Hey everybody, my name's Jeffrey. We, and here's what I have for you today. Uh, I blogged about this a little in the past, but you know what? Every single time I'm in the position of needing to hire someone new for Laravel, I am once again reminded, and I'll preface this, it's gonna sound a little mean. Sorry, I'm once again reminded that the huge majority of people have no clue how to get a job. I'm sorry. It is just flat out true. And you know what?

of people have no clue how to get a job. I'm sorry. It is just flat out true. And you know what? Every single person watching this video who has been on the other side of the desk, and they are now in charge of filtering through a bunch of job applications, they know precisely what I'm talking about. I've had this exact conversation, uh, with other business owners over and over and over again. We can all relate to it.

with other business owners over and over and over again. We can all relate to it. Alright, so here's what I find interesting. If I were to add, let's, let's say you've, you've never been on the other side of the desk. You're just trying to get a job. Wonderful. If I were to ask you, what do you think some of the, the tells are, some of the signs are that might make certain job applications go to the bottom of the stack or even in the trash can

that might make certain job applications go to the bottom of the stack or even in the trash can and other ones go to the top. I, you could probably guess pretty accurately. And yet most people don't take any of that to heart. They don't apply it the next time they, um, seek out a job. Isn't that interesting? Alright, so let's talk about it. Let's Go a little further. Back when I was a teenager, uh, I had common jobs, right? Part-time jobs after school from

Back when I was a teenager, uh, I had common jobs, right? Part-time jobs after school from three o'clock to nine o'clock. I was a busboy at a place called Nashville. I delivered pizza. I worked at a Kinko's. Uh, back in the day, I can just part-time and back then, if you wanted a job, especially, this was, hmm, early two thousands, this was a time where if you just wanted a job, maybe if you applied for it, you would almost certainly get it.

where if you just wanted a job, maybe if you applied for it, you would almost certainly get it. I dunno. Um, where I lived at the time was one of those situations where it was hard to find people. So if you wanted to be a busboy at your local deli, then submit a job application, come into the place, talk to the manager, look presentable, speak nicely, and you will almost certainly get the job. And I wonder if a lot of people can relate to that and they then apply that thinking

And I wonder if a lot of people can relate to that and they then apply that thinking to every job they ever apply for in the future. Maybe. But here's what happens. Once you're not applying for a part-time gig at a restaurant, uh, the rules are completely different because it turns out, especially with remote work, It's not one person applying for the job. It is potentially a hundred people, all right? And that can be, I get it.

It is potentially a hundred people, all right? And that can be, I get it. If you're applying for a job and you know that potentially a hundred people, a hun 99, other people are going to apply for this job as well, what is the point, right? You have a 1%, uh, chance of getting the job. It is not worth, uh, much effort on your part at all. So what people often end up doing is they will take their resume or their CV

So what people often end up doing is they will take their resume or their CV and they will just literate. They will submit it here, here, here, here. They will go to a job board and it doesn't even really, uh, matter what the business is. They will find the, the contact email address and they will submit that cv, they will paste in a little template paragraph. Um, looking forward to hearing from you.

they will paste in a little template paragraph. Um, looking forward to hearing from you. Here's my cv, let me know if you need anything. Right? And they will submit that to 30 companies with the hope that maybe one of those companies will get back to them. And I get it. This is a strategy and maybe it works. Maybe you're playing the ons there. If you submit 50 applications, maybe you will get one job. So maybe not a horrible strategy, but it's certainly not a good strategy.

So maybe not a horrible strategy, but it's certainly not a good strategy and it's certainly not a good way to get the job that you actually want. Alright? So here's what we're gonna do. We're going to move to the other side of the desk, like I was saying earlier. And we're going to imagine that you're in charge of hiring, right? Here's what they're dealing with.

charge of hiring, right? Here's what they're dealing with. Anytime, um, a job is available, there's gonna be a bunch of applications. Could be 10, could be 50, could be hundreds in some cases. Oh, and by the way I wanna preface this, um, the way you would apply for a job at a small, to a medium sized company is going to be drastically different than if you're applying to Google or Amazon or IBM.

to be drastically different than if you're applying to Google or Amazon or IBM. Those are completely, uh, different scenarios with their own systems and levels and interviews. And um, I'm not speaking to that, that is a different thing entirely. I'm talking about a, a small business, a medium sized business maybe for programming, I dunno, 10 developers on the team or less. Something along those lines, okay? So keep that in mind.

