How to Stay Competitive in Job Search

[00:00:03] This episode is powered by Specialized Recruiting Group in Livonia, helping businesses find top-tier talent and professionals land their next big opportunity. Welcome to Ghosted by the Machine, the podcast where job seekers break through the algorithm and finally get heard. No filters, no bots, just real stories from real people navigating today's hiring system. I'm your host, Mark Lane, and today we're talking to someone who understands structured delivery, performance, and execution inside complex organizations

[00:00:32] and is now experiencing what the hiring process feels like from the outside. Monica Mosquita is a senior program and project manager based in Spring, Texas, with a background rooted in delivering complex initiatives within matrix organizations. And that's a lot. That's a mouthful. So now she's navigating the job market herself. Monica, welcome to Ghosted by the Machine. Thank you. Thank you for inviting me, Mark. I'm glad to be here. So tell us a little bit about yourself.

[00:01:01] What kind of roles are you looking for and how long have you been on the job hunt? So I've been working at HB, HB, Inc. for more than 15 years. And most of my career have been around program project management. Like you mentioned, cross-functional enterprise programs with matrix, multi-regional,

[00:01:30] and focusing specifically around product, services, quality improvement, as well as operational excellence and customer experience. Now, I've been on the market for nine months now. And it has been, I believe, like what you have heard from others, it has been difficult in the sense that I think there's multiple factors going on right now. You know, there's a lot of competition, right?

[00:01:58] There is the AI factor as well. And that I believe that, you know, maybe the market right now is not plentiful in terms of jobs. So I think that all, it's a mix of what we are experiencing, all of us, right? It is not just for PMs. I think it's in every sector. So nine months, that's a long time. Yes.

[00:02:23] So from your perspective during this nine months, has AI helped or hurt you in your job search? For my perspective, I believe it has allowed me to, it has helped me, and it has allowed me to curate my resume for the job, for the many job descriptions. Because even though it is a PM, it does change in what the requirements are,

[00:02:49] where the skill sets are, and doing it manually, it is not feasible. So I think AI, perfect on helping you curate that, in taking the essence of that job description, you know, spelling it out very well, and then helping you enhance that resume. I think for me, it has been godsend. So what would you consider your secret power, your superpower,

[00:03:17] or your secret skill that always doesn't come through on a resume? So besides my years of experience and my skill sets, right, which are my core competencies, I believe something that my resume does not translate is I have two superpowers. One of them is I have the ability to bring project teams quickly and cohesively to execute, to quickly execute.

[00:03:44] And then the second one is I have the ability to have difficult conversation. And I believe whenever you use this skill effectively, it allows you to quickly realign, realign, you know, the business objectives, have that commitment in the program, and then move forward. Yeah. So I believe those are two of my superpowers. I think Marvel's going to be giving you a call. You got two. That's great.

[00:04:14] If you could say one honest thing to recruiters or hiring managers right now, what would it be? There's several things I would like to convey because in this job market, and I don't know if it has been your experience, but first off, when you do post a job, make sure that you do a very good job and being descriptive enough so the individuals out there,

[00:04:41] you know, can decide early on if this job is going to be within my niche, right? Because sometimes it's very broad. And then what you find is that we're looking for something else, right? That's number one. Number two, I think on the interview, I think put in the human factor. Like I mentioned to you before, I have been in interviews where it feels like a transaction. There is no, hello, how you doing?

[00:05:09] You know, just learning about the individual. It seems to me that you're there just to be weeded out, right? But I think, you know, being, even though you take 30, 45 minutes, whatever that is, you know, having that human interaction, because at the end of the day, the people that are going to be executing the job are humans, right? Right. And that's exactly what you want to learn about the individual. And then lastly, I know it was, it's probably not going to be feasible, but I would love,

[00:05:39] I think that would be like my wishlist, my Christmas list. Please provide some feedback. I think that would help all of us not only narrow down on what, you know, what we need to improve, but also it gives that closure to say, now I know exactly where I need to focus on for the next time. But we're always left in limbo. We don't know why. We don't know how or what to improve on.

[00:06:07] And it's just left to, for retrospect, we do a, you know, some sort of retrospect for us and say, well, I believe this is where I could have done better. And then, you know, you improve, but not with not really feedback. So I think that that would be, that would be great. So despite all these challenges, nine months and many, many, many applications, what's something giving you hope right now?

