OCA Meetings & Notes

OCA Google Calendar

Meetings, happy hours, and events.
Click the link to view it, and you can add these to your own calendar.

Our next meeting:

WHEN:

September 2nd, 2026 (Wednesday)
NEW: 1:30pm - 3:00pm PT‍ ‍

WHERE:

Public Library - Northeast Branch*
6801 35th Ave. NE, Seattle, WA 98115 (about 2 miles north of UW)

VIRTUAL MEETING LINK:

https://meet.google.com/cqi-hpqe-zwu
If you’re out of town or can’t meet in-person, feel free to join us virtually.

Upcoming meetings days/times:

  • 9/09 1:30pm - 3:00pm

  • 9/16 1:30pm - 3:00pm

  • 9/23 1:30pm - 3:00pm

*Message from the Library: “This event is NOT hosted, sponsored, or endorsed by The Seattle Public Library. Any views that are discussed in this meeting are not a reflection of The Seattle Public Library’s views.”

Meeting Notes - Summaries

Expand any of these to get a short recap, and click on See Below for the detailed notes from the meeting.

  • Attendees: 11

    • Updates & Intro’s

      • 2 new members

      • 2 people landed jobs!

      • New meeting time next week (9/02): 1:30-3pm

    Guest Speaker:

    • Jay Randell - Sr Manager, Reporting & Business Intelligence at Zillow
      - “Zillow’s Application & Hiring Process”

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 13

    • Intro’s and Updates

    • New meeting time starting in Sept (9/02): 1:30-3pm pst

    • Tofa landed a contract job!

    Guest Speaker:

    • Jeff Narucki - Fractional CPO for AI & Fintech Startups
      - “Using Al for Your Networking”

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 7

    • Meeting recap and Intro’s

    Discussion:

    • Great set of intro’s, with several suggestions and good discussions.

    • Nice news from Tofa! See below.

    • Cindy shared her LinkedIn, and the group provided feedback and insights.

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 8

    • Provided updates, including
      - New guest speaker for 8/19 meeting and
      - Happy hour that afternoon.

    Guest Speaker:

    • Ashley Laabs - founder of Composure Digital
      - “Always-On Networking”

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 5

    • Meeting recap and Intro’s

    Discussion:

    • Talked about what’s been good, what’s been challenging, and where we are in the job search.

    • Reviewed the OCA Member Survey results

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 5

    • Meeting recap, New members, and Intro’s

    Deep Dive:

    • Tofa McCormick shared his resume, and we provided suggestions and discussed various items.

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 8

    • Provided updates, including
      - Several new members
      ‍ - 1 more job landed!
      - Meeting times, survey ‍

    • Discussed what we’re doing, how it’s going, provided advice for each other.

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 6 + Guest Speaker

    • Several updates:
      - New members
      ‍ - 2 people landed jobs!
      - Meeting times, survey ‍
      - Happy Hr with “Good Company” group

    Discussion:

    • Guest Speaker: Matt Youngquist, Career Coach
      - AI and Job Search

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 3

    • Small, but powerful
      (people out this week for the holiday)

    Discussion:

    • Talked about several things we can use.
      - another in-person location
      - new job search site

    • Shared OCA member survey results.

    • Happy Hour 7/9

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 6

    • Good talk about various connections and how we’re helping each other.

    • Talked happy hours. Next one July 9th, and ideas on what we can do going forward.

    Discussion:

    • Deep Dive with Beck Parsons. Provided suggestions and insights on his resume, LinkedIn, and portfolio.

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS Item description

  • Attendees: 5

    • Different group, so we went through the same ?’s from 6/10.

    Discussion:

    • Talked about what’s been good, what’s been challenging, and where we are in the job search

    • Happy Hour!

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS Item description

  • Attendees: 3

    • Small, but powerful

    Discussion:

    • Talked about what’s been good, what’s been challenging, and where we are in the job search

    • Happy Hour 6/17

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS Item description

  • Attendees: 9

    • 1 new person - Derrick Elsea

    Discussion:

    • 5/27 mtg recap

    • Happy Hour 6/17

    • Intro’s

    Guest Speaker

    • Jordan Williams, Principal of LoopTrails.ai - “AI & The Future of Marketing” presentation

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 11

    • Biggest meeting to date! and 2 new people joined us.

    Discussion:

    • OCA hit 50 members prior to the meeting. (51 after!)

    • Working on a happy hour

    • Intro’s

    Guest Speaker

    • Patrick Byers, CEO of Outmark - “Personal Positioning” presentation

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 7

    • New member attended: Beck Parsons

    Discussion:

    • Alumni Survey results:
      - jobs they got & where
      - how they applied
      - use of AI
      - advice provided

    • Happy Hrs - going to happen

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 7

    • 2 new members joined with us

    Discussion:

    • What’s working: How members are getting traction

    • AI in the Job Search

    • Volunteering & Staying Sharp

    • Requests & Topics for Future Meetings

    • Meeting logistics

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 9

    Updates:

    • People are interviewing

    • Several new members

    • Sent a survey out to 7 people who have landed jobs

    Guest Speaker:

    • Cindy Dunbar from The Watts Group, a recruiting agency

    • Good discussion and Q’s & A’s

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 6

    Discussions:

    • Jon Michel landed a job!

    • 3 new members

    • Happy Hr next week

    • Deep Dive with Victoria Tseng: resume, LinkedIn

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 9

    • 7 members and

    • 2 new ones

    Discussions:

    • Companies we’re targeting and why we’re after certain industries or types of business.

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 5

    • 4 members and

    • 1 who was our guest speaker

    Discussions:

    • Jenny Zenner - former recrutier, career coach - provided insights and advice

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 8

    • Introductions

    • 2 new people joined

    Discussions / comments:

    • Open chat about “Best” & “Worst” interviews recently

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 9

    • Introductions

    • 3 new people joined

    Discussions / comments:

    • GUEST SPEAKER:
      Larry Asher (SVC Director)

    • Making connections, utilizing LinkedIn

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 5

    • Introductions

    • 3/4 Meeting recap

    Discussions / comments:

    • Deep Dive - Sharon shared her resume and LinkedIn

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 8

    • Introductions

    • 2/25 Meeting recap

    Discussions / comments:

    • Deep Dive - Stuart shared his job search plan, resume, LinkedIn, and portfolio

    • 2 new members

    • 1 landed a job!

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 7

    • Introductions

    • Meeting updates, questions

    Discussions / comments:

    • Brief chat about recruiting

    • GUEST SPEAKER:
      Wendy Hellar (recruiter)

    • How we’re doing our resumes and the challenges

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 4

    • Introductions

    • Agreed to stick with Wed at 10:30 at the Northeast Library

    Discussions / comments:

    • Job applications and hiring landscape

    • AI in the job search

    • Resumes and LinkedIn profiles

    • Seniority, titles, and perceived bias

    • Staffing agencies and contract work

    • Resources

    • Action items

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

  • Attendees: 7

    • Introductions

    Discussions / comments:

    • Challenges: applying for jobs that aren’t at the same level we’re in

    • AI - general discussion, how we’re using for applications, and the different AI tools

    • Numbers of applications we’re doing per week

    SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

One Connection Away meeting

Meeting Notes - Details

2026-08-26 @ 3:00pm-4:30pm
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees – 11

  • Tricia, Stuart, Cindy, Kelly, Jacqueline, Dhani, Shelli, Eric, Josh, Sharon, and Victoria

Updates / Discussions

  • 2 new members, and we’ve now had 70 people join OCA!