10 developers on the team or less. Something along those lines, okay? So keep that in mind. Okay? So anyways, you're now in charge of hiring for this company. And let's say 50 job applications come in, alright? You're just a human like anyone else. You get to work on Monday, you open your inbox and you see now 50 emails with job applications. So what are, what are you gonna do? You're trying to optimize, right?

So what are, what are you gonna do? You're trying to optimize, right? Like we all are, we gotta get through 50 emails this morning, okay? The first thing you do is look for emails that you can instantly archive, right? That's what we would all do in this scenario. So this is why so often companies will have some kind of, um, random request in the job ad. It'll say something like, please, I dunno,

um, random request in the job ad. It'll say something like, please, I dunno, please reference a dinosaur as part of your job application. Or at some point in your application, um, reference the color purple, right? It really completely random things that maybe are no longer relevant now that people can use AI to submit, uh, applications, which is a whole, which is a whole different situation. But nonetheless, the reason those things are in the job ad,

which is a whole different situation. But nonetheless, the reason those things are in the job ad, and you can of course guess is because nobody reads, everyone takes the, the stance of I'm just gonna litter my application everywhere and then hopefully somebody gets back to me. And you know what? If you're at a company that is not appealing at all, so when I say, please reference a purple dinosaur as part of your ad, I'm saying please read the ad, please know

please reference a purple dinosaur as part of your ad, I'm saying please read the ad, please know what you're applying for. Please take five minutes and just review what I'm asking for and what we're looking for to see if maybe we are appropriate or not appropriate for you. Reference a dinosaur, right? So the very first thing you realize when you add a step like that, and I'm not choking more than 50%, more than half

So the very first thing you realize when you add a step like that, and I'm not choking more than 50%, more than half of the applications will not reference the dinosaur, okay? So if you're applying for your job, you might be thinking, uh, well, it's stupid, who cares? I, I, you know what? I'm not a baby. I can submit a job application without referencing a dinosaur. Fine, I get it. But on the other angle,

Fine, I get it. But on the other angle, if you can't do the first request, then why would anyone ever wanna work with you? Because you know what we extrapolate. And if I'm a manager and I'm hiring, and I think the very first thing I ask you to do, you ignored, that means you either didn't read or you forgot, or you skipped over it. Either way it's bad.

or you forgot, or you skipped over it. Either way it's bad. So what do we do with that first 50% of job applications? We reject them or we archive them instantly. All right? So once again, we're, we're humans, right? A manager, a hiring manager, they're still a human and they're still trying to get to inbox zero. That is just a human thing. We have in 2025. Alright? So we have 50 emails and now we're down to 25. And honestly, usually it's more than 50%, it could be 75%.

So we have 50 emails and now we're down to 25. And honestly, usually it's more than 50%, it could be 75%. All right? Next, some of the applications will reference the dinosaur and nothing else. It will just return to the generic templates. Hello, looking forward to hearing from you. Please see attached from my cv and my favorite dinosaur is a triceratops, right? All right, well now you

and my favorite dinosaur is a triceratops, right? All right, well now you and about 20 other people, maybe more have submitted nearly identical job applications, all right? And this is the thing you are trying to avoid. Do not submit an identical job application, okay? And what do I mean by identical? Everyone has different experience, right? Yes. But unless your experience is just off the charts, unless your skill level is off the charts, most

But unless your experience is just off the charts, unless your skill level is off the charts, most of them actually look pretty similar. If I open your cv, they all kind of follow a similar shape. Nobody, very few people are, unless you're a designer, very few people are creating a unique, um, resume at all. They're grabbing some kind of template and their job history looks remarkably similar for the job you're hiring for, as you might expect.

and their job history looks remarkably similar for the job you're hiring for, as you might expect. But still, it's remarkably similar. Let me guess. Uh, before, uh, before this, you worked at a place for a span of one year, two, three years. And before that you worked somewhere, um, maybe less prestigious for a span of one to two years. And before that, uh, maybe you interned somewhere and maybe you're also listing your freelance, um,

And before that, uh, maybe you interned somewhere and maybe you're also listing your freelance, um, company just to pad out your resume. If you're a little bit younger, well, let's list my freelance thing, even though it's not quite valid, but you know what, it fills up the sheet of paper. Alright? Does this, does this sound familiar to you at all? Of course it does. Okay, fine. So if you reference the dinosaur

This is just a simple explanation with no code.

And you know what? I don't even often go through those either. And by the way, this is not me. This is not me patting myself on the back or knowing any secret information. This is every, uh, manager or hiring manager I've ever spoken to in my life or as an adult. Okay? So yes, we might open those resumes and, and just check, is your work history glowing?