[00:06:35] You know, Mark, I do believe that the right role and the right companies out there, I still have hope, even though I think we all go through the same rollercoaster feelings, right? That we really, we really knew at some point in time when we read the job description, this is curated for me. This is tailored for me. You go through the interview and the questions seem to be different. Like I said, remember I said, there might be, might be looking for something different that

[00:07:05] maybe a, you don't have that experience or B, you didn't really prepare because 30 minutes is really quick, you know, for you to be able to bring all the experience you have and all the projects and all the experience to be able to bring it to mind. Right. But so I do believe there's, there's something out there, you know, and I told you that I'm a person of faith and despise all these challenges that I'm going through. God will show me what is my path?

[00:07:35] What is my, you know, what is it that I am now supposed to do that even though we see it as a downfall because now we are outside of the workforce, but it is an opportunity. You can look at it as an opportunity. What is God wanted to do? And I believe there's something out there that I can still apply because I feel like I still have plenty of years to produce in terms of performance. So I believe it's still out there. I'm still hopeful, Mark. I'm still hopeful.

[00:08:05] Well, I'm with you 110% on your comment. God's got a plan. And as we're sitting here trying to follow the journey, we're on a journey. Right. And just like I tell myself, you know, I, when we talked last week, I had just gone, you know, through round of four interviews, right? And now is the silence moment. That's the silence, right? The, the, the dreaded silence that you don't know if they're evaluating you or they're winning you out or you're out. You don't know.

[00:08:35] But then at some point after, you know, that reflection and that understanding that, you know, maybe I'm not the one, then it's just like you fall off a horse. You get back on it the next day. You're like, okay, let's go. Let's go at it again. Let's get on the horse again. Yeah. So what you got to do, if you, if you sit around it and you feel bad for yourself, you're not going to get anywhere. You know, I truly believe that. And sometimes you got to take that mental break.

[00:09:03] I've talked to other jocky crews, that mental break. And then once you get through that, it's time to step back on that horse and get back on your journey. I believe it. I believe it. I had gone. Remember, I told you there's always this job that you apply and it's like, it's meant for me. And unfortunately it didn't, it didn't go as I expected. Right. And I did take my time. I did take about a couple of days, you know, no boss of mine.

[00:09:31] Whenever we went through some senior reviews with a project or program that didn't go well, it doesn't go well. And it's like, oh my God, after that, you just kind of like lick your wounds a little bit. And it's kind of like that, right? You lick your wounds, you kind of recuperate. And then the next day you get back on the horse again, because honestly, through this journey, Mark, and I think that's for a lot of us, even though we have been working in the corporate world, we learn resilience.

[00:10:00] We learn to be, you know, to have that resilience. But this is a new form of resilience that you have to, because it's not only you still have to show up with a confidence, but at the same point, all these rejections that it feels like rejections, but we don't know why we are not fit for that role, but it feels like a rejection, like personal.

[00:10:26] You have to learn how to self-heal in a way, you know, remember that lick in the wounds and then center yourself again, have that confidence and get back on the horse again, because otherwise, you know, you can get too much into your head and that is not helpful or healthy for anyone. So I think I've learned that early on, it was very discouraging because I didn't know it was this difficult.

[00:10:55] But now I'm like, okay, it's just, you know, I see it on Lincoln all the time, people that have been waiting. And I think nine to 12 months, even, you know, a year and a half, it's kind of like the expected timeframe. And I'm like, okay, I'm within that timeframe. I just need to keep going. I just need to keep going. So I think it's also attitude, Mark. You have to keep up a positive, really positive attitude.

[00:11:24] And do all the things that fulfill you, right? Even though you're in this period where it doesn't feel like you're moving forward. But, you know, there's time for you to upskill on AI. Believe it or not, in two of the jobs that I, two job interviews, they have asked me about AI literacy. So upskill on that. That is very important. Now everyone is going to ask you, why did you bring in terms of AI literacy?

[00:11:53] What exactly apps do you use? And I'm going to give you a tip. I'm going to tell you for resume research and curating your research, I have used Claw, ChatGPT. There's another one really good that is called Enhanced CV. That is very good. And then there's another one that's called Jack and Jill. Have you heard of it? No, I haven't. Jack and Jill is Jack, the portion of Jack.