  • 2 members have landed jobs!

  • New meeting time starting next week (9/2): 1:30pm - 3:00pm on Wednesday’s.

Guest Speaker:

  • Jay Randell - Zillow - Sr Manager, Reporting & Business Intelligence

    • 11+ years at Zillow and is in the process of hiring someone for his team.

  • He shared with us several things he’s been going through and working on with his recruiter.

    • Good info and everyone was intrigued by what he shared and his thoughts.

Zillow Hiring Process: How It Works, via Jay

  • Jay is hiring a Principal Analytics Engineer on the mortgage/real estate side (operational analytics, semantic layers, BI)

    • Process kicked off as a backfill with a role change, requiring CTO-level approval;

    • He developed the job description, which was also reviewed by a fairness/DEI scoring tool before posting.

    • Took ~1.5–2 weeks before posting.

  • Job posted and received 500+ applications within two days.

  • Recruiter screened all 500 using calibration criteria Jay provided:

    • Jay reviewed 10 LinkedIn profiles (not applicants) to calibrate “yes/no” before posting.

    • Keywords were specific and separate from the job description (which was kept broad).

    • Criteria included: semantic layer experience, specific companies known for doing it well (e.g. Airbnb), relevant tools (not tool-specific unless critical).

    • Scoring likely algorithmic, weighted across ~15 criteria; recruiter kept exact method proprietary.

  • Recruiter presented 40 resumes; Jay narrowed to ~20 for recruiter phone screens.

  • Recruiter screened ~20, returned ~10 for Jay’s hiring manager screen.

  • Target funnel: 500 apps → 40 reviewed → 20 recruiter screens → 10 manager screens → 4 interview loop → offer

  • Interview loop: 4–5 interviewers beyond Jay; all interviewers must complete interview training at Zillow.

Resume and Application Insights

  • Jay tends to only read the first page; rarely goes past the second job listed.

  • Most recent experience matters most, especially given AI skill requirements.

  • Duplicate AI-generated summary sentences flagged two candidates: both were cut immediately.

  • AI-polished resumes are detectable: “super polished but bland”; authenticity matters more than polish.

  • Metrics on resumes: fine to include, but don’t overload; one clean, clear metric beats a wall of figures.

  • Employment status (employed vs. unemployed) was not a factor in screening.

  • Reaching out to Jay on LinkedIn had no effect, positive or negative: volume was too high to respond to.

  • Internal candidates generally preferred at Zillow for speed, but Jay actively sought outside experience for this role.

Key Takeaways for Job Seekers

  • Tailor resumes to specific keywords, but avoid generic AI-generated language, especially in the summary.

  • Don’t over-index on metrics; one meaningful, legible figure is better than many obscure ones.

  • LinkedIn outreach to hiring managers is neither harmful nor helpful at scale; recruiter is the real gatekeeper.

  • For Jay, strong communication skills matter even for technical roles, especially if the role involves executive presentations.  

  • The recruiter is an ally: they screen on the hiring manager’s behalf and can advocate for you.

Next Week

  • We’ve got a few questions we can ask to push a good discussion on the job searches we’re all going through.

BACK TO THE TOP

Meeting Notes - Details

2026-08-19 @ 3:00pm-4:30pm
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees – 13

  • Josh, Sharon, Cindy, Kelly, Jeremy, Beck, Jacqueline, Laura, Shelli, Eric, Mandy, and 2 new members who joined during the past week:

  • Dhani K. - Translation & Localization Specialist

  • Derek Ririe - Program / Product Manager

Updates / Discussions

  • Recap of the 8/5 meeting with the Deep Dive and LinkedIn help we provided Cindy.

  • Updated the team on our new meeting time starting September 2nd: 1:30pm - 3:00pm on Wednesday’s.

    • This time was the most consistent choice from people who filled out our Member Day/Time Survey.

  • Tofa has landed a contract job!

    • 6 month gig with Genesys Works - nonprofit social enterprise providing pathways to career success for high school students in underserved communities 

  • NEW: We’re going to shift our typical 3pm meeting to 1:30 pacific, starting in Sept (9/02).

    • This was the most common time available to those who filled out our Day/Time survey.

Guest Speaker:

  • Jeff Narucki - Fractional Chief Product Officer for AI & Fintech Startups

    • 20+ years of experience with Product Management

  • He presented how to make meaningful connections and leveraging your network using AI.

  • Notes below are courtesy of Gronala, an AI app.

  • Here’s a link to the deck he presented.

Jeff’s AI-Assisted Job Search Framework

  • Core philosophy: treat AI like a smart intern with no context about you

    • Train it over time, iterate, provide feedback

    • It interprets things literally; you must have the judgment to correct it

  • Two parallel tracks:

    • Fast track: active job applications (recruiters + hiring managers)

    • Long track: building a referral network for future roles

  • Jeff’s benchmark: 11% screening rate at director/VP level via personalized outreach

    • Spray-and-pray experiment yielded 0%; personalization is the difference

    • Great networkers reach 13-14%

Finding the Right People with Claude

  • Start with the job URL: ask Claude to identify likely recruiter and hiring manager

  • Claude (Cowork/paid, $20/mo or $17/mo annual) can scrape LinkedIn pages you’re logged into

  • Folder-based context: Jeff stores resumes, job search preferences, references, and full LinkedIn connections export in a Claude project

    • Claude cross-references the folder to assess fit and surface relevant connections

  • If the first result is too senior (e.g. CEO), prompt Claude to go one level deeper

  • Accuracy depends on how active the target is on LinkedIn; quiet profiles yield less reliable results

LinkedIn Outreach Strategy

  • Connection request vs. InMail: connection request (300 chars) outperforms InMail in practice

    • Keep it short, no formal salutations, just clear sentences

    • InMail doesn’t convert better despite the cost

  • Mandy’s approach: connect without a note first, then message after they accept

  • Sharon’s approach: save InMail credits for hiring managers; recruiters often connect freely

  • Warmer connections come from relationship-first outreach, not immediate job asks

  • When reaching out about a role: one or two sentences on what you bring, then stop

Building a Long-Term Referral Network

  • Keyword search on LinkedIn for titles likely to hire or refer you (e.g. “CEO, regtech, compliance automation”)

    • Iterated keyword phrases with Claude: ran parallel searches, compared results, refined over time

  • Target people who are active and engaged on LinkedIn, not dormant profiles

  • Sequence matters: comment on their content first, build rapport, then DM

    • “Don’t slide into their DMs before you’re sliding into their comments”

  • Jeff posts twice a week (down from three); gets more traction from substantive comments

  • Recent result: CTO connection led to CEO engagement, which led to an inbound client prospect

  • Currently setting up ~2 virtual coffees per week from this pipeline

  • Got a Chief Transformation Officer interview from a Slack group connection + LinkedIn credibility

AI Content and Comment Rules

  • Never let AI write LinkedIn comments: it’s obvious and people won’t engage

  • Posts: Claude drafts, Jeff rewrites entirely, removes all AI tells

  • AI language tells: em dashes, certain phrasing patterns, rhythm; Jeff now avoids em dashes himself

  • Sharon’s tip: used Jack (AI tool) to surface what’s unique about her background; found it more targeted than Indeed

Tools and Daily Workflow

  • Core stack: Claude Cowork, LinkedIn, Google Drive, Notion, Obsidian (optional)

