The Job Search Survival Series: Navigating Advice Overload with Design Thinking

Even thinking about embarking on a job search—whether resulting from a layoff or simply needing growth—can be overwhelming. Layer in the millions of articles, resources, tools, guides, opinions, “tips from a friend in HR,” and job-searching apps, and suddenly you’re drowning in voices telling you what you should do and how you must do it.

But contrary to what some people want to hear: when it comes to the human experience, no one is ever completely and objectively right or wrong—especially when it comes to the search and hiring process. The way an applicant tracking system, recruiter, hiring manager, coach, consultant, or HR staffer perceives an applicant is a matter of opinion, filtered through their experiential lens.

As a Career and Life Design Coach, I get asked all the time: “Am I doing this right?” My answer? It depends.

Not because I don’t have opinions, but because it’s not my job—nor approach—to decide for others what is their right way to do things. Right or wrong doesn’t exist when it comes to job searching. There are only differences and dependencies. What I can do is provide data, information, perspectives, and tools that you can use to clarify and communicate your value to prospective employers.

So, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, confused, or frazzled by all of the advice and suggestions coming your way, here’s one way to make sense of it: the five-phase Stanford University design thinking approach (IDEO also has a seven-phase version worth exploring). Use it as a filter to assess what advice to keep and what advice to trash, because only you are the subject matter expert on your career experience.

1. Start with yourself (Empathize).

Lean into your emotions, intuition, and perspective. If you haven’t started your search yet, this may be a bit easier as you’re not yet in the thick of the stress and fatigue that job searching can cause.

Check in with yourself and notice how the advice lands. Does it leave you feeling clear and energized, or does it leave you second-guessing yourself? If someone insists there is only one right way—and dismisses what you’ve already done—pause and ask yourself whether they’re actually empathizing with the diversity of job-search situations.

Your gut reaction is your data. If it feels useful, take it. If it doesn’t, trash it.

2. Check the fit (Define).

The goal here is to move past the surface level and get to the root of the problem. If the advice isn’t an immediate “hell no” (like realizing your mom’s friend Becky in HR actually works in payroll and isn’t current on hiring trends), ask yourself:

• Does this advice apply to me right now?

• Is it relevant, given what I want for my career and life?

• What is the source, date, and context?

If the advice is outdated, aimed at another industry or profession, or doesn’t align with your current goals, it may not be useful.

3. Treat it like options, not orders (Ideate).

Advice is an opportunity and option, not an order. The sheer diversity of hiring managers, industries, companies, and organizations alone should tell you that there is no one-size-fits-all approach.

There aren’t “right” or “wrong” decisions—just outcomes. When we have more information, it’s easy to look back and place value judgments. But in the moment, all you can do is make the best decision with the information you have at hand.

Remember, whether small or large, decisions are ultimately educated guesses.

4. Experiment in small ways (Prototype).

If the advice makes it through the first three phases of design thinking, then start brainstorming ideas for ways you can pilot it in a low-stakes way. Instead of overhauling your entire resume or creating a brand-new job search tracking system, tweak a few resume bullets or adjust the format of one column in your tracker. Micro-changes should be actionable, measurable, and implementable.

The “I must change it all, and I must change it all now” approach only expends valuable energy that you may not need to invest right away—or at all.

5. Reflect and Decide (Test).

Now, take it for a test drive. With energy saved from a pre-emptive overhaul, you’ll have more capacity to evaluate what worked and what didn’t. Testing your prototypes will give you clear, digestible information about whether this advice should be implemented on a larger scale.

If it works, build on it. If it doesn’t, circle back to another phase of the design thinking approach and pivot.

Job searching, in and of itself, is a neutral process. It’s how we conduct ourselves and navigate the process that decides whether it is empowering or defeating. If you’re scouring the internet and asking everyone you know for a magical formula that guarantees you will get hired—sorry, but it just doesn’t exist. What works depends on you, your context, your industry, and who (or what technology) is on the receiving end of the information you share.

So, instead of agonizing over every piece of advice, consider taking a different approach to how you consume it—or don’t. As I like to remind people, you are the expert of your own lived experience. Take advice, perspectives, and opinions with a grain of salt. Only you can decide what’s right for you.

Until next time, keep deciding by design.