[00:12:19] It will do an interview for you and you tell them exactly what you're looking in terms of a job, A grade, you know, level of position, et cetera. And then you upload your resume and then it will curate what is going to look for you. And it starts looking jobs for you and it sends you daily. What are those jobs that are open for 24 hours? That's another thing. You have to apply within 24 hours. Otherwise, you're going to be the 150th applicant. Wow.

[00:12:49] So within 24 hours. And then it tells you, okay, so based on what you told me, this is what I find. This is my recommendation. It sends you emails every day. And then Jill is the one that, do you want me to go have that interview or that connection with a company to position you as a potential candidate? Beautiful. I love that. I love it. Is this a free service or is it pay? So far, I applied and it's free.

[00:13:18] I haven't paid anything. So yeah, it's really Jack and Jill. And then also for program management. I mean, I don't know what you have heard. I've tried Osana. I don't like it. It doesn't play well with Excel. You have to convert the file to something else and then it just breaks the file completely.

[00:13:39] So I'm in my search of that good tool to be used or help me with AI in the program project management world. You know, I'm going to try ClickUp and Smartsheet just to see if that would be something that works for me specifically based on my experience.

[00:14:04] I could tell you, you know, if you have the time while you're in the waiting period, go get up skill and get certifications. Lincoln has a lot of certifications. I'm saying, you know, because that's another thing that they're going to ask. And I was asked in one of the jobs, what have you been doing in this, you know, period that you've been in the, you know. Waiting for you to call me. Right. Wait for you to get hired. Right.

[00:14:33] And I was given from my LLH coach, why don't you put consulting, you know, which I have done, believe it or not. I have done consulting for family and connections, right? Not in the same as what you've been doing, Mark, but I've been doing that. And I think that's something that you can also put in your resume if you have been doing that. That way, it doesn't seem that you're just being on your couch and doing nothing, which

[00:15:03] that's farther from the truth. Right. So. I have not been sitting on my couch. I can tell you that. But, you know, but so for some reason, when they ask you that, it's like they obviously are not aware of what the job market is for applicants. Right. I would hope they start seeing that. I mean, I know this show and I'm working with some other shows that I've been been on

[00:15:29] and I explained to them the situation everyone is going through on their journeys. They say, yeah, we're familiar with it. We understand. We get it. You know, but these are the cards that are out there. This is what we're dealing with. And I've talked to someone last week on the show that was telling me about you can go in and get certified. You can take classes, online classes. So it's all available to us. It's amazing, you know, and you can't feel sorry for yourself. Like we said, get back on that horse.

[00:15:59] Keep moving forward. Just keep moving. My husband has been very supportive of me. And I think another thing that we are thinking while we are in the way, right, and maybe who knows that is a new possibility that opens up for us. For next month, I'm going to be going through some investing classes and, you know, start investing as well. While you do your, you know, coaching or fractional PM work, start investing if you do have the

[00:16:29] ability and, you know, expand. Maybe, maybe right now for us, it's not in the cards to have another job, but, you know, can have some income in some other ways. And, you know, as we become closer to, I'm pretty much, you know, not very close to retirement age yet. But if you are smart and you invest the time to figure out what you can do, it can go even

[00:16:57] beyond whatever you do right now, Mark. If this is what you decide to do, it will go beyond your retirement age. And you can have that as, you know, as long as you choose to. And then you don't have to really worry about, am I going to be next to retire? Because they, at certain age, they do force you to, to retire. Right. So that could be for us, you know, a blessing in disguise. So we don't know. Right.

[00:17:24] Well, Monica, I really appreciate you being open about your experience and our, quite frankly, a wonderful conversation. And I really appreciate your time. And if you're watching or listening and thinking, hey, that sounds like me, you're not alone. And if you want to share your story, you can email me or send me a DM. And if you want to stay plugged into the real stories, real insights, and real humans behind today's hiring system, make sure to follow and subscribe because we've got new episodes, shorts, conversations every week.

[00:17:53] And if your organization believes in making hiring more human and wants to support conversations like this, we're opening up a few sponsorship spots. So feel free to reach out. I'm Mark Lane. And this is ghosted by the machine because behind every application, there's a human. So let's make hiring human again. Monica, thank you again. Have a wonderful day down there in Texas. Thank you so much, Mark. Have a good day.