Hi there,

Crazy June’s nearly over, which means we’re halfway through 2024(!) Some personal updates:

Oliver’s birthday falls on the summer solstice. I write a birthday letter each year. Here’s this year’s, and here’s last year’s. 🎂

We headed back to Ireland for the summer. This trip, we’re traveling with one check-in, one carry-on bag, and our personal bags. The game changer was buying 2 sets of these Bagsmart compression packing cubes. Strong recommend 🇮🇪

Lastly, one of my clients just landed a perfect role for her, a senior PM role at a US healthcare tech company, while she resides in Mexico City 🇲🇽

Wherever you are, I hope you’re enjoying your summer.

Today in 5 minutes or less, you’ll learn how to use the power of research to get your application and resume noticed.

Plus, the best links and resources… you’ll learn:

• 🏢 What workers want vs. what employers provide  
• 🤑 Are high-wage remote jobs fading?
• 😯 Financial surprises you don’t see coming

Let’s jump in:

Hard Time Being Seen? Do This

Is research really that important when it comes to landing your next remote role?

In a word: yes.

A friend recently asked for some help with landing her next role. She was a Marketing Director at an online education company. She was great with her clients. But she had a difficult time translating her experience to land a more “traditional” role.

She said:

“I’m having a hard time being seen. I think applying with a Google doc listing my accomplishments is not what the resume bots are looking for?”

Based on her current title, she wanted a lateral move into another director role. She included a list of open roles she thought might fit:

• Affiliate and Influencer Marketing Director
• Sales Director in Sales and Partnership
• Lifecycle Marketing Director
• Senior Director, Performance Marketing
• Head of Marketing for Luxury Nutrition Service

This list was a huge red flag

On the surface, they’re all “Director” like roles. But once you start digging in, they’re very different

Here are the roles and a few specialties involved for each one:

Affiliate and Influencer Marketing Director

• Affiliate and Influencer Strategy
• Relationship Management
• Content Oversight

Sales Director in Sales and Partnership

• Client Relationship Building
• Sales Strategy Execution
• Sales Team Leadership

Lifecycle Marketing Director

• Segmentation and Personalization
• Customer Journey Optimization
• Campaign Management

Senior Director, Performance Marketing

• Paid Aquisition Campaigns (PPC, SEO, social)
• Data Analysis and Insights
• Strategic Partnerships

Head of Marketing for Luxury Nutrition Service

• Integrated Marketing Strategies (digital and traditional)
• Customer Experience Focus
• Brand Positioning

Is there an overlap between the roles? Sure… but that Venn diagram is pretty small. The market is too competitive to stand out with “transferrable skills.” If you want to have a shot, focus on roles where you have the “exact skills”.

If you use the same general resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile to target all these roles… you’ll capture the attention of none of them.

How to use research to be seen

My advice to my friend?

1/ Pick 1-3 roles to focus on

Choose roles that resonate the most. Don’t worry about getting it perfect. This is just research right now. If you decide it’s not a fit, move on to the next.

2/ Research people in these roles

For each role, find 3 people in that role with detailed LinkedIn profiles. You’re looking for descriptive work experiences that give you an inside look at the role.

Capture the following information:

• Companies they worked for: What are adjacent industries? Who are the partners? Competitors?
• Previous Titles: What were their previous roles? What were the “stepping stones” to land this role?
• Work Experience: How do they describe the outcomes they achieved? How do they describe the work involved? What skills do they mention, if any?

The more senior the role, the more additional research you may have to do. At certain levels, people post less about the ins and outs of their work. They’ve built up so much personal brand and goodwill, they don’t need to.

3/ (Optional) Do informational interviews

Informational interviews are optional but recommended. You’ll put in 2x, maybe 3x the amount of work other applicants do – but you’ll uncover 10x the insight into a role or company.

4/ Reverse engineer your marketing materials

Now, armed with your research, you can incorporate the exact language to mimic the roles you’re targeting, including your responsibilities and the outcomes you drove. The language will be specific to each role.

Using the examples above, for a Sales Director in Sales and Partnership role, you might include language like:

• Lead the sales team in executing strategies to meet revenue targets through media sales, sponsorships, and partnerships.
• Develop and maintain high-level relationships with advertisers, agencies, and partners to secure long-term contracts and revenue streams.
• Analyze market trends and competitor activities to adapt sales strategies and capitalize on new opportunities.

Versus a Senior Director, Performance Marketing role, you might say:

• Plan and execute high-impact marketing campaigns focused on measurable outcomes, optimizing spend across PPC, SEO, and social media channels.
• Leverage advanced analytics to understand campaign performance and customer behavior, adjusting strategies to improve ROAS and overall efficiency.
• Strategic Partnerships: Negotiate and manage partnerships with marketing platforms and vendors to enhance toolsets and capabilities.

Conclusion

🌏️ Best Remote Work Links This Week

That’s a wrap. See you next week 👋