
to cap. Yes, your shorts starts o. Your shorts need
to like cover some of that, like, because once we
get a past your kneecap, we can get a little
So that's when we start getting into interesting territory, and
(37:12):
then interesting territory becomes HOUCHI daddy short season. And I'm
all for us tapping into our inner city boys and
city girls, But do we really need to do that
right now when we're talking about roles and responsibilities and
the agenda is the agenda what we did on Friday
night down at the club. So to me, I like shorts,
(37:35):
but it can't be too short. Leave that for the streets.
Speaker 3 (37:38):
So you're talking like a dad short, You're fine with.
Speaker 1 (37:41):
I'm good with a dad shore or like a seasoned
auntie short. Okay, yeah, what about you?
Speaker 3 (37:47):
So I have more shorts to the office. Disclaimer.
Speaker 4 (37:51):
I was gonna wear them today, but I wanted it
to be a safe space for everyone to.
Speaker 3 (37:54):
Talk about them.
Speaker 4 (37:56):
So my thing is, I don't I don't own shorts
that are gonna at my kneecap, but I will follow
my high school dress code role of fingertips, so like,
all stand straight if my shorts touch my fingertip.
Speaker 3 (38:08):
Oh, I hated that rule because I have such long
I'm traumatized. So I'm traumatized. You No, it's ingrained in me.
Speaker 4 (38:14):
So if they're that long, I will wear them. Yes,
like the ones I have worn in the past. I
only have one pair that are office appropriate if you will.
But obviously it depends on your workplace. Like LinkedIn is
a bit more casual, so you can get away with it.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (38:27):
I've seen sweatshorts, and I'm not gonna say that's my vibe.
If it works for you, it works for you.
Speaker 4 (38:35):
Yeah, but I personally would not wear sweatshorts to work.
Speaker 1 (38:39):
Yeah. How do you feel about the shorts and blazer
ratio thing, because I've seen people with like a long
sleeve blazer, yeah, and then shorts that are actual shorts.
Speaker 3 (38:48):
It's just business. Up top party on my bottom. I
mean it's a look I would I would consider wearing it.
I don't think it's yeah, I think it's a good blend.
Speaker 4 (38:59):
What I'm not here is the whole trend of micro shorts,
like I just cannot.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Oh, baby, that was never gonna be a condortion because,
first of all, I'm acutie with a booty. Okay, if
I was walking down the hallway, it's not gonna happen.
What I will say is, if you feel comfortable going
into a meeting with a senior leader or executive, like
if someone said, right now, go present to your manager's
manager's manager and you feel and if you feel good
(39:25):
in that outfit, cool. If you have to second guess yourself,
maybe that's when you, you know, maybe consider having maybe
options at the office. I always have a nice little
blazer in my little yeah girl, just look. There have
been some trauma stories that we can talk about fashion
trauma stories.
Speaker 3 (39:43):
Yeah, yeah, okay.
Speaker 4 (39:45):
So I think the consensus is they can be appropriate
of their a certain length, and it depends on the day.
Maybe it's like a casual Friday you wear your shorts.
But of course, like we said, it depends on you, your workplace,
all those things. Yeah, and we want to know your take,
so let us know. Come on, what do you think
about shorts in the office?
Speaker 5 (40:02):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (40:03):
No, cool cringe?
Speaker 1 (40:03):
No, seriously, because now Gian and I are very passionate
about this, and I need to see if other people,
if the collective feels it. Hit us up on LinkedIn,
y'all hop in our inmails. Okay, it goes down in
the in mails. Okay, Gian and I want to hear
from you, not just about cooler cringe, and maybe some
other parts of the segment that we can talk about.
So if you have something else you want to throw
it to us, hit us up there.
Speaker 3 (40:23):
Yes, please do.
Speaker 4 (40:26):
Okay, guys, thanks so much for joining us this week.
This was such a fun episode and shout out to
Morgan for joining us on the show. You guys can
follow our newsletter. It's called Let's Talk Offline, where we
go even deeper into the topics we discuss on the pod,
share some exclusive content, and talk back and forth in
real time.
Speaker 1 (40:44):
Need I say more? Yeah, so come join our community.
Speaker 4 (40:47):
The link to the newsletter will be in the show
description and also in my LinkedIn bio.
Speaker 1 (40:52):
Yes, I mean Morgan was awesome, but also shout out
to Samuel for your amazing question this week. You guys,
you can be just like Emuel and you can also
send us your questions. Information on how to do that
is in the show description. If you want to know
where to do this, look in the description of the show.
The show description has everything.
Speaker 4 (41:12):
One last thing, make sure you guys are following the show.
Also rate and reviews so other people like you can
find us. We'll catch you back here next week. Remember
we've always got your back, so if something comes up
in the meantime, Let's Talk Offline.
Speaker 3 (41:25):
I'm Jiana Prudenti and.
Speaker 1 (41:26):
I'm Jamai Jackson Gadson Say Thriving.
Speaker 4 (41:31):
Let's Talk Offline is a production of LinkedIn News and
iHeart Podcasts. The show is produced by Western Sound. Our
producer is Sabrina Fang. The show is edited by Savannah Wright.
Our associate producer is Sarah Dilley. Alex mckinnis is our engineer,
and Ben Adair is the executive producer.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
Executive producers at iHeart Podcasts are Katrina Norvel and Nikki Etour.