    • Claude Cowork: projects store context so you don’t retype it every session

    • Notion: Claude set up people and interactions databases automatically

    • Google Drive: resume storage, AI-enabled via Gemini

  • Daily routine:

    • Check interactions on own content, comment back

    • Post content (2x/week)

    • Outreach: 4-5 new or renewed connections per day

    • 1-2 virtual coffee setups per week

  • Weekly: review metrics dashboard (discovery calls, comments on ICP, warm outreaches, posts)

  • Scheduler: Claude runs LinkedIn lead monitor on a set cadence, saves output to Notion

  • Credit management tip: assign heavy tasks before bed or before shutting down

Tracking and Iteration

  • Track everything: applications, outreach, screening rates, content performance

  • Jeff built a front-end app via Lovable (AI coding tool) from a spreadsheet template

  • Claude generates a weekly summary and flags repeated corrections as prompts to update the workflow

  • LinkedIn connections export (Settings > Data & Privacy): download full spreadsheet of connections

    • Jeff’s has ~3,000 contacts; uses it to find warm paths into target companies

  • Laura’s setup: Claude project with resume, candidate market fit doc, and Never Search Alone materials

    • Runs every job description through it for a fit score vs. her CMF; tracks pass/apply/defer in Google Drive

  • Summary trick: at end of a long chat session, ask Claude to summarize; start next session with that summary instead of the full history

Next Steps

  • Download LinkedIn connections export and load into Claude project
    Settings > Data & Privacy > download connections spreadsheet; use to find warm paths to target companies.

  • Set up a Claude Cowork project with resume, CMF, and job search preferences. Avoids retyping context each session and enables fit-scoring against new job descriptions.

  • Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn. He offered to help directly; link also on his website.

Next Week

  • “Regular” OCA Meeting. [ended up getting guest speaker, Jay Randell]

BACK TO THE TOP

Meeting Notes - Details

2026-08-12 @ 3:00pm-4:30pm
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees – 7

  • Sharon, Cindy, Kelly, Joshua, Jeremy, Beck, and Tofa

Updates / Discussions

  • We provided a recap of last week’s presentation by Ashley Laabs, which was really good, where she gave us several ways to create and maintain a good network. And the main point was to do this while you’re working, not just when you’ve lost a job.

  • NEW: We’re going to shift our typical 3pm meeting to 1:30 pacific, starting in Sept (9/02).
    This was the most common time available to those who filled out our Day/Time survey.

  • It will be good in that it will give me more time later that day to do these notes, and it might be easier for people in other time zones to join us.

  • During the intro’s, Tofa told us he’s been offered a good contract opportunity! As he confirms it and provides us the details, we’ll share them with everyone.

  • Happy Hour August 19th, after our meeting on Aug 19th

    • We’ll likely shut down around 4:20, to give people time to get to the bar.

    • 4:30 – 6:30 at Ravenna Brewery: 5408 26th Ave NE

Deep Dive: LinkedIn

  • The plan was to go through Tofa’s LinkedIn, but he just landed a contract role – so we offered to help Cindy Zachary with hers.

  • The group had some really good comments, suggestions, and discussions about various parts of it.

    • She was encouraged to update the banner pic, which is nice, but more recently, people are tending to put a phrase of what they’re good at and a couple bullet points. Possible option.

    • We discussed the “Open to Work” banner. It’s a common piece where people sit on either side of whether it should be used or not. But the next day, Kelly saw an article posted on Linkedn and shared it with the OCA Private Group. The author tested it and saw that it can hurt the perception of people viewing your profile picture.

    • Speaking of, we discussed Cindy’s pic, which was done with AI. That’s fairly common now, but people suggested getting a more ‘real’ picture which could help.

    • Sharon mentioned possibly splitting Cindy’s job with Astound into separate sections, given the fact that the company she started with had been bought a couple times and merged with others over the 34 years.

      • I’d suggest she takes that thought and run it past a couple other people and maybe ask an AI app what it thinks and how to possibly configure it.

    • We suggested getting recommendations from former coworkers. We’d been told that can help get attention from recruiters.

Next Week

  • Another guest speaker: Jeff Nanucki who will provide us information about using AI to connect with people on LinkedIn.

  • Happy Hour 4:30 at the Ravenna Brewery.

BACK TO THE TOP

Meeting Notes - Details

2026-08-05 @ 3:00pm-4:30pm
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees - 8

  • Jacqueline, Cindy, Kelly, Jeremy, Laura, Tofa, and 2 new attendees:

Updates / Discussion

  • Provided a recap of the prior meeting

  • Mentioned our next Happy Hour: Wednesday August 19th. Location TBD.

  • Intro’s and our ‘fun’ question: “Favorite movie?” Great list.

Guest Speaker

  • Ashley Laabs - Founder of Composure Digital

    “Always-On Networking” presentation

    • Most professionals don’t think about their network until they really need it – after losing a job or wanting a new one – and if that’s the case, it’s about making sure you have a good one and build it right.

    • This session was about shifting from reactive scrambling to always-on habits that turn your network into a genuine community that supports your career in good times and uncertain ones.

  • It’s who we know and who we should be connected to, but we need to make it continual.

  • Her background: she’d had 3 layoffs in 4 years. This is what got her going on how to network.

  • Our normal networks contain: coworkers, clients, speakers, peers, prior coworkers, communities, neighbors, family…

    • But after a layoff, it gets smaller - the business side from where you worked starts to go away.

    • And after a month, it can be even smaller.

  • The ‘heads-down’ model is broken - and it’s time to start “Networking like a business of One”… network like you’re a business of one.

  • The Plan

    • Map the Landscape

      • Go through everyone: LinkedIn contacts, old bosses, recruiters, friends, family, etc.

      • Figure out who your Top 20 are

    • Connection-first Outreach

      • Don’t lead with the ‘job search.’ Reach out to ‘be curious’ - asking them about various things, how you can support them.

    • Soft Introductions

      • Respond to content they’ve posted; ask questions; share stories

    • Asks and Lifts

      • Ask for opportunities sparingly with low-pressure asks (ask them about their experience, their feedback, etc.) - Ex. “How are you using AI on the marketing team?”
        i.e. Not talking about yourself as much as getting them to talk.

      • When asking them to introduce you to others, provide a short bio with links and a portfolio you can share with them to introduce you to other people.

    • Habits that Stick

      • Weekly LinkedIn commenting. Check your top 20 consistently, and make comments.

      • Try to get weekly coffee dates with contacts.

      • Community check-ins; attend events.

      • Consistency over Intensity

BACK TO THE TOP

Meeting Notes - Details

2026-07-29 @ 3:00pm-4:30pm
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees - 5

  • Sharon, Mark, Kelly, Jacqueline, and new attendee:

Updates

  • Provided a recap of the prior meeting: our Deep Dive with Tofa and his resumes

  • Mentioned our next Happy Hour: Wednesday August 19th. Location TBD.

  • Intro’s and our ‘fun’ question: “Favorite books we’ve read.” (and what we like)

Discussion

  • We went through 6 different questions to get a good understanding of where people are with their job searches, what’s working / not working, etc.

  • The Q’s…

    • What’s one positive thing that’s happened since we last met or over the last week?

      • Sharon - had an interview yesterday! (with a company she really likes)

      • Kelly - his son has had a great start with his first official job, covering Florida St as a sports journalist with 247sports.

      • Jacqueline - nothing standing out specifically, but things are positive.

      • Cindy - her son got a job in their new location (Arizona)

    • Where are you in the job search right now?

