Jui-Yen Chiang

To my fellow former Mercarians: I’m so sorry to hear about the recent layoffs. The news only just reached my feed and I’m so sorry to hear how much of the workforce there has been impacted. From experience, allow me to give you a few next steps: - apply for unemployment NOW, because there’s a waiting period and your first check will usually be on paper. - take a week to yourself, or maybe two depending on how much you got from your severance. Don’t worry about anything except the bare minimum for unemployment. Don’t even worry about your resume or anything. Just take some time. Spend it with your loved ones or on a beloved hobby. - get back into a routine. Schedule a few hours a day a few days a week for your job hunt. If you spend a bit longer that’s great but use that time to update your resume and portfolio if applicable, get really clear on your skills, get a free LinkedIn premium trial and go absolutely nuts on LinkedIn learning. - join a discord server, subreddit, slack channel, or whatever else with others in your field or with former colleagues. Ask for references, review each others resumes and provide feedback, etc. and try not to get stuck in a negative feedback loop. It’s tough in the job market and job hunting is miserable but if you dwell on it and reinforce that with each other you’re going to burn out and approach any interviews with cynicism that’s going to damage your chances. It sucks. Don’t do it. If anyone wants my help with the following: - resume revision - presentation skills - references Please DM me here or on other socials. I’m really invested in the success of my former peers, especially if you’re someone I trained. I’ve got your back!

38

4 Comments

Hey LinkedIn, I haven’t really posted anything here since becoming a recruiter in Japan back in 2019. But as I’ve recently embarked on the journey of building a desk from scratch for WeNetwork in 2024, I thought it might be a good time to start sharing and documenting this experience. I hope this provides some insight for anyone interested in recruitment and the challenges that come with it. As you know, this year has been quite challenging, especially in retail recruitment. With the economy slowing down, global tensions, and everything else happening, the market has really taken a hit. But it’s exactly during times like these that recruiters need to step up. This is where resilience, creativity, and strong client relationships play a crucial role. I realized that by starting a desk in an already highly competitive and saturated industry, it's not enough to just compete—you have to find ways to stand out. I went back to basics, reconnecting with some of my best clients, and that helped me secure a retained project for 2 managerial roles. That’s how I was able to bring in my first revenue in a tough, competitive industry. Curious to hear from other Japan retail recruiters how they have been doing this year? 👀🔥

43

2 Comments

Hi everyone. I’m looking for my next project as a COO, Head of Operations, or fractional COO of a mission-driven team, and I'd love your help. My superpowers are turning vision into reality, leading projects end-to-end, bringing order to chaos, and taking a first-principles approach to recruiting. If you know of any bold, visionary projects who might be a good fit, I’d love to hear your ideas. If you're part of any private networks (alumni networks, founder/accelerator communities, a Burning Man camp) and would be willing to share a blurb for me, that would be super helpful that too. Sneak peek: I’m an entrepreneur who has spent the last 15 years working across startups, impact investing, philanthropy, nonprofit, tech, and mental health. In the last few years, I have co-led a nonprofit that helped Oregon set up statewide infrastructure for psychedelic therapy, helped millions of people understand the need for advanced AI systems to have safeguards, and co-founded a seven-figure startup. I have also advised philanthropists and startups, built a purpose-driven recruiting firm, helped build a National Geographic TV series, and had my music featured at TED 2022. More about me: https://lnkd.in/guu5ACUw 

45

1 Comment

Transparency is key! NYC's #salarytransparency laws create a win-win for both employers and candidates. Explore the advantages of these regulations, including increased trust and a more equitable hiring process, in this Monster Hiring blog post.

1

Two truths and a lie 🔮: 1) Our team is the perfect mix of every synonym of passionate, cerebral, and customer-led. 2) We’ve raised $25M from some of the best at General Catalyst and Forerunner. 3) Fay is not hiring and you shouldn’t consider applying. I love our team. Yet, still, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Citing the team as the reason a startup is doing well often sounds like a cop out answer (even if it’s true), but what isn’t talked about enough is how cool it is working with a team of people all hungrily chasing the same thing you’re chasing. For everyone at Fay, working here is a blessing. We’re blessed with the opportunity to sprint the marathon of building a company solving the food and nutrition crisis in America. ❤️ We’re not just allergic to average; we set the bar high and keep raising it. If you’re hungry to accelerate your career and want to improve & save lives while doing it, I entreat you: apply to Fay. Who I want sliding into my DMs 🫶: - Operations - Growth - Head of Finance - Payor Strategy - Provider Sales - Enterprise Sales - Corporate Development - Chief of Staff - Software Engineer - First iOS Engineer - Product Manager Come find out why we’re one of the fastest growing startups around and the best team to ever do it. I can’t wait for you to meet everyone. https://lnkd.in/eGb9qZj3