We got support from LinkedIn's Jesse Humple, Sarah Storm, and
Ayana Angel Maya Pope Chappelle is director of Content, Dave
Pond is Head of News Production, Courtney Coop is head
of Original Programming, and Dan Roth is the editor in
chief of Lincoln
LinkedIn News.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
I had an engineer once who was specifically working in Python.
It was looking for roles that were heavily using Python.
His resume did not say Python anywhere, and when I
asked why, he said, well, I thought it was obvious.
We forget that the recruiters have not done the jobs
that they are hiring for. So if you don't say
it and you don't point it out, they're going to
assume you don't have it.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (00:27):
I hope everyone heard that, because I definitely would leave
things out and be like, well, of course I would
have it.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
I still leave things out now, like we just naturally assume,
oh right, the person would just know, No, they don't.
Speaker 5 (00:38):
Baby.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
It's like, if someone likes you like, they can't just
assume that you know you like them. You gotta tell them.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
O God from LinkedIn News and I heard podcasts.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
This is Let's Talk Offline. I'm Giana Prudenti.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
And I'm Jamaie Jackson Gadsden. You guys, this is a
brand new podcast and gian and I are super excited
to help you navigate your work life. I want you
to think of her and me as your two new
work besties. We're gonna be having super honest and real
conversations and answering the questions that you might not feel
comfortable asking your manager, co workers, or even your best friend.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
And we've got lots to cover, negotiating your pay, setting boundaries,
making friends in the office, you know, all those unspoken
rules of work. This is let's talk offline, a show
about what it takes to thrive in the early years
of your career without sacrificing your values, sanity, or sleep.
(01:46):
Today we're talking all about applying for jobs and me
many many challenges that come with that, specifically what you
should do if you feel like you just don't have
enough experience for the job. Imagine you're looking at a
job opening for an entry level position. You're going through
the job description and it's looking good, but all of
a sudden, you see that one requirement that stops you.
(02:09):
It says this job requires three plus years of experience.
Dunt dunt dun, And you're like, well, I'm a new
grad or maybe I'm early in my career and I'm
making a pivot. How the heck am I going to
land this job when it requires three plus years of experience?
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Oh, we've all been there before.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
We've all been there, and listen, we're going to talk
to you today about why all experience is valid. And
joining us in just a bit is Morgan Sanner. She
is resume official on TikTok and she's going to tell
us how we can all effectively tell our stories to
show employers why we are the right candidates for the jobs.
But before we get into that, Tomay, I think we
(02:47):
should introduce ourselves.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
What do you think, Yeah, let's do it. Why don't
you start us off?
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Okay? Cool? Hey y'all. So I am Jamaie Jackson Gatston.
I went to Howard and then when I graduated a
couple of years later, I got my master in business
at lam College here in New York. UH. For the
past decade, I've been working in media, the arts, the
entertainment space. I am an actor, so a lot of
my work has been figuring out, well, how do actors
(03:13):
and creatives show up and how do we talk to
each other and how do we market our services? And
that's kind of a little bit about what I do
at LinkedIn too. I get to do things like host
workshops and I essentially get to coach people on how
they can show up authentically on the platform and remove
that nasty dick out of like tooting their own horn, baby,
because let me tell you that horner will get you paid. Okay,
what else? I'm a dog mom of three, and I
(03:35):
also love anything that is scary. So if you love
scary things, scary movies, TV shows, genres, YouTube channels, send
me everything. Let us bond together in scary secrecy. Gianna,
what about you?
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Okay?
Speaker 4 (03:47):
So I don't like horror. Something about me is not
my vibe but more of a rom com.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Gal, but we'll get in.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
I scary rom coms.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
That sounds like my worst the genre for me. Okay.
So I graduated college.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
In twenty twenty one, which, well I was going to say,
that makes your recent grad But I think I need
to retire the term.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
It's time time to give it up.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
But I studied journalism at Syracuse University, and if my
parents had it their way, I'd be an accountant. No
shade to accountants, but it just wasn't the life for me,
you know. I wasn't there to crunch numbers all day.
And so since then, I've been at LinkedIn for three
years now. I was first an intern. I was on
(04:33):
a contract and then I went full time, and so
my job's changed quite a bit in between all of that.
But right now, my day job is that I get
to speak to people like you, listening about your careers,
so what you do all day and how your path
is taking shape, and also experts who can give us
advice on navigating all of our career first, because if
(04:53):
you haven't realized it already, there's no career one oh
one class in college that will tell you what to do.
A lot of it is trial and error, and I
hope to help you guys along the way.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
And what else. I love baking.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
That's what I do outside of my day job. If
you have any great recipes, please send them my way.
I love to bake. I'm passing down recipes through my
family carry on traditions, and one day I think I'm
going to do like a complete one eighty and just
completely become a chef. I want to go to Italy,
go to culinary school. Oh my god, don't tell my manager,
(05:29):
just kidd he.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Knows I would love that. And guys, please send Gianna
all the recipes because that means she will make them,
and that means that she will bring them to.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Us and we'll review that. Maybe we TVD on that.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
But as you can see, Jamay and I have different
career experiences, and you guys are going to get to
know us even more throughout the show. We're going to
continue to talk about our own careers throughout different topics,
and we'll even bring in experts at times who can
lend their expertise.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
I love that, but I want you guys to remember,
this show was about y'all. This is not about me
and Gianna. Okay, we want to hear from you. We
want to answer all of those career questions, the things
that are burning in your heart. Okay, if it's not indigestion,
it is a career question. We want to help figure
out your workplace dilemmas, and we want to hear your
work stories. We want to laugh, cry, cringe all that,
(06:17):
So don't be shy. We want the real, unfiltered tea.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Yes please, and you can send us your questions over email,
leave us a voicemail, or message us on LinkedIn. You'll
find all the ways you can reach out to us
on our show page, and each week we'll address some
of your questions on the show.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Okay, back to today's topic. Y'all, when you're first starting
out in your career, you're just looking for those opportunities
to get your foot in the door. So when you
are finding entry level jobs that require all those years
of experience that you don't even have, it's really discouraging.