      • Cindy - recently started the job search, after doing an ‘early retirement’ from Astound. Applied to 10 jobs in the past month.

      • Kelly - one year into looking

      • Jacqueline - in the last stage of the hiring process with a couple companies. Waiting to hear. (fingers crossed!)

      • Sharon - no applying regularly right now.

      • Mark - broke ice with a new marketing product. Has some possible leads.

    • What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing right now?

      • Cindy - Do I want to go back to doing the same thing I have been, or something else? Managing expectations with possibly a position at lower salary.

      • Kelly - hasn’t gotten an interview in the past few months.

      • Jacqueline - the waiting game. So much work for interviewing, then getting knocked out. Keeping momentum on early part of the funnel.

    • What support would be the most valuable from this group over the next few months?

      • Mark – connections to law firms, small medical clinics, or small businesses.

      • Cindy – networking, advise on resume and LinkedIn.

      • Jacqueline – mock interview, happy hours.

      • Kelly – insights into making more connections with the companies I’m applying with.

    • Is there something you can offer to help someone else in the group?

      • Mark - help with social media, connections.

      • Sharon - advice about how to find connections on LinkedIn.

      • Cindy - help with connections.

      • Kelly - keep doing what we’re doing with OCA.

    • What’s one goal you’ll focus on before our next meeting?

      • Mark - more sales calls.

      • Kelly - OCA and working with AI on other possible job options (non-profits).

      • Sharon - apply to 3 jobs.

      • Cindy - revamping her resume and to get 3 applications out.

We shared the OCA Member Survey results:

  • Good mix of people at all levels:
    Feedback from Entry-level, Mid-level, Senior, Director, and VP+

  • Virtual attendees?

    • We asked why it’s becoming more common: “Transportation / commute” or they “Prefer virtual meetings”

    • It’s working, but if anyone wants to meet in-person, we do have the space.

  • Days / Times for our meetings

    • Based on our survey results from our other survey, Wednesday is still the best day - but we might switch from 3pm to 1:30pm. TBD.

  • We asked about several things we provide and what’s been useful.

    • Meeting Reminder emails and our OCA Private LinkedIn group.

  • Topics that people feel will be most valuable:

    • Networking strategies (77% chose that) — and we have 2 guest speakers lined up to provide help with networking.

    • Mental health and resilience during the search - the 2nd most picked item. That’s why we’re here to help.

BACK TO THE TOP

Meeting Notes - Details

2026-07-22 @ 3:00pm-4:30pm
« VIRTUAL CALL »

Attendees - 5

  • Laura, Tofa, Sharon, Kelly, and new member:

Updates

  • Provided a recap of the prior meeting which had 3 new attendees

  • Highlighted new members who had joined since the week before. (Jeremy and Amber Luco)

  • Mentioned our next Happy Hour: Wednesday August 19th. Location TBD.

  • Sharon talked about a fun way to get “a little confidence boost” by having AI (Gemini Notebook) generate a mini podcast with two "hosts" talking you up! (LINK)

  • Intro’s were fun. Talked about our “Favorite places to visit in the U.S. or around the world.”

Deep Dive

  • Tofa McCormick, OCA member since April, shared a resume that he calls his “Rapid Response” version - one that he uses to quickly apply for jobs.

    • It does a good job of summarizing his deep experience and what he can bring to a company.

    • He also showed us a customized version that he used for a particular job.

    • Ironically, we thought the Rapid Response one was better, and it’s just 2 pages vs. 3 - so we focused more on that.

  • The group provided suggestions on edits to the resume.

    • Shortening up the Summary portion.

      • And Jeremy suggested that “instead of focusing on what you’ve done, it can be what you can do and what you want to do; what you’re good at.”

    • Rearranging it a bit…

      • The “Earlier Career” portion was a bit hard to quickly scan. He can take months out of the dates, providing more space between “Job Title | Company | City, State” and when he was there.

      • Putting a bit more space between the job descriptions, so it’s easier to read as well.

    • Taking out blue and light gray fonts and making them all black. ATS platforms can have trouble going through different colors.

    • Jeremy also suggested putting the resume in an AI app to get feedback and suggestions.

  • We went Deep enough that we didn’t get time to go through his LinkedIn profile, so we’ll do that at another time with maybe another person or two.

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Meeting Notes - Details

2026-07-15 @ 3:00pm-4:30pm
« VIRTUAL CALL »

Attendees - 8

  • Tofa, Mark, Sharon, Kelly, Jacqueline, and 3 new members:

Updates

  • Provided a recap of the prior meeting with our guest speaker who discussed AI and the Job Search

    • Showed the new attendees where the notes and the document he shared are posted

  • New job landed!

    • James Carroll- Head of Demand Generation with Gradial‍ ‍

      • That company has several more openings, including Creative Director and Senior Product Marketing Lead - AI

  • Next happy hour: Wednesday August 19th. Location TBD.

Discussion

  • We each introduced ourselves, and we went into a more depth in terms of what we’re doing and how it’s going, challenges, etc. (and we talked about our favorite things to do in the summer.)

  • Almost everyone on the call has been participating with Never Search Alone (NSA) and their Job Search Councils (JSCs).

    • Some people are with their 2nd or 3rd groups.

    • If a group falls apart, they’ve been able to join new ones.

    • And some people are still meeting with their connections, even though they’re officially done with all the steps. It’s providing additional support.

  • Another group came up that a few of us have also tried and belong to

    • Bulletproof Your Career - Pat Romboletti - career coach, author, TedX speaker, and LinkedIn expert

    • She does a call every Thursday afternoon, sends useful and insightful emails, and she’s got a paid group that Laura said provides a lot more depth.

      • “So much content, but you can get into what you want or need to.”

  • Tofa said he liked how we helped Beck Parsons with his resume and LinkedIn, so we may do a Deep Dive with Tofa next week. TBD.

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Meeting Notes - Details

2026-07-08 @ 10:30am-12:00pm
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees

  • 6 attendees

    • Derrick, Shelli, Sharon, Kelly, and 1 new member and a friend of Shelli’s:

Updates

  • Two of our people landed new jobs! Congrats!

  • New member

    • Rose Custer - Creative Project Management, Video Production

  • Happy Hour Thursday, July 9th, with “Good Company” brand & marketing group.

    • It was fun. Looking to do another mid-August

  • AWS AI Marketing summit with Aeone (Seattle AI co.) – July 30th (10am-4pm)

Discussion

  • Guest speaker Matt Younquist, Owner & Chief Coach at Career Horizons

    • He’s been helping people through this company since 2004

    • Today we discussed “AI & the Job Search,” and he answered questions.

  • We all shared our experience with AI so far, from the Job Search perspective and how we’ve used it professionally. Wide range.

    • Matt asked if we’ve seen more responses using AI with resumes and cover letters.

    • Most of us haven’t. Some of us started to use it, then backed off, and are using it for most applications - but we’re not seeing a major shift. It is helpful though.

  • 5 things we need to make sure are with our resumes

    • It should look good.

      • 2 pages or less, consistent font, and try to make it unique.

      • But it’s got to be searchable without charts and icons, etc.

    • No typos. That still happens sometimes.

    • Crystal clear career focus.

    • Keyword matching. That’s where using AI is key.

    • Specific accomplishments

  • Matt asked us to guess how many companies there are in the Puget Sound area.

    • 320,000!!

      • Go after more companies.

      • Use LinkedIn and AI to find ones that may not be posting jobs on LinkedIn and Indeed because they’re smaller, or in some cases, they don’t want 1,000’s of applications.