52

11 Comments

Celebrating(?) 100 Applications: My Journey Through Today's Job Market Today marks a significant milestone for me: my 100th job application submitted. Since 2020, we've navigated a rollercoaster job market, with periods of abundant opportunities followed by stark hiring freezes. A recent statistic I came across stated that only 1% of applications lead to the first interview. This highlights the immense effort required just to get a foot in the door, where being on your A-game is crucial to advance to the next round. The rise of AI has also reshaped the job search landscape. It's becoming increasingly common to wonder if recruiters can distinguish between AI-generated responses and those crafted by actual humans. AI is being used to screen resumes, assess cover letters, and even conduct initial interviews, which can sometimes make the process feel impersonal and automated. While this technology can streamline hiring for companies, it adds a new layer of complexity for job seekers who need to navigate both human and machine judgment. It's a reminder of the importance of tailoring applications to stand out not only to recruiters but also to the algorithms that play a growing role in the hiring process. Despite the challenges and the discouragement that comes with each rejection (I've gotten two since writing this), I want to offer a message of hope to everyone on the hunt for their next career move (and a reminder to myself): The right job for YOU is out there. It may not come today or tomorrow, but perseverance will pay off. Keep reaching out, keep networking, and trust in the process. Your opportunity will come.

44

1 Comment

This is an urgent Principal Product Manager role from Gusto that was just posted 4 hours ago. Are you noticing the pattern it’s the same types of companies that are hiring product managers over and over again that are looking for the same types of experience. This should be a clue as to where the market is headed and why you may or may not getting any traction on your product manager job hunt. You can see the data on my LinkedIn feed. The majority (not all) of these product manager roles are in the following niches: Digital Payments Healthcare or Health Tech E-commerce Data Privacy Cybersecurity Growth AI Product Strategy and Roadmap Recently Funded Startup of First PM Hire (💰💰💰) Automotive Product Leader (ie Head or Director of Product Management) I have a resume template for each type of product manager role in Skool! https://lnkd.in/gtQjCfUH See you in Skool. https://lnkd.in/gtQjCfUH Don’t be late to Skool. https://lnkd.in/gtQjCfUH PS Are you curious how my team is able to get to these roles as fast as we do? You can find out the hack in Skool! https://lnkd.in/gtQjCfUH Don’t be late to Skool! https://lnkd.in/gtQjCfUH #productmanagement #productmanagementcareers #productmanagementjobs #speedtolead

5

Well, I never post on LinkedIn, but funny how circumstances can humble the soul. On Thursday, I was laid off from Imprint Payments, where I've worked since 2022. I'm proud of the work I did as the Support Quality Analyst to establish a humane and effective system for evaluating support tickets. I firmly believe that to support customers, you have to support the agents who interact with them, and that balance guided me as I shaped and implemented quality procedures in the pilot program. Imprint gave me the chance to work with some incredible people, all around the US, from customer support (now customer solutions), fraud, compliance, product/design, growth, and engineering. I'm so grateful to everyone who took the time to share their knowledge and listen to my thoughts, too. I had hoped to meet at least some of you in person at an off-site, but... so it goes. Regardless, I do sincerely value the time I spent working with each of you. Some people have asked how they can help. There are a few ways: -If you feel you can sincerely speak to any of my skills or abilities, I'd appreciate LinkedIn endorsements. Do they help? No clue, but if nothing else, they're a much-needed gentle pat on my wounded ego. -If you know of any remote positions that would be a good fit for me, please let me know. I'll give a bit more information about my background and what I'm looking for in the comments, because this post is already unwieldy. -Chocolate. (Specifically Tony's Chocolonely caramel sea salt, because the ethics and the flavor are both top notch.) No more job means no more Little Treat budget and times like these call for Little Treats. Thank you for reading this far, and here's hoping you stay employed.

