Emily Derham, a former recruiter for big banks and tech companies and now a content creator with nearly a million followers on TikTok, wrote an essay for Business Insider about what it’s really like to work in today’s job market—and debunked some of the advice that’s considered «classic.»
Emily Derham, a former recruiter for big banks and tech companies and now a content creator with nearly a million followers on TikTok, wrote an essay for Business Insider about what it’s really like to work in today’s job market—and debunked some of the advice that’s considered «classic.»
The most popular piece of advice — tailoring your resume to each job — is hopelessly outdated, according to Derem. «It solves the wrong problem. The problem today is that no one sees your resume at all,» she explains.
The second reason: Most candidates who adapt their resumes do so with the help of AI. «You think you’re standing out, but you’re not. Recruiters can see right away that the resume has been through AI,» says Derem.
Instead, she advises making one strong resume: look at your dream jobs, write down the words that are repeated in the descriptions (technical skills, leadership, analytics), and integrate them naturally into the text. Instead of «I worked with spreadsheets,» say «I analyzed data.» She also thinks mass AI mailings for a thousand jobs per day are a bad idea.
The biggest mistake in networking is the transactional approach. «I get 100 messages a day saying, ‘Hey, I’m looking for a job, can you recommend me?’ I don’t recommend anyone from those people,» says Derem.
The right tactic: arrange a call, ask the person a few questions about their career, listen sincerely — and only at the end mention that you are looking for a job. «That way you build a relationship, not a transaction.»
Refusing to post on LinkedIn because you «don’t want to be an influencer» is a mistake. «It’s not about influencership, it’s about personal branding,» Derem reminds us.
One post per week (reposting a relevant article is fine) and two comments per week under posts from companies you want to work for are enough to get into the algorithm.
But there is also the opposite extreme: «If I see another post like ‘my wife cheated on me, and this is what I learned about B2B sales’ — that’s definitely not the effect you’re hoping for.»
Increasingly, candidates are reading off their notes, especially during online interviews. «It’s immediately noticeable. An interview is a conversation, not an interrogation,» says Derem. It’s worth preparing, but answer in your own words.
Another mistake: overusing the word «we» instead of «I.» «If everything is presented through the lens of ‘we did it,’ the recruiter may decide that your individual role was insignificant. They’re hiring you, not the entire team.»
And don’t ignore small talk: «How was your weekend?» at the beginning of the call is not an empty politeness. «You’re easier to remember and harder to ignore when you’re a person, not just a candidate.»
Derham advises treating your job search like a rotating shift: Monday — applying, Tuesday — writing on LinkedIn, Wednesday — networking event. «Even if you do everything right — it still takes time. You have to take care of your own psyche.»
And separately — about LinkedIn doomscrolling: «What you see are other people’s highlights, not the real picture. You can even mute the keywords „job hunting“ on TikTok — seeing someone on the 1000th day of job hunting unnecessarily increases anxiety.»