  • Matt then shared this document: “AI Usage in a Job Search” with…

    • AI-driven tools and Applications to use for

      • Resume building and evaluations

      • Job tracking and appliations

      • Interview training

    • Prompt Engineering

      • Career change and exploration

      • Improving the resume and LinkedIn profile, developing cover letters

      • Job hunt success and lead generation

      • Interviewing and negotiation

  • Matt has also developed a site to help find “Jobs Across Washington State” (JAWS)

    • Job-finding tool that scrapes over 12,000 local employers on a weekly basis to find published opportunities.

    • And he shared a password with us so we can use the Weekly database. (Success1)

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Meeting Notes - Details

2026-07-01 @ 3:00pm-4:00pm
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees

  • 3 attendees - it’s summer time and there’s a holiday this Friday, so a lot of people are out.
    But it was a good meeting and great discussion.

    • Shelli, Sharon, and Kelly  

Updates

  • Matt Yoshimoto - got info on his new job!

    • Quality Engineering Specialist with Safran, an international high-technology group, operating in the aviation, defense, and space markets

  • 2 new members

    • Jeannette Neaves - Operations, Project / Program, Implementation, Training Coordinator

    • Barri Wells - Integrated Marketing, Creative Strategy

  • Guest speaker next week.

    • Matt Younquist, Owner & Chief Coach at Career Horizons

    • He’s been helping people through this company since 2004 and will be discussing “AI & the Job Search” and answering any questions.

  • Happy Hour next week - July 9th

    • We’ve been invited to join people from 2 other brand / marketing groups. Great people to meet, and we can catch up in person!

    • Star Brass Works Lounge - 5813 Airport Way S, Seattle, WA

    • 4pm - 7pm

Discussion

  • Sharon and Kelly shared information we learned from the OCA Member Survey.

    • Ex. Meeting Recap emails fairly helpful, but the Meeting Reminders very helpful - so I need to work on the recaps.

    • Ex. Some people weren’t getting these - so we found out that they were hitting junk or spam; and we informed people to check.

    • We’ll share again.

  • Shelli told us about a website that is all about helping nonprofit organizations with communications, and they post MarComm jobs for them.

    • “The Communications Network connects, gathers, and informs leaders from the most influential foundations, nonprofits, and social sector consultancies across the globe.”

    • Added this to our Resources page.

  • Sharon said that in one of her Never Search Alone groups, they were told to invite recruiters to connect on LinkedIn, but don’t add a note. (They get too much stuff to go through.)

  • We discussed meeting days / times and how we’re planning to standardize it - and if the library isn’t free then, we’ll all attend virtually.

    • Shelli suggested we add a Google calendar to which will help people add meetings to their calendars.

    • DONE! A link to it is now at the top of our Meetings page. This page. Click “BACK TO THE TOP” below.

  • Sharon and I are working on more guest speakers.

    • She’s got an AI product manager who has volunteered to meet with us.

    • I’ve got someone who is promoting Connections.

  • Shelli told us about the Stockdale Paradox - the concept of maintaining unwavering faith in your ultimate success while simultaneously having the discipline to confront the brutal facts of your current reality.

    • Kelly: Totally made sense to me, and how I entered this job search environment last year.

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Meeting Notes - Details

2026-06-24 @ 3:00pm-4:00pm
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees & Updates

  • 6 attendees

    • Mark, Jacqueline, Tofa, Sharon, Kelly, and Beck  

Updates

  • New guest speaker has been scheduled.

    • Matt Younquist, Owner & Chief Coach at Career Horizons

    • He’s been helping people through this company since 2004 and will be discussing “AI & the Job Search” and answering any questions.

  • Several connections have been made lately, with members of OCA introducing others to people hiring or knowing the hiring managers.

  • Next Happy Hour - July 9th

    • We’ve been invited to join people from 2 other brand / marketing groups. Great people to meet, and we can catch up in person!

    • Star Brass Works Lounge - 5813 Airport Way S, Seattle, WA

    • 4pm - 7pm

  • Matt Yoshimoto landed a job with Safran in their Quality department. Congrats, Matt!

Discussion

  • Deep Dive with Beck Parsons, Oregon graduate from 2025 and working part time with FanSided’s The Husky Haul, here in Seattle.

  • He shared his resume, LinkedIn profile, and his portfolio - and the rest of us in the meeting provided suggested edits and insights from what we’ve learned.

  • One of the big things was highlighting what he’s got in his portfolio, Beck Parsons Sports, in his LinkedIn profile. In this you can see all the sports journalism writing he’s done, and he’s a really good sports photographer.

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Meeting Notes - Details

2026-06-17 @ 10:30am-12:00pm
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees & Updates

  • 5 attendees

    • Derrick, Beck, Sharon, Kelly, and Shelli  

Discussion

  • Totally different group of people from our meeting the week before, so we went through the same set of questions to discuss: what’s been challenging, where we are in the job search, and what can OCA do to help.

  • Got through all 6 questions.

  • The Q’s…

    • What’s one positive thing that’s happened since we last met or over the last week?

      • Derrick – heard about an open role; intro to their HR team.

      • Shelli – interviews with a couple companies (non-profit, power company); family time

      • Beck – after meeting with Jordan Williams (AI presentation), started using Claude.

      • Kelly – good NSA group meeting; recruiter reached out about a job, and kid graduated college!

      • Sharon – reset w/ family time – son’s graduation and time with the family.

        • “It is good (but hard) to take some time off.”
          Shelli totally agreed and recommended it - and she mentioned this book: “Designing Your Life”

        • Sharon also mentioned an NSA Group that meets every Tues – Interview Lab w/ questions to go thru and practice. She’ll share.

    • Where are you in the job search right now?

      • All of us have been looking for a while; Shelli since March and she’s working part-time. Derrick has been contracting, too.

    • What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing right now?

      • Beck – getting a foot in the door, with the recruiting prospect. Broad depth of experience. Work on the resume.

      • Shelli – jobs that she wants, very small pool. Jobs don’t come up often. (large non-profits). Sr Manager roles on the resume but looking at Director level roles. Interviewed with Pivotal.

      • Kelly – having been at Director level and applying for Sr Manager roles; getting over the fence through recruiting.

      • Sharon – Getting into an interview.

    • What support would be the most valuable from this group over the next few months?

      • Beck – mock interviewing.

      • Shelli – more connections – jobs through people you know.

      • Sharon – interview prep; how people approach the common questions we get.

        IDEA: List of companies we’re targeting

      • Kelly – making connections; getting people to sharing jobs.

    • Is there something you can offer to help someone else in the group?

      • Shelli – can review resumes and linkedIn; connections.

      • Beck – writing; anyone who wants reviews.

      • Sharon – interview constructive criticism; taking a job description and can pretend to be the interviewer.

      • Kelly - keep doing what I’m doing.

    • What’s one goal you’ll focus on before our next meeting?

      • Beck – will edit the resume. To look for jobs: Google; worksourceWA.

      • Shelli – creating more of a plan to get more focused.

      • Sharon – apply for 2 jobs with cover letters; reaching out to connections at the companies.

      • Kelly - Get the next Guest Speaker signed up. Been talking to 3 people.

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Meeting Notes - Details

2026-06-10 @ 3:00pm-4:00pm
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees & Updates

  • 3 attendees

    • Jacqueline, Tofa, Kelly 

  • Up to 54 members have joined OCA

Discussion

  • This was a small meeting (our smallest to date), but one of our best.