36

7 Comments

_Turn this comment into a post_ - okay LinkedIn, done ✅ 1️⃣ The trend is obviously to shorter and direct interviews, test cases are helpful for specific roles but not for all of them. The good tone is to pay for homework, especially if it's commercial grade (here is the real life situation, please prepare a solution). 2️⃣ Reference checks.. guys have you ever gotten a bad reference? Not to mention that it's an outdated practice, I'm good at assessing on my own and don't need ex's memories (you also 99% time don't know them, so how can you trust their judgment?). 3️⃣ One bad hire can kill a startup - to be honest it can't, but the bad decisions will. A person can steer a startup to failure only if senior management 'agrees on a plan'. My advice after hundreds of hires and X more interviews, to mentally prepare that up to 5% of your hires may not work out. If the percent is bigger, the interviewing process may not be that good. To the date, there are no solutions which predict with 100% accuracy. Do you agree or disagree?

2

Status update 2 weeks later: FYI, I am ☀️ still accepting suggestions for new work opportunities! My HN post for "Who wants to be hired? (June 2024)": https://lnkd.in/gdVKBm8m ★ BTW, I promise I'll 🍎try to start posting more interesting things to LI than just seeking to connect with people who may have more things that need to be done than they do time/people/energy to do them! ★ If you would like to connect or just hang out, a 25-min 💻Zoom is a click away on my Calendly at https://lnkd.in/gMt-q6NM and we can talk about how to get to AGI together, or whatever is on your mind. (You may email [email protected], too.) It is truly a 🎶 blessing to have eyes wide open this early in a tech cycle. Have a great week!

7

🌟 Dipping My Toe Back in the Job Market: A Tale of Two Companies 🌟 As you may have seen from my last post, recently I decided to explore new opportunities and dip my toe back into the job market. This journey has been eye-opening to say the least, especially in understanding how out of touch some companies are with the role of an Executive Assistant and how the recruitment process reflects on the company. A few examples being; Recruiters not understanding the difference between an Executive Assistant versus a Personal Assistant (It’s surprising how often these terms are used interchangeably, even within the same job listing!), the request that an EA be "polished" or "presentable" - would someone ask that of any other job role? And JD's that are tantamount to CoS but with a cavernous gap in salary being offered to compensate. Having reached the final stages with both Pension Protection Fund (where I am now) and a very well-known flashy media agency that shall remain nameless, one might think I might be eager to join the latter. However, my experience with The PPF was exemplary and reaffirmed my decision. 🔹 The PPF Experience: 👍The Agency Bain and Gray had been properly briefed and could give me lots of information on the company and position beforehand. They had a real feel for what The PPF were looking for. Julia Gough-Allen - Thank you! 👍PPF's Recruitment Partner made each stage of the process 100% transparent, provided useful feedback, and they went over and above to answer any questions I had. Gary Brignall - Thank you! 👍Professionalism and respect were evident throughout every single stage.   🔹 The Flashy Media Agency Experience: 😒Initial interview was 20 minutes late with little apology from the HR Business Partner. Very little clarity on the role and expectations. 🤯Second stage. Interviewers were late, did not introduce themselves, and had clearly not read my CV. 😡Final stage…..It only deteriorated from there and I took myself out of the process!! This journey has taught me that YOU are interviewing the company as much as they are interviewing you. If the company culture doesn’t fit and align with your own values, no amount of "flashiness" will make your work life enjoyable. I made the absolute right choice with The PPF and hope they feel the same! 😊 👉 Have you had similar experiences in the job market? What are the red flags you’ve seen? Call out the good experiences too! #JobMarket #ExecutiveAssistant #PersonalAssistant #CompanyCulture #CareerChoices #Professionalism #redflags

92

14 Comments

Great tips if you know someone who is looking.

1

The one thing I wish I appreciated more about career development when I was younger, is how tied your growth is to the growth of your company and the growth of your industry. If your company isn't growing, it's much harder to progress from a role, scope and financial perspective. There is a smaller pie of opportunity to divide up because the pie isn't getting bigger. Chances are, you are not going to outpace the growth rate of your company. Some people do, but these situations are rare. Sadly, your company's growth is also mostly out of your direct control as an individual. Despite what situation you find yourself in though, there is always something important to learn. By focusing on the controllable like your attitude, effort and behavior, most situations can teach you important lessons that you'll able to take with you to higher growth environments (especially when they start to slow). #career #growth

31

2 Comments

Should you stop using LinkedIn? 4 out of 10 jobs gets filled Applicants have become a product Companies have abandoned work ethics Security Risk!!! Scammers are using the site to find targets How much time have we wasted sending out resumes and cover letters to companies that just want to analyze them for data? THAT'S NOT MY JOB. LinkedIn I'd like to know what efforts you're taking to prevent ghost jobs and scam jobs from proliferating on the website. I see a lot of "promoted" jobs listed over and over... are you taking money from these companies and allowing them to harvest our data? My lawyer is curious. Are you? Please LIKE and SHARE if you want answers!!! #ghostjobs #hiring #opentowork #applications #job #jobopening https://lnkd.in/enmpjYT6