So Gianna, I want to ask you, how did you
(06:54):
approach looking and applying for jobs, Like what was that
experience like for you.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
I remember feeling so discouraged when I was looking for
jobs and saw years of experience required for what were
considered entry level positions.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
And when I was.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
Job searching, it was mostly during my senior year, so
I was like, I'm approaching graduation and I don't really
know if I'm going to have a full time job,
and was just applying to like a ton of entry
level programs and internships, which already I was like, ugh
as a senior, like I'm going to be applying for internships.
But I had to broaden my job search a bit,
(07:32):
so I was full in on the job search. And
when I was applying for these entry level programs, some
of them were rotational, so it was for people who
were considered new grads, and that felt comfortable for sure,
but I remember going for more like associate roles where
maybe two years of experience were required, and I was
like definitely discouraged at first, and then I think, what's
(07:56):
unique about our industry is, you know, I studied journalism
in my journalism school, I wasn't going to class learning
how to be a journalist. I was since freshman year
out doing field assignments, and like, literally why I had
one of my worst panic attacks ever was because of
how demanding the work was outside of class. And I
remember like ubering off campus in between classes to like report,
(08:17):
and that was all the way through senior year. I
always had to be We were always out in Syracuse reporting.
So because of that, I was like, I know that
I can frame these classes as actual experience and put
that on my resume. So I did, and because of
the competitive nature of my school, I was involved on
campus in different news publications, so I had those on
(08:40):
my resume. So I always felt like, yes, Okay, maybe
this requires two years of experience, but for the past
four years, basically I've been out in the field, reporting
and doing the thing.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
So I did include those on.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
My resumes starting out, which I think is something a
lot of students are hesitant to do because we are
not always sure how to frame that experience correctly.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Yeah, I definitely can relate, and I think that it's
always a challenge to figure out how to even start
the conversation when you feel like you're starting from ground zero.
I thought I was in a good position by the
time I had graduated. I had intern at AARP the
magazine and two years and I knew then, Okay, if
(09:22):
I'm not going to be an actor, I want to
be an editor. And so I already had started to
get the internship experience. And so by the time I graduated,
I thought, you have a portfolio, you have your writing clips,
you can do this. And it was crickets. I was
applying for everywhere I couldn't even get an internship. And
(09:44):
it was a little jarring for me that I wasn't
getting the receptiveness back from people or if I was
getting offers. It was like, you have to start back
at like being like almost even like a level below
an intern right, And I was like, how on earth
am I supposed to get the experience if nobody's giving
me a chance, I will never forget I this was
(10:04):
back in the day when I still used to physically
send out my resume and portfolio. I would literally go
to the post office and get stamps. Yep, I would package. Girl.
Let me tell you before your time.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
Wait, if you printed out your resume, I well, I.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Would print out you. What you would do is you
would go to the library or you would look at
the masthead and you would see who the editor of
your department was, and you would address your envelope to
that person. And back then editors editor in chiefs even
used to actually read these, and so you would prepare
your resume, you would prepare your portfolio, maybe some writing
(10:41):
samples in the tone of the magazine or whatever, just
to give them a sense. I will never forget. I
sent this out to a particular editor that I really
wanted to work for, and she wrote back to me,
which I was excited about, thinking, oh, you wrote back,
But she said, you are really talented, but I already
have a black girl on my team. And that was
(11:05):
such a jarring experience, because you know, I've seen racism
in all different forms of my life, but for it
to be that up close and personal like that was
such a jarring experience. That it actually said, you know what,
I'm going to create my own platform where I can
control the editorial voice, the editorial nature, and I can
(11:26):
ensure that women who look like me are going to
be represented, because if you're going to say that to
someone who you see is talented, then you don't deserve
my words in the first place. And so in some
ways I kind of see that as a blessing. And
in fact, I was able to start using writing samples
from my website when I started applying for new jobs
(11:48):
and they were like, wait, you did this, and I said, yeah,
I was able to do the writing. I did the research,
I did the visuals. I would take my camera out
on Saturdays and make my man take photos like I
I was able to show them if you hire me,
you are getting a great deal because I'm not just
a writer, but I can do all these things. And
so I've always had to be very scrappy about what
(12:10):
that early career experience can look like. But that's also
why I have a really really soft spot in my
heart for all of the entrepreneurs or people who you
know are in that position. They're like, I don't know
where to start. Yeah. My answer to that is just.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
Start, start and just start, and you're such a great
example of doing the work, which I think for my year,
we really realized you have to just do it yourself
if you're not going to get the opportunities. And I
will just say when I was mass applying, I received
a ton of reductions, yeah, and no feedback, so I
never really knew exactly why I was not getting these
(12:44):
internships in jobs.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
So it is super discouraging.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
And part of that, you know, it just feels like
there's so much red tape and like hoops you have
to go through to land an entry level position. But
the reality is you likely have so much more experience
and you're giving yourself credit for It's just about reflecting
on your college journey or your high school journey and
framing it in a way that positions you for whatever
(13:08):
role you're applying to.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
All experience is valid. And after the break, we're gonna
be chatting it up with HR and Resumes specialist Morgan Sander.