  • We spent an hour an a half going through just 3 questions I brought to the table. It was a great discussion, and we got to know each other a lot better.

  • The Q’s…

    • What’s one positive thing that’s happened since we last met or over the last week?

      • Tofa is getting a lot of positive mentions in his part-time job.

      • Jacqueline has 2 interviews this week with start-up co’s.

      • Kelly joined Never Search Alone and was already assigned and met with a Job Search Council.

    • Where are you in the job search right now?

      • All 3 of us have been looking since last fall.

    • What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing right now?

      • Tofa - time management and getting focused in the job search mode, while working his part-time job.

      • Jacqueline - roles are being taken by inside candidates.

      • Kelly - getting interviews lately. It’s gotten quiet. And a couple tough rejections lately. But keep on keeping on!

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Meeting Notes - Details

2026-06-03 @ 3:00pm-4:00pm
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees & Updates

  • 9 attendees

    • Beck, Jacqueline, Sharon, Kelly, Tofa, Stuart, Mark, Victoria, and 1 new attendee… 

    • Derrick Elsea - Brand Strategy & Management

  • Updates, Intro’s

    • 5/27 meeting recap

    • 52 members!

    • Happy Hour 6/17

Guest Speaker

  • Jordan Williams, Principal of LoopTrails.ai, an AI Marketing company.

  • LINK TO RECORDING

    • Presentation starts at 12:15. (link to presentation deck)

    • If you want to hear more about OCA and our attendee introductions, start at the beginning.

  • Key takeaways:

    • AI won’t take your job - but a person fluent with AI might.

      • Today is about becoming that person.

    • AI Hype vs. Reality: While AI is in a massive hype cycle, it is a revolutionary tool.

      • The current market values "AI fluency" - the ability to use these tools to increase productivity: over deep technical coding skills.

    • The "Generalist" Advantage: AI is shifting the value back toward generalists who possess human judgment, strategic thinking, and the ability to bridge the gap between business goals and technical execution.

    • Prompting & Iteration: Treat AI like an intern. Use iterative prompting, provide clear context, and use tools like PromptCowboy.ai or markup language to improve output quality.

    • Build Your Own Experience: Since few candidates have years of "corporate AI" experience, manufacture your own by rebuilding old work tasks using AI, creating dummy data sets, and pursuing platform-specific certifications (HubSpot, Google, etc.).

    • Job Search Strategy: Focus on networking over mass-applying.

      • Maintain a structured daily routine to avoid burnout, and use AI to assist with research, interview prep, and cover letter tailoring.

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Meeting Notes - Details

2026-05-27 @ 3:00pm-4:00pm
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees & Updates

  • 11 attendees (biggest mtg so far!)

    • Sharon, Beck, Kelly, Tofa, Stuart, Matt, Dana, Tricia, Mark, and 2 new attendees… 

    • Mandy Toomey - nonprofit/education communications & community engagement

    • Belinda Leung - tech marketing (member since February, but 1st meeting attended)

  • Updates

    • Just prior to the meeting, we hit 50 members with OCA. 28% increase in the past 4 weeks.
      (and after the mtg someone else joined)

    • Next week’s guest speaker:

    • Working on getting a happy hour sorted out. More to come.

Guest Speaker

  • Patrick Byers, CEO of Outmark, an outsource marketing agency.

    • Nearly 30 years running his company and 42 years working in marketing.

  • LINK TO RECORDING

    • Presentation starts at 15:12. (link to presentation deck)

    • If you want to hear more about OCA and the member introductions, start at the beginning.

  • Action Items:

    • Refine personal positioning statement

    • Connect with Patrick Byers on LinkedIn

    • Utilize AI to research target companies for specific job applications

  • Key takeaways:

    • AI is a tool, not a replacement: Use AI to handle grunt work and drafting, but maintain human oversight to ensure authenticity and avoid "homogenized" content.

    • Narrow your focus: Generic expertise is being exposed; specific, laser-focused positioning is more relevant and attractive to employers.

    • Trust signals: In a noisy market, your personal brand acts as a validation layer. Be consistent and authoritative on platforms like LinkedIn.

    • Experience matters: While AI can generate content, it lacks the wisdom, judgment, and context that come from lived experience.

    • Action over passivity: Don't be a bystander to AI; actively use it to build your own playbooks and make yourself indispensable.

  • Notes:

    • What am I doing to stay relevant?

    • Attention spans grow shorter.

    • “Integrated marketing” means you’ve integrated the voice of the customer into your marketing, anticipating their needs even before they know they have them.

    • Positioning is what you do in the mind of the audience.

    • Claims that AI is a race to “the middle” [average].

    • Premises: where AI is the average, what’s unique will sell.

    • In a crowded marketplace, Clear differentiation and trust & visibility matter more than ever.

    • Curiosity and adaptability (learning velocity) are as or more important than knowledge.

    • Make yourself indispensable.

    • Knowledge is a commodity. Wisdom is lived knowledge. Relevance requires motion. 

    • Curiosity is the spark.

    • Relevance creates motion.

    • Initiative creates opportunity.

    • Contribution creates visibility.

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Meeting Notes - Details

2026-05-13 @ 3:00pm-4:00pm
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees & Updates

  • 7 attendees

    • Kelly, Sharon, Tofa, Stuart, Matt, Victoria, and 1 new member… 

    • Beck Parsons - graduated last year from Oregon’ journalism major with experience writing for UW Athletics and Oregon’s sports. Strong writing background, focusing the search on journalism, marketing, and communications roles.

  • Updates

    • 3 guest speakers scheduled

    • Members are getting interviews. A few patterns:

      • AI: Expect to be possibily asked how you'd use AI to maximize your value to the company. Have a real answer ready.

      • Companies are quiet after rejections. Members noted that hiring teams are reluctant to share feedback when a candidate doesn't advance.

      • Tip from Victoria: if an interview experience was positive, stay in touch with the hiring team. Future roles open up, and you're already a known quantity.

    • Another networking groups to join: Seattle Tech Forum - focused on tech and tech adjacent. They have in-person and online meet ups.

    • Happy Hours. People are in favor. We will be looking to schedule one.

Alumni Survey Results

  • Link to this week’s deck with what we received. 13 pages, starting on p.6.

  • Takeaway from the survey…

    • Cold applications worked more often than expected. Half of the hires came from cold applications. The rest were split between one referral and two recruiter reach-outs.

    • Cover letters: About half included a cover letter. The group discussed whether they're worth the effort with varied opinions. The consensus from those who do include them: use the cover letter to expand on why you're right for this role, including context that doesn't fit on the resume.

    • AI: All but one of the respondents used AI in preparing their application materials. (The exception was someone a recruiter reached out to directly.)

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Meeting Notes - Details

2026-05-06 @ 3:00pm-4:00pm
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees & Updates

  • Updates

    • Membership is up to 45 48 — check out the Members page

    • Survey is out to members who've landed jobs; we'll share what we learn

    • Guest speaker confirmed for 5/27: the CEO of Outmark, speaking on Personal Positioning

Member Introductions & Wins

  • Jon Michel Finet — landed at the Urban Land Institute — starts Tuesday. 🎉 Recent Seattle U grad with a tech-product background, interested in built environments.

  • Matthew Yoshimoto — recently contracted with Amazon Prime Video as a Technical Analyst (marketing data analytics). Relocated to Seattle 1.5 years ago. Looking for marketing research or PM roles next. Volunteers teaching computer literacy at the Dearborn location of Evergreen Goodwill.