Okay? So yes, we might open those resumes and, and just check, is your work history glowing? Are you submitting samples? And by the way, most people never submit samples of their work. Um, but we're just checking to see is there really something off the charts that I need to be aware of? And 99% of the time, no. And usually those can be archived or rejected. Okay?

And 99% of the time, no. And usually those can be archived or rejected. Okay? So again, we are just consolidating, we are condensing these down to a handful of applications. We're looking for the ones that were not spanned to us. We're looking for the ones that followed the instructions. We're looking for ones where, of course, the candidate is qualified. It doesn't matter how, it doesn't matter what you do, um, and how creative you are.

It doesn't matter it how, it doesn't matter what you do, um, and how creative you are with your application if you are not qualified. So yes, we are looking for people who have the required skillset. The next thing we're looking for is can you show me samples of your work? Because as it turns out, just telling, uh, me or a hiring manager that you worked someplace, it doesn't really do much.

or a hiring manager that you worked someplace, it doesn't really do much. Um, maybe in the past it was very common to like call your, your previous employers and talk with the man. I'm not sure how often that actually happens these days. So instead, if I see that you worked, um, at place X for 18 months, I don't know if you were a horrible hire, maybe they thought you were a horrible hire and you got fired. Or maybe, maybe you phoned it in. I don't know.

This is just a simple explanation with no code.

This is just a simple explanation with no code.

What were you in charge of? What are you proud of? How long did this take? Give me information. Give me, uh, some idea as to what I might expect if you joined our company, right? Show me examples. Show me the examples. Okay? A handful of people do that. So remember we started with 50 or a hundred, and in your head you're like, why bother? I have a 1% chance of getting this job. And very quickly we cut it down to 50.

I have a 1% chance of getting this job. And very quickly we cut it down to 50. So then you have, you know, a 2% chance, and then we narrowed it down further and it keeps going up. So the point is, never fall into the trap of thinking you have a 1% chance of getting a job. No. If you put some effort in, uh, that number goes up dramatically if you follow the steps, right? You listen to the job ad, you submit an application, you provide samples of your work, and then do this.

You listen to the job ad, you submit an application, you provide samples of your work, and then do this. Take a minute and talk to me like a human being as part of your job application. Don't ever, ever, ever paste, uh, a template, uh, along with your job submission. Uh, if you do anything like, um, I'm a, I'm a fan of this company and I look forward to hearing from you. Please see at, if you write, please see attached as part of your job application.

This is just a simple explanation with no code.

before and it it shocks me to this day how relevant and applicable it is to adult life. Okay? So when I was a kid, um, my family and I, we used to, this was a thing in the nineties, I guess we would enter these coloring contests and all the places would do it. Like restaurants would do it, libraries would do it. There'd be these coloring contests and the winner would get, you know, a $50 gift card to Target or something like that.

and the winner would get, you know, a $50 gift card to Target or something like that. Uh, I don't see it as much anymore, but it was a thing and we, we would always enter them. It was a thing for us anyways. My mom always had this advice where she would say, don't just color the picture. And of course, as a little kid, you know, I'm not really thinking about what she's saying very much. But now as a an adult, I look back

I'm not really thinking about what she's saying very much. But now as a an adult, I look back and I realize, oh, that is such good advice. That applies to literally every single thing you do. Don't just color the picture. Alright, so of course, what was she referencing? She was referencing the fact that when you submit to the coloring contest, you and 99 other children are going to color the picture and 75 of you are gonna color it really nicely.

and 99 other children are going to color the picture and 75 of you are gonna color it really nicely. So how do you pick between 75 really nicely colored pictures? You're gonna choose the one that does something a little bit different. So of course different in that case would be, I don't know, uh, add some texture to it, embellish it in some way, uh, put something on top, make it 3D you know, do something that is more than just coloring the

This is just a simple explanation with no code.

to every single thing in your life. If you wanna get a job, don't just submit the application. You have to do more. Okay? Alright. So what would be an example of not just coloring the picture as part of a job application? And again, maybe you're not gonna like this, but it's gonna require some time on your part. So the best job applications I've ever received at Lyas in the last 12 years, um, came in the form of something custom.

the last 12 years, um, came in the form of something custom. And I get it. You might hear this and you're like, look, I need a job. I don't have time to spend 10 hours on a job. Fine. And I wish you the best, but if you did spend the 10 hours, the likelihood you're gonna get the job increases 10 x again, it's just true. And maybe it would be better to spend 10 hours on

increases 10 x again, it's just true. And maybe it would be better to spend 10 hours on or 20 hours even on one job application for a company you actually wanna work at versus submitting 50 job applications and going through every single job portal, submitting the application, all the blah, blah, blah. Maybe don't do that. And instead focus on one or two companies that you think you can actually work for.