She's gonna spill the tea about how you can show
employers that you're the right candidate for that job. Honey, Okay, Gianna,
(13:39):
we have both talked about the first time we were
ever trying to look for jobs and the experience that
we needed or didn't have, and all of the highs
and lows with that. But I'm sure that we're not
the only ones going through this. Girl like other people
also have to be going through this, but we also
need to talk to the experts who know what they're
talking about. I think we have one today.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
Yes, joining us today is Morgan Sanner. She is an
HR professional and resume specialist who works with job seekers
on how to optimize the resumes. She's a gen zer
herself and is passionate about uplifting young professionals as they
navigate the workforce. And if you're on TikTok, which you
probably are, she goes by a resume official where she
offers career advice and breaks down myths about gen z
(14:23):
at work. My favorite, Morgan, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Yeah, abso really thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
I like resume official, you telling them I'm legit, I'm
the one, not the two. Okay, I thank you.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
I was going for I was very dazing at the
beginning trying to come up with a name, but I thought, well,
if they think I'm official, that certainly should help.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
I love it, so Morgan, to start us off, how
would you even describe entry level jobs these days?
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Yeah, I think entry level jobs can be tough to get.
I actually have my younger sister just graduated from undergrad
and is trying to find her first position in marketing,
So the job market is definitely challenging for that time.
I graphic right now, and I think too, there's this
confusion about what entry level truly means because I think
on the job seeker side, and it makes sense to
me that we would believe that would mean no experience.
(15:11):
But unfortunately, when you look at applicant tracking systems or
any job boards, they don't really have a section that
is dedicated to no experience. So unfortunately everything kind of
has to fall into entry level. So usually I've seen
that be seven years or less. Sometimes it's five years
or less, and that can be really frustrating for job
seekers because there's no true way to filter out jobs
that are really looking for no experience.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
That's so true. I remember when I was job seeking
like three years ago now, and I was looking at
job postings. I thought, whatever is listed on this job
ad is an absolute requirement, Like I need to check
every single box to be considered qualified for the job.
I'm wondering from you, as somebody who works in HR
and as a resume writer, what's your take on job descriptions.
(15:57):
Are they a non negotiable list of requirements or more
of a wish list?
Speaker 2 (16:02):
That can really depend on the industry. There are some
rules where if they are working with the government or
contracted with the government in some way, they can be
one hundred percent requirements. There are others where it can
absolutely be a wish list where if you see the
section that says prefer to have, those are absolutely not necessary.
They're nice to have, but you definitely don't need them.
So I think it's great if you match seventy percent up.
(16:23):
I would tend to apply just because you never know
they might take a chance and you don't know which
of those I'll say, quote unquote requirements are actually requirements
for that hiring manager.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
I think that's really important because I think a lot
of people when you are applying, you're trying to figure out, Okay,
I need to land a job to get the experience,
but I need the experience to land the job. It's
like a chicken or an egg, like which one comes first,
and that starts to knock your confidence. Like, I don't
know about you guys, but like when I was like
first graduating and I couldn't get a job to stay
(16:55):
in my life, I was just sleeping having panic attacks,
Like aren't pit sweaty twenty five or seven cortisol levels up?
It was just not sexy whatsoever. So, Morgan, what advice
would you give to people who are talking themselves out
of applying because they think that they're not going to
get it or they think that the opportunity isn't there.
(17:15):
It's like, how do you overcome this mental trap honestly
of applying, rejection, experience, jobs, everything.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Oh yeah, I could probably do a whole ted talk
on this, But there are so many clients that I've seen.
I would say almost every client I've ever had has
believed that they were not qualified for the roles that
they were applying for. It doesn't matter if they were
at the past CEO, if they had a very successful business.
They all believe in some way that they are not
the right person for the role and that nobody would
(17:45):
ever pick them. So that's very common. And if your
fellow job seekers are feeling that you're definitely not alone.
The only difference between the person who doesn't get the
job and the person who gets the job is usually
who applies, because usually the qualifications and the experienced levels
are very, very very competitive, especially in this market where
we have so many amazing people that are unfortunately unemployed.
(18:05):
After we saw all these layofs these past couple of years.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Yeah, I think a lot about that quote. What is
it like you miss one hundred percent of the shots
you never take? So sometimes you just got to get
out there. And I know, like for me, the initial
jobs that I applied for that I didn't get were
also really great experiences for me to learn how to improve,
whether it was my cover letter or my resume or
my interview skills. I don't like to see anything as
(18:31):
wasted experience, and so I really appreciate you saying that, because, Yeah,
a lot of this does come down to mentally putting
yourself out there and being okay with whatever happens, but
knowing that the first step is putting yourself out there.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Yeah, rejection is scary, but it's better than you rejecting yourself.
Speaker 4 (18:50):
Oh yeah, self rejection. I think it's important too to
acknowledge like there's an opportunity gap when it comes to experience.