  • Jacqueline Smith — recently relocated to Seattle from NC after a senior marketing role at Ford. Looking for tech marketing — product or brand. Currently training for the Seattle Marathon.

  • Joanne Frank — tech and ed-tech background, content marketing. Considering a shift but staying in marketing.

  • Tofa McCormick — early-stage marketer, hired into smaller orgs and startups. Aiming to stay in ed tech. Currently doing seasonal part-time work as a cruise line agent.

  • Mark Farmer — focused on creating compelling conversations; looking for startup leads.

  • Sharon Lynch Grey — technical support background, most recently leading the support team at an Email Service Provider. Looking for an IC senior tech support role at a MarTech company.

What’s Working: How Members are Getting Traction
A real conversation about what's actually moving the needle right now.

  • Networking and warm referrals are still the answer. When asked how she's been getting interviews, Jacqueline pointed to former coworkers and colleagues. She's been referred in rather than applying cold. Sharon reinforced the point: you never know who's going to help you, and it's often not who you'd expect. 

  • Daily structure came up repeatedly. Members shared what keeps them productive between applications:

    • Tofa: stay in a routine — it builds accountability now and makes the transition into a new role easier.

    • Jon Michel: a daily list — 1 application, 2 outreach messages. Hit the list, then your time is your own.

    • Jacqueline: keep learning. Recently completed HubSpot Academy: AI for Marketers.

    • Sharon: agreed on continuous learning — identify gaps in your job search and find training that fills them.

  • In-person events: mixed reviews. Matt has found them useful for leads but hasn't been getting deep into interviews from them — and he's noticed a lot of ghost jobs. Several members noted that in-person events are easy to sign up for and hard to actually attend.

AI in the Job Search

  • Every member reported being asked about AI in interviews. The group is responding by upskilling. Resources shared:

Volunteering & Staying Sharp

  • Joanne recommended Taproot Foundation for skills-based volunteering — engagements range from one-hour consultations to multi-month projects. A solid way to keep your craft sharp and your network growing during a search.

Requests & Topics for Future OCA Meetings

  • Members asked for future sessions on:

    • More recruiters as guest speakers, especially marketing recruiters and in-house recruiters who can speak to what they're looking for and how AI is changing their work

    • A mid-level marketing exec on how marketing and adjacent disciplines are evolving

    • Someone currently seeing a high volume of applications, to share what's standing out

    • Tofa offered to tap his network of career coaches and resume writers for short Q&A sessions with the group

  • Other asks:

    • Earlier happy hours (price-friendly), maybe after our OCA meetings.

    • Other Seattle marketing chapters we could connect with or invite into our orbit.

      • Examples…

      • Job Search Council — has a Slack with a Seattle channel (Jacqueline)

      • New Tech Northwest — good for finding startups and early-stage companies; monthly meetups (Joanne). Note: Mark mentioned there's a charge unless you're a paid member.

Logistics

  • Afternoons work well for the group, and the library is a good central location.

  • A happy hour attached to meetings was suggested.

BACK TO THE TOP

Meeting Notes - Details

2026-04-29 @ 3:00pm-4:00pm
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees & Updates

  • 9 attendees

    • Jacqueline, Kelly, Sharon, Stuart, Tofa, Dana, Jon Michel, Tricia and… 

    • Cindy Dunbar - Guest Speaker from The Watts Group  

  • Updates

    • People are interviewing

      • Jacqueline has had a couple screenings recently. 

      • Stuart is interviewing with a company and had another that afternoon (and is going on to the next round!) 

    • Tricia Thompson - new to the meetings, but she’s been with the group for a while. 

    • Kelly and Sharon got a survey out to the 7 people who have landed jobs; we’ll share the updates once we get answers. 

    • Several new members have joined recently. (check out the Members page - up to 45!) 

    • Working on another guest speaker from Outmark. 

    • Happy hour Thursday. (went really well!)  

Guest Speaker: Cindy Dunbar - Executive Recruiter with The Watts Group

  • Cindy (CD)… 

    • Started in the ad agency business (Account Management)

    • Switched to recruiting in 2008

  • The Watts Group… 

    • A recruiting agency that Linda Watts started in 1987 

    • 3 full-time recruiters 

    • They tend to work with mid- to small ad agencies and companies that don’t have people actively recruiting 

    • Recruiting vs. Staffing 

      • Recruiting agencies specialize in sourcing for permanent, long-term, and high-level roles, acting as headhunters to find passive candidates.

      • Staffing agencies focus on filling immediate, temporary, or contract-to-hire positions quickly, acting as the employer of record for talent. (ex. Robert Half) 

    • Finding applicants: They have a database, created 20 yrs ago, but they also do Boolean searches and use LinkedIn and AI. 

      • If they’ve done a recent role, they’ve got a list they’ll use. 

  • Cindy feels the industry has changed a lot over the past 15 years, especially here in Seattle. 

    • There had been an ‘open door’ policy, but now there are contracts that are in place. 

    • Watts hasn’t been doing creative positions (ex. Creative Director) for about 3 years. 

      • There are a lot of creatives out there, but they’re doing more freelancing. 

    • Since Covid, mid-level folks are now Director level and are different from what that level was like before. Little mentoring going on now.  

    QUESTIONS and ANSWERS… 

  • Kelly: What roles do you source for? 

    • CD: Advertising for the most part, but whatever our clients are looking for.  

      • Director level, strategy positions. 

      • Performance, programmatic, Social / community. 

  • Kelly: How many people’s resumes would you potentially put in front of the hiring manager? 

    • CD: Used to be top 3-5. But now we get people in front of the hiring manager as fast as we can. 

  • Dana: Having had a few short roles, what’s a good way to represent on the resume? 

    • CD: suggests batching them together. 

    • Short stints are a bit of a problem. 

  • Tofa: If a recruiter asks what you’ve been doing since your last job, what should you tell them? 

    • CD: ‘Looking for work.’ 

  • Tofa: If we’re doing seasonal work to make money, do we put that on our resume?

    • CD: If it’s connected or semi-relatable to your career, yes. If not, it's the job search (so, in theory, no issues with the gap) 

  • Jon Michel: Certifications - is it good to highlight those? 

    • CD: If they’re noticeable, yes. (ex. Harvard and other good school certifications) 

Next Week’s Meeting (May 6) 

  • Topic TBD. We might just have an open discussion, since we’ve got new people who have joined.

BACK TO THE TOP

Meeting Notes - Details

2026-04-22 @ 3:00pm-4:00pm
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees & Updates

  • 6 attendees

    • Jon Michel, Kelly, Sharon, Victoria, Stuart, and… 

    • Diana Solazzo- Product Marketing, Insights, and Strategy
      She’s in Florida and has some great experience.  

  • Updates

    • Jon Michel has landed a job! 

      • Urban Land Institute - “Oldest and largest network of cross-disciplinary real estate and land use experts in the world.” 

      • He’ll be a Marketing Associate there. Congrats, Jon Michel!!

    • Sharon has volunteered to take his place and help with OCA 

      • 1st Project: working on a google form / survey to get insights from Members who’ve landed jobs. 

    • New members since last Wed. 

      • Fitz Peters – Finance (brother of Bill Peters) 

      • Beck Parson – Journalism (friend of my kid and a recent grad - June 2025) 

      • Sandhya Balla – Integrated Marketing (met at last happy hr) 

    • Happy Hour next Thursday, 4/30

      • At the last one I went to, Kate bought some appetizers, and people paid for their own drinks. 