2

I don’t think I have ever posted anything. But, after reading the attached post, I had no choice. My fingers just started moving. As soon as I read this, it literally kept replaying in my head. I’ve been around long enough to know that these types of staffing or re-structuring changes are like a revolving door. They lean too far one way and over staff, struggle for a few years, then go to the extreme opposite, layoffs happen in whatever random departments, countries or cities they can consolidate or eliminate. Some larger Corporations have actually made this an annual act. Where employees sit on pins and needles waiting to see if it’s their department or team that’s being “laid off”. CFO’s, CEO’s and company boards don’t have to consider the devastating impact this has on the loyal, hard working, tenured employees who have devoted themselves to working 12-14 hour days for 5, 6, 7 years. Weekends or overnights for 10 years. Shifting teams, leaders, roles, added responsibilities, working when you are sick or are exhausted from make up time from being sick or having a sick child, family emergency, etc.. Companies don’t truly care about their employees. They just have to have the appearance of caring and empathy. If you become a liability, in any way, you are easily discarded. It’s better for the bottom line, right? Everything is becoming more automated and companies are merging and streamlining productivity, so there’s no need for living, breathing, humans who will cost them benefits, PTO, bonuses. More money for the executives bonuses. There’s a silver lining! Keep those resumes updated. You never know how soon you might need them. Thanks, Jason S., I was truly inspired.

3

I've been reflecting on work expectations and employee experiences in the US job market, and I'm curious to hear insights from my network. Have you noticed any differences in work expectations or pressures between various employee groups, such as: - Citizens vs. visa holders - Different industries or sectors - Company sizes (startups vs. large corporations) - Job levels or roles Some questions I'm pondering: 1. How do these factors influence work-life balance? 2. Are there unspoken expectations that vary across these groups? 3. How can organizations ensure equitable treatment and support for all employees? I believe open dialogue can lead to more inclusive and supportive work environments. What has been your experience or observation? Let's have a thoughtful discussion to understand diverse perspectives and identify potential areas for improvement in our workplaces. #WorkLifeBalance #EmployeeExperience #WorkplaceCulture #ProfessionalDevelopment

1

Starting the week with 5 big wins from last week 🎉: (Shoutout to our amazing team!) 1.⁠ ⁠Neil and Chelsea collaborated to place a Technical Product Manager at a late-stage travel startup. Fantastic teamwork! 2.⁠ Jared onboarded several new roles for founding designers. Kudos! 3.⁠ ⁠Chelsea and Alicia started searches for several agency clients looking for senior strategists and strategy directors. 4.⁠ ⁠Gigi reported significant progress for researchers and strategists at various agencies. 5.⁠ ⁠Personal highlight: moving office to Flatiron and having John rejoin the team! While we celebrate these wins, we’re also noticing some challenges as the market heats up: → GTM and Design talent demand is growing fast. → Demand for talent is up MoM but requirements are still very specific - we are starting to dip back into a talent-driven market.  → With strong demand means talent retention is going to be center stage. Incredibly grateful to have a team who impresses me every week. I'm certain we'll be able to tackle upcoming challenges head-on. Here's to the new week ahead! Excited to see what it brings. Happy upcoming week, team and everyone else!

24

3 Comments

Hey! NY HR professionals and recruiting agencies hiring for strategy, ops, bizdev roles in tech - this one is for you! ******** As part of NY Tech Week, we have nearly 300 registrations (and counting) of high caliber professionals from top consulting companies looking to get into tech. If you’re hiring for Strategy and Ops roles in tech, come join! We’ll make sure you’re approved on time for the event. If you need more info, feel free to drop me a private message on linkedin. For more information and to RSVP, visit: https://lu.ma/7nks6kk7 If you're seeing this post, don’t shy away - share/comment for visibility. We’re helping professionals transition from top consulting firms (Big 4, MBB, and other leading consultancies) into the tech industry. __________ FYI- if you’re looking to sponsor - whether recruitment agencies, HR tech companies, other tech companies, and MBA institutes - feel free to drop me a note as well #Networking #TechWeek #HR #Recruitment #Big4 #Strategy #Operations #NYTechWeek

14

2 Comments