So a lot of people aren't able to take unpaid internships,
which whole other topic we could talk about another tool,
or you don't take hold topics or take risks to
really build their resume. So what's your advice for people
(19:11):
who don't have, you know, traditional work experience in their
desired field that they're interested in.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Oh, yeah, it's all about selling yourself and branding because
when you're graduating college especially, a lot of people probably
don't have direct experience in the field that they'll be
applying to. So it's really about taking the experience that
you do have and selling it in a way where
you're really highlighting those transferable skills and talking about what
problems you were able to solve for them. And I've
(19:38):
also had people who didn't have any work during college,
so we actually took their student experience and we wrote
that as if it were a full time job. So
we're talking about the research that they're doing, the teams
that they're working on, all the other assignments that they
did do that were related to that field. I don't
know if it was just my college, but we had
opportunities in my classes to actually work with local businesses,
(19:58):
and those are really like small skill consulting projects if
you allow yourself to think of it that way.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Yeah, that's so true.
Speaker 4 (20:06):
You mentioned taking transferable skills and selling them on your resume,
and that kind of brings us to our segment, Dear
Work Beastie, where we answer questions from our listeners, and
this week we have a question from Samuel in Colorado.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Let's take a listen.
Speaker 5 (20:22):
So I have been finishing up my shared course work
for an accelerated Masters of Science and Global Health. I
have just completed my degree requirements for my Bachelors of
Science in the same field with a minor sustainability and
a certificate and evolutionary Medicine. I'm currently searching for jobs
or internships and hopes of transitioning out of Starbucks and
(20:45):
into something I have a little bit more passion for.
I've been trying to get my resume polished and looking
nice as I start this next part of my journey.
And something that I think I would benefit the most
from is understanding what a recent graduate should do and
prioritize in order to lend one of those really good
internships or entry level positions that would really help get
(21:08):
their foot in the door.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
So Samuel, first of all, shout out to you, Bethty. Okay,
you are educated. You've got that Master of Science and
Global hell, honey, we need it right about now. Okay,
so Samuel is already doing well with the education part,
but now we are hitting this obstacle where he's working
at Starbucks and it doesn't exactly translate to the field
that he's really passionate meotist. So let's start super easy
(21:33):
for our bestie, Samuel Morgan. What advice would you give
to Samuel on how to use the experience he has
to apply for the jobs in his field of interest.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Yeah. Absolutely. One of the first thoughts that came to
mind was because it sounds like the work experience that
this person does have is within a non relevant field,
so at Starbucks. So I like to lay the resume
out in terms of most relevant down to least relevant.
In this instance, I might not even put Starbucks on there.
I would maybe put other work experience and put you know,
Barista Starbucks in the dates, and that's it, not even
(22:07):
add any bullet points, and then we can really focus
the upper half of the resume on the skills and
the coursework that you've done, especially if you've done any
projects that are directly within the field, or if you
have any publications that relate to the jobs that you're
looking for. I try to work in terms of most important,
the things that you absolutely cannot let the recruiter miss,
(22:27):
down to least important.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
Yeah, since he's a recent grad, what are things that
he should be thinking about as he's applying for jobs.
I mean, you've already broken down sort of what the
resume should look like, but what are some other things
that Samuel should be thinking about as they continue to
apply for different opportunities.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
I would say marketing yourself on LinkedIn, as well as
possibly building out a portfolio if you do have any
publications or any kind of work that could be uploaded.
Those are always really great just to see samples of
your actual work. Another thing I've had past clients do
is they will find ways to start freelancing or just
taking on small projects, because sometimes you know, they can't
(23:08):
afford to hire somebody full time with those kind of skills,
but they might have a small research project that's only
a couple of months, so possibly going outside of just
looking at full time work, which does stink. You know,
you want a permanent solution so you're not job searching
again a few months later. But sometimes it really is
just getting your foot in the door and getting some
of those work experiences under your belt first.
Speaker 4 (23:28):
Yeah, that's such good advice, and I can relate to
Samuel because when I started out on my resume, maybe
I shouldn't have had it on, but I did put
that I worked at an ice cream shop for like
four years and I was in a management role there,
which like sounded so flashy at the time, and I
was like, you know what, they're like trusting me to close,
like I'm working like the cash register, Like I'm working
(23:48):
with all this cash, So you know, I do think
there's a huge benefit of at least speaking to those
customer facing roles in the interview, or maybe there's transferable skills,
like I'm sure you a great listener because you're taking
people's orders, you're building relationships, and you know a lot
about the products at Starbucks. I'm sure like he can
take kind of those skills as well and speak to
(24:10):
them in the interview, even if it's not on his resume,
because there's a lot of value in those customer facing roles,
and I think we tend to discount that when we're
starting out because we're like, oh, it's not related to
what I want to do. But really employers like to
hear that stuff, and maybe they worked at Starbucks or
like then it starts a whole conversation about like their
favorite drink. I was talking about ice cream in interviews,
like it just broke the eye and it helped us
(24:32):
create bonds. So I think that's really good advice to
kind of at least, you know, think about the coursework
that's relevant and how you can gain experience outside of
you know, traditional work experience, and then also maybe speaking.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
To this in the interview or you know, cover letter
or whatever it might be.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Love that advice. So would you recommend if, like for instance,
Samuel or anyone else out there who's just starting out,
that they look at the job description and make sure
that at least from the skills perspective, that everything in
there is included in some way, shape or form in
the resume.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
Oh yes, this is I've probably said this sentence and
more of my videos than any other, and it's that
if it is in the job description, it has to
be in your resume if you have that skill or
have done that responsibility, because the recruiters never going to
make positive assumptions for you because they don't know you.