And instead focus on one or two companies that you think you can actually work for. I promise. I promise, promise, promise it's going to make a difference. Okay? So yeah, in the context of programming, then I would recommend build a dedicated website. Don't submit a cv, um, submit a website. And this website is not just something that you build and then you, you modify it and then you, um, share it with every company.

and then you, you modify it and then you, um, share it with every company. Not then you're just kind of doing the same thing. And trust me, we can tell was this, uh, project you made or this this hello website made for this company? Or is it just something you built and then you, you you do a copy and replace copy, um, replace laravel with Stripe, replace Stripe with, you know, you get the idea.

replace Laravel with Stripe, replace Stripe with, you know, you get the idea. It needs to feel unique. It needs to feel like you put a lot of effort into this one application. 'cause here's what happens on the hiring manager's end. They're gonna be like, well, almost all of these applications didn't do anything. I'm not even sure the majority of these applications know what we do and I'm not being farfetched there.

I'm not even sure the majority of these applications know what we do and I'm not being farfetched there. Most of the job applications don't even know what you do at the company. They just know you're hiring and you popped up on a job board. So if I see one that followed all the steps and then there's an introductory email and it sounds like a human who is friendly and they actually went to the effort of providing samples

and it sounds like a human who is friendly and they actually went to the effort of providing samples of all of their work that is easily linked to that I can review. I don't have to download some zip file. And then they also link me to a dedicated website that provides more information about them. And within that website they make, they include details of areas that they feel they can help our organization. Oh my gosh, I'm gonna hire them instantly.

of areas that they feel they can help our organization. Oh my gosh, I'm gonna hire them instantly. If they have the skillset, I'm gonna hire them instantly. And by the way, that brings me to my last point now and then we'll wrap up here. I get it. When you need a job, it can be very stressful. It's very, um, anxiety inducing. I need a job, I need money, I have rent to pay. We all get it. But in your head, you need to be thinking about providing value.

We all get it. But in your head, you need to be thinking about providing value. And I hate it. You know, like when I hear value, I think we need shareholder value, you know, stuff like that. I get that it's kind of cold and generic, but there's a little bit of truth to it. Your job is to provide value and to take a certain weight off of the managers or the company's shoulders.

and to take a certain weight off of the managers or the company's shoulders. That's why they're hiring in the first place. Uh, think about it at the scale of LayerCast, where we have like seven or eight people. If I hire somebody, it is, it is me choosing to make less money. It is my company. We have a certain amount of revenue coming in. If I hire somebody new, I am actively making the decision

We have a certain amount of revenue coming in. If I hire somebody new, I am actively making the decision that I will now make less money in the hopes that it pays off in the end, in the hopes that you provide enough value, you take enough weight off my shoulders that it is worth the exchange. So never forget that you're not just looking for a job, you are making a trade. I am trading you money.

you are making a trade. I am trading you money and in response you are taking a certain weight off of my shoulders or you are providing an ability that I do not currently have. It is a trade and you need to make sure that you have something good to trade. Alright? So if you apply for a job in your head, be thinking about a weight or a value that you can provide

Alright? So if you apply for a job in your head, be thinking about a weight or a value that you can provide and figure out what that is and tell them. Because often, often when you're in the position of hiring, you are also dealing with the reality that there's a hundred other things at the company that need your attention. And sometimes it's hard to just sit down and take time and write into words what you're looking for. So your job is to figure it out.

and write into words what you're looking for. So your job is to figure it out. Learn how you can take this weight off their shoulders and tell them and show them. And you do this as part of your website. So I noticed this on your website wasn't quite right and I took the time to redesign it, and you can see that it is significantly better and I think it will convert far more people if you take this shape rather than what you're currently doing right now.

and I think it will convert far more people if you take this shape rather than what you're currently doing right now. Show me examples. Show me a way that you are going to provide value immediately. And once again, just to wrap up right here, I get it, it's more effort than a 10 minute job application, but if you do, I promise, promise, promise you the likelihood that you will get the job will go through the roof.

promise you the likelihood that you will get the job will go through the roof. Tell me what you think.