They haven't met you. They have this piece of paper
and that's how they get to know you. I had
(25:27):
an engineer once who was specifically working in Python. It
was looking for roles that were heavily using Python. His
resume did not say Python anywhere, and when I asked why,
he said, well, I thought it was obvious. And I think,
especially when it comes to technical people, we forget that
the recruiters have not done the jobs that they are
hiring for. They have done recruitment. So if you don't
(25:47):
say it and you don't point it out, they're going
to assume you don't have it.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (25:52):
I hope everyone heard that, because I definitely would leave
things out and be like, well, of course I would
have it.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Why else would I be applying to this role.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
I still things out now, like we just naturally assume,
oh right, the person would just know. No, they don't.
Speaker 5 (26:05):
Baby.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
It's like if someone likes you, like, they can't just
assume that you know you like them, you got to
tell them. O.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
God.
Speaker 4 (26:12):
This has got me thinking now as we talk about skills,
I see this a lot on LinkedIn debate on how
to add skills to your resume. Do you recommend a
completely separate skills section or weaving in those skills as
keywords throughout your experience section in the bullet points.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
So I prefer both. I will say for the skills section,
I usually call it core competencies, and I really try
to focus on the hard skills. So when I say that,
it's not to say that soft skills are not important,
because they are. But a lot of times I can't
tell you how many resumes I've seen where it has
a skill section it says things like leadership, detail, orientation, communication,
(26:51):
just those things that we assume you have. You know,
to be in the workforce, no matter what role it is,
you have to have good communication skills. And if you
think of how recruiters might use the search functionality in
an applicant tracking system. If I'm trying to slim down
my list of one thousand resumes and I'm looking for
someone that has Python skills, what are the odds I'm
(27:12):
going in and typing in communication probably very slim to none.
So think about what skills you would search for if
you were applying to this role.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
And the other thing.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
When it comes to the bullet points, I like to
use what's called the who format. It stands for what
did you do? How did you do it? And what
was the outcome? And the how did you do it?
I think is very often missed because that's where people
make assumptions. So the other day I had a client
that said, you know, I built the client's website, and
I said, Okay, what goes into that? And then all
of a sudden, it's all this requirements gathering. You have
(27:43):
to understand what system and framework they use in their website,
their sales system. There's so much that goes into designing
a website that when you just say you develop a website,
it leaves a lot up to assumption and a lot
of your hard work it's left on the table. So
it's important to do a little bit of both.
Speaker 4 (27:59):
Yeah, don't leave your hard work on the table. And
I love that framework. I think Jamay and I are
gonna have to go look at our resumes after this.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Yeah, Morgan, can you just like elaborate just a little
bit more on the WHO method, only because I'm thinking
a lot about how a lot of people, myself included,
sometimes struggle with quantifying the experience or quantifying the impact,
and from the WHO method, it seems like even if
there are no numbers to support it, there's still qualitative
(28:26):
things that you can share that really gets to show
that impact. And I'm thinking a lot for like early
career professionals that really being something that they can lean into.
Can you maybe give like a couple more tips on
how we can incorporate the WHO asking for a friend.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Oh yes, this is probably the second most common thing
I say on my page, and it's that at the
end of the day, you've always had an impact, whether
you realize it or not. So if my clients are
really struggling with this, I play a little game called
what if you vanished? So let's pretend you're a customer
service representative and all of a sudden you don't go
to work, and not only that, but your coworkers actually
(29:01):
can't step in for you. So now, all of a sudden,
there have been fifty customers that haven't been able to
check out. That's ten thousand dollars of merchandise that wasn't sold,
the truck wasn't unloaded. Now there's how many items that
are not on the sales floor. It doesn't matter that
wouldn't actually happen, and that your co workers would step
in for you, because it's your resume. You're selling yourself.
So I would start there. Just think about what would
happen if I didn't show up. And another tip I
(29:24):
use is if you just go to chat GBT, ask
it what metrics can I use as this person? It'll
give you hundreds of examples if you need that many.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
Oh, I love that. What if I just disappeared for
a day, what would happen?
Speaker 2 (29:36):
What if I did move to Switzerland and opened a
coffee shop?
Speaker 3 (29:39):
What if I did that?
Speaker 2 (29:39):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (29:41):
You know, we talked a lot about building a resume,
and that's a big part of the job search process.
First finding jobs, going through the job description, then you
create your applications, you apply, you interview. It's a lot
and I hear from a lot of new grads, especially
on LinkedIn, that they're applying to like one hundred jobs
and not hearing back, which is so discouraging. So I'm
(30:04):
wondering what's your advice to people like them who have
applied to a ton of jobs haven't had much luck
hearing back from employers. What should they be doing?
Speaker 2 (30:12):
It is important to acknowledge that the job market is
not the best right now, so it is absolutely possible
that your resume could be in the best shape it's
going to be and you might still not hear back.
At that point, though, I would start to consider switching strategies,
whether it be applying for roles that maybe you weren't
initially considering, so maybe expanding your range. This happens a
(30:33):
lot too, where some companies just have weird job titles,
quite frankly, so you might need to scale back and
maybe use less words, search for the most simplistic job
title that you can think of, because sometimes there's some
hidden gems in there. And then you might also consider
looking at your resume, just maybe getting a second opinion
on it from somebody within your field especially, and just
making sure that at the end of the day, when
(30:54):
you look at your resume and you look at the
job description, when you think do I look qualified for
this role, the answer is yes. The answer needs to
be yes.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
Yeah, definitely. So we've talked a lot about experience, but Morgan,
we got to send you out on a spicy note. Okay,
and I have a couple of things. First of all,
what is the wildest thing you have ever seen on
a resume? And have you ever seen people lie to
get their first job.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
I've definitely seen people lie. And I think a lot
of people unfortunately don't know about background checks and how
thorough those can be, especially when it comes to job
titles and education. Those will be checked. Please do not
lie about those. And the craziest thing I've ever seen
on a resume it was somebody who was in graphic
design and they put it was the weirdest resume I've
(31:44):
ever seen in my life. There was in the middle
a circle pie chart and it had broken down how
he spent his day down to like sleeping, so it
said like eight hours asleep. I spent some time doing this,
this is when I make dinner. And then on the
outskirts of the resume were his actual it's experiences I'll
say quote unquote because they still were not super related
to the job. I was just incredibly confused. I also
(32:07):
one time had somebody send in a W two instead
of a restume. So that was that.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
You guys are turning around. At least with the pie chart.
He should have put like his roles and responsibilities in
the chart and then everything else secondary, like don't make
the name bread buddy, your sleep and food and rest
and everything.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
He was like, you guys can take away that I
sleep eight hours a day. I'm a well rested candidate.
That's what my takeaway was.
Speaker 4 (32:36):
Honestly, I'm jealous of his eight hours, but I know
it was a very balanced day.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
That is balanced.
Speaker 4 (32:41):
Those are really good examples of what not to do,
and you shared so much great advice on what you
should be doing. So I hope everybody finds this conversation
super valuable.
Speaker 3 (32:51):
I know they will. Morgan, thank you so much for
joining us.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
Thank you guys so much for having me. This was great.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
That was so much fun.
Speaker 4 (33:00):
But we got more to come, so stick around because
we'll be right back after the break.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
Wow, Gianna Morgan was dope.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
I loved her advice.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
I loved her advice, and she gave me so much
to think about. So, Okay, a couple of takeaways that
I took was, first of all, you got to get
into the business of highlighting yourself like a salesperson, you
are your best advocate. And then I loved that she
referenced the whole method because I think, especially for early
career professionals or people who are navigating in new spaces,
(33:39):
you may not have the data points yet to back
up what you're doing, but you at least have the
insight to know the impact of what you are doing.
So really focusing on those things, and those are things
I'm taking with myself. I'm going to give my resume
a nice little you know, spruce, a little facelift, a
little boatox this weekend. What about you? What did you
take away?
Speaker 4 (33:57):
Listen, my resume is collecting dust, which it s not be,
but we got to get in there and refresh it.
But I totally agree. I loved all of those tactical
tips she shared. I really love that she emphasized this
idea that you need to broaden your definition of experience.
If you're thinking about just what jobs have I had
that are relevant to the field I'm going into, you
(34:20):
might not have anything to put on your resume, but
when you think back and you spend some time reflecting, Okay,
what courses did I take? What projects? In those courses
you know, really stood out to me and maybe I
did a senior capstone that I can speak to.
Speaker 3 (34:35):
What volunteer work did I do?
Speaker 4 (34:36):
What clubs were I involved in? There's probably so many
things you have done throughout your college experience in and
out of school that you can frame as actual work
experience once you reflect on them. And I think with
that framing which she mentioned, is including metrics so important
and telling a story instead of just listening your responsibilities
(34:58):
on your resume, share actual anecdotes about that time when
you and your team had to build a capstone project, right,
And I think that's what really resonates. Everyone loves to
hear stories, and that is what's important.
Speaker 3 (35:12):
Right.
Speaker 4 (35:12):
Your resume isn't going to speak for itself. You have
to then sell yourself in an interview and or in
your networking, in your outreach to make these connections with humans. Right.
Speaker 1 (35:24):
Yeah, definitely all great takeaways. Oh.
Speaker 4 (35:27):
I love Morgan, me too, And I want to give
a quick shout out to Samuel for sending us his question. Now,
if you're like Samuel and you have a burning question
that you want Ja May and I to answer on the.
Speaker 3 (35:36):
Show, which I know you do please tell us.
Speaker 4 (35:39):
You can leave us a voicemail, send us an email,
or message us on LinkedIn. All the information on how
you can reach out to us is in the show description.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
Mm hmm. Now, Gianna, let's do something a little different.
Speaker 3 (35:50):
I'm ready.
Speaker 1 (35:50):
I am really excited for this next sette, which I
think is going to be a little controversial. It's gonna
get the girls talking. Okay, this is called cool or Cringe.
We're going to be sharing our tape on a topic
that's going to change out each week and deciding if
it's cool or cringe. What do you have this week?
Speaker 4 (36:06):
Okay, it's eighty five degrees today. So the topic is
shorts at the office. And the reason I bring this
up is because in some industries, like you work a
finance job, I'm sure people would not imagine wearing shorts
to the office. But in more casual workplaces like LinkedIn,
I see shorts all the time. So I'm wondering, what's
(36:27):
your take? Cooler cringe?
Speaker 5 (36:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:28):
The first time I ever brought my mom up in here,
she was like, this is how people dress. I mean,
she wore like a suit every day because she worked
in the government, so she was very like, oh, this
is strange. You know, I like a little short moment
like but okay, so there's you need to look at
the end seams. Okay, all right, there's a certain level
of your knee.
Speaker 3 (36:48):
Your fashion expert is coming out.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
Because I think what ends up happening is if I'm
seeing too much of your kneecap. That's what I'm starting
to cap. Yes, your shorts starts o. Your shorts need
to like cover some of that, like, because once we
get a past your kneecap, we can get a little
So that's when we start getting into interesting territory, and
(37:12):
then interesting territory becomes HOUCHI daddy short season. And I'm
all for us tapping into our inner city boys and
city girls, But do we really need to do that
right now when we're talking about roles and responsibilities and
the agenda is the agenda what we did on Friday
night down at the club. So to me, I like shorts,
(37:35):
but it can't be too short. Leave that for the streets.
Speaker 3 (37:38):
So you're talking like a dad short, You're fine with.
Speaker 1 (37:41):
I'm good with a dad shore or like a seasoned
auntie short. Okay, yeah, what about you?
Speaker 3 (37:47):
So I have more shorts to the office. Disclaimer.
Speaker 4 (37:51):
I was gonna wear them today, but I wanted it
to be a safe space for everyone to.
Speaker 3 (37:54):
Talk about them.
Speaker 4 (37:56):
So my thing is, I don't I don't own shorts
that are gonna at my kneecap, but I will follow
my high school dress code role of fingertips, so like,
all stand straight if my shorts touch my fingertip.
Speaker 3 (38:08):
Oh, I hated that rule because I have such long
I'm traumatized. So I'm traumatized. You No, it's ingrained in me.
Speaker 4 (38:14):
So if they're that long, I will wear them. Yes,
like the ones I have worn in the past. I
only have one pair that are office appropriate if you will.
But obviously it depends on your workplace. Like LinkedIn is
a bit more casual, so you can get away with it.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (38:27):
I've seen sweatshorts, and I'm not gonna say that's my vibe.
If it works for you, it works for you.
Speaker 4 (38:35):
Yeah, but I personally would not wear sweatshorts to work.
Speaker 1 (38:39):
Yeah. How do you feel about the shorts and blazer
ratio thing, because I've seen people with like a long
sleeve blazer, yeah, and then shorts that are actual shorts.
Speaker 3 (38:48):
It's just business. Up top party on my bottom. I
mean it's a look I would I would consider wearing it.
I don't think it's yeah, I think it's a good blend.
Speaker 4 (38:59):
What I'm not here is the whole trend of micro shorts,
like I just cannot.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Oh, baby, that was never gonna be a condortion because,
first of all, I'm acutie with a booty. Okay, if
I was walking down the hallway, it's not gonna happen.
What I will say is, if you feel comfortable going
into a meeting with a senior leader or executive, like
if someone said, right now, go present to your manager's
manager's manager and you feel and if you feel good
(39:25):
in that outfit, cool. If you have to second guess yourself,
maybe that's when you, you know, maybe consider having maybe
options at the office. I always have a nice little
blazer in my little yeah girl, just look. There have
been some trauma stories that we can talk about fashion
trauma stories.
Speaker 3 (39:43):
Yeah, yeah, okay.
Speaker 4 (39:45):
So I think the consensus is they can be appropriate
of their a certain length, and it depends on the day.
Maybe it's like a casual Friday you wear your shorts.
But of course, like we said, it depends on you, your workplace,
all those things. Yeah, and we want to know your take,
so let us know. Come on, what do you think
about shorts in the office?
Speaker 5 (40:02):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (40:03):
No, cool cringe?
Speaker 1 (40:03):
No, seriously, because now Gian and I are very passionate
about this, and I need to see if other people,
if the collective feels it. Hit us up on LinkedIn,
y'all hop in our inmails. Okay, it goes down in
the in mails. Okay, Gian and I want to hear
from you, not just about cooler cringe, and maybe some
other parts of the segment that we can talk about.
So if you have something else you want to throw
it to us, hit us up there.
Speaker 3 (40:23):
Yes, please do.
Speaker 4 (40:26):
Okay, guys, thanks so much for joining us this week.
This was such a fun episode and shout out to
Morgan for joining us on the show. You guys can
follow our newsletter. It's called Let's Talk Offline, where we
go even deeper into the topics we discuss on the pod,
share some exclusive content, and talk back and forth in
real time.
Speaker 1 (40:44):
Need I say more? Yeah, so come join our community.
Speaker 4 (40:47):
The link to the newsletter will be in the show
description and also in my LinkedIn bio.
Speaker 1 (40:52):
Yes, I mean Morgan was awesome, but also shout out
to Samuel for your amazing question this week. You guys,
you can be just like Emuel and you can also
send us your questions. Information on how to do that
is in the show description. If you want to know
where to do this, look in the description of the show.
The show description has everything.
Speaker 4 (41:12):
One last thing, make sure you guys are following the show.
Also rate and reviews so other people like you can
find us. We'll catch you back here next week. Remember
we've always got your back, so if something comes up
in the meantime, Let's Talk Offline.
Speaker 3 (41:25):
I'm Jiana Prudenti and.
Speaker 1 (41:26):
I'm Jamai Jackson Gadson Say Thriving.
Speaker 4 (41:31):
Let's Talk Offline is a production of LinkedIn News and
iHeart Podcasts. The show is produced by Western Sound. Our
producer is Sabrina Fang. The show is edited by Savannah Wright.
Our associate producer is Sarah Dilley. Alex mckinnis is our engineer,
and Ben Adair is the executive producer.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
Executive producers at iHeart Podcasts are Katrina Norvel and Nikki Etour.
We got support from LinkedIn's Jesse Humple, Sarah Storm, and
Ayana Angel Maya Pope Chappelle is director of Content, Dave
Pond is Head of News Production, Courtney Coop is head
of Original Programming, and Dan Roth is the editor in
chief of Lincoln
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