      • Anyone planning to attend?

        • Kelly, Kate Benton (hosting), Tricia Thompson, Jen Goetze  

      • Any questions? 

Deep Dive
Victoria Tseng shared her resumes (an older, original one and the latest) and walked us through her LinkedIn profile. The team provided feedback and shared insights from what we’ve learned from various places and guest speakers we’ve had at our meetings.  

  • Resume

    • She’s got a good summary, highlighting that she’s worked in Hong Kong and Seattle. We suggested focusing the front end of the summary on what she’s good at and targeting, and then end the paragraph with that unique cultural experience. 

    • Capitalizing the COMPANIES and JOB TITLES. We think one should be in capitals, not both. 

    • Job portions: we suggested possibly putting the dates to the right of the page, and add the locations which would make them stand out.

  • LinkedIn Profile

    • Start making some posts or reposting others that you think are good to get more attention. 

    • Open To Work - should we have that up? We hear various thoughts on having it. 

      • Stuart - said he’d heard that if you put it up on Monday and take it down on Friday, it pops up with recruiters. And he’s had a couple reach out since trying it. 

    • Sharing recommendations in her job description media sections, and highlighting particular comments. This is unique and a good way to specifically highlight what people think of you, but if you have work samples to share, post those. We don’t think that many recommendations should be there, since they’re all further down.  

  • Stuart asked Kelly to share his portfolio, which he did and then also quickly shared his resume and LinkedIn profile

Next Week’s Meeting (April 29) 

  • Guest Speaker:  Cindy Dunbar, Executive Recruiter with The Watts Group - a staffing agency

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Meeting Notes - Details

2026-04-15 @ 3:00pm-4:00pm
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees & Updates

  • 9 attendees

    • Jon Michel, Kelly, Sharon, Victoria, Tofa, Dana, Stuart, and 2 new members… 

    • Jacqueline Smith - Brand & Integrated Marketing, Product Marketing 

    • Tanya Davis - Brand Strategy, Design PM & Ops 

  • Updates

    • Couple of us have been using JackAndJill.ai app for job search help. Pretty good so far.

    • Kelly: several people in the group have landed jobs; check our Members page for Alumni! 

    • Tofa mentioned the Never Search Alone site (and book) – link in the Resources page 

    • Tanya mentioned LionsAndTigers.com, a resource company focused on Communications & Marketing, Operations, and Change 

    • Sharon: Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) 5/7-5/17 - looking for volunteers. 
      Form to fill: https://www.shiftboard.com/siff/register.html

Who We’re Targeting
Good discussion. Each person let us know the companies that they’re going after, and between the group, there were a lot of connections and suggestions, and people starting to plan to make introductions. 

  • Kelly: ideal ones are those that he shops at and uses and that they help people and communities (and HQ’s in Seattle; wants an on-site or hybrid job) - Brooks Running, REI, Expedia, T-Mobile, Zillow, Starbucks, Alaska Airlines, Rover 

  • Jon Michel: companies with entry-level roles (marketing coordinator and specialist); Civil engineering and architecture co’s; Anthropic, Toast; leaning away from software co’s 

  • Dana: focused on medical / healthcare and B2B - Verathon, Philips, Tanium, Chili Piper (meeting automation) 

  • Tanya: ones she’s been at before (Microsoft, Amazon) and companies bringing new things to the market: Figma, Nvidia, Adobe; can help org’s with change management and growth 

  • Jacqueline: technical companies headquartered here in Seattle - Microsoft, Nordstrom, Snowflake, Qualtrics 

  • Tofa: focused on demand gen and events; education technology - Amplify, DreamBox, Learning A-Z; others - Expedia, Qualtrics

  • Victoria: companies with oversea presence (Hong Kong, China) - strategist roles and research (customer needs): JPMorgan, Starbucks, Remitly 

  • Sharon: tech support, business services, mid- to large co’s - Microsoft, DoorDash, ServiceNow, Smartsheet, Salesforce; and movie-related - Netflix, Fandango 

  • Stuart: Looking at companies that are bigger than 100 employees; focusing on one industry at a time; Had a service background. DevOps: JFrog, Docker, Esper, GitLab, StackHawk. Database: Imply, Databook, MonteCarlo, Oracle, Confluent, MongoDB. Ad agencies: DNA&Stone, Hydrogen 

Next Week’s Meeting (April 22) 

  • Deep Dive with one of our members (resume, LinkedIn) - TBD 

  • Job announcement!

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Meeting Notes - Details

2026-04-08 @ 10:30am-12:00pm
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees & Updates

  • 4 attendees

    • Sharon, Tyler, Jon Michel, Kelly and...

  • Guest Speaker (and OCA member) Jenny Zenner

  • Updates

    • Sharon: used JackandJill.ai (AI app, free for candidates) to work on her resume and to search for jobs. 

    • Tyler’s new job! Working for Teamworks.com; starts on 4/20. 

      • 10 days for the interview process; it was easy to pick times, which was really nice.

    • Jon Michel - interviewed w/ Merrill Gardens; went well.

    • Kelly has a couple phone calls set up this week with inside connections at companies he’s targeting. 

Guest Speaker and Discussions

  • INTRO: Jenny Zenner - former recruiter, career coach  
    [She’s open to any OCA members connecting with her.]

    • She was in the marketing business. Became a recruiter. She was good at connecting with people. Did some marketing projects on the side. 

    • 8+ years working with the University of Virginia (UVA), and she’s able to connect with the community.  

    • She’s also become a career coach.  

    • Volunteers with local groups

      • President of local UVA alumni group 

      • AMA - goes to events

  • NOTES - link to the Google doc she shared

  • This day and age, it’s who you are and who you know  

    • Get connected to people

    • Get out and meet people. 

  • Local media

    • GeekWire - 200 startups they focus on

    • Puget Sound Business Journal 

  • Resources

  • Job Listings 

    • Trueup 

    • LinkedIn

    • Craigslist - yes, even that.  

  • LinkedIn suggestions

    • Need to have the “Open to Work” on, behind the scenes (not with the green ribbon) 

      • Put in 5 titles you’re up for 

    • Add details to your job descriptions, so it shows what you did and can hit keywords. 

    • Recommendations - algorithm in LinkedIn brings them up and can make you higher in the list 

      • Tyler - said he goes in and provides them for people who’ve gotten laid off and can need it. 

    • Need to follow the companies you’re targeting as they’ll see that. 

      • Sharon: see the companies who are related to the ones you’re targeting (and target those, too)

    • Need to provide a note to someone if you’re inviting them to a connection. (can sometimes miss it if hitting “Connect” on your phone) 

      • Can also try to figure out someone’s email and send them a note as to how you can help them. 

      • Tyler - try to connect with someone at the company. His example:  found a Product Manager at Starbucks who graduated from his school, Nebraska. 

    • Getting recommendations to connect with people in the company you’re targeting or who was with them before.  

  • Cover letters? 

    • Jenny recommends using them. 

  • Resumes 

    • Jenny recommends using the position’s key words in your summary. 

    • Can use AI to provide suggestions. 

      • Tyler: created a list of accomplishments (in bullets) that can be pulled to add to a resume for a particular job application

      • Jon Michel is doing something similar 

      • But got to be careful w/ AI - making sure there are no mistakes or untrue statements. 

  • Titles - should we change our title in a resume to be closer to what we’re going after?  

    • Jenny: she says “Yes. You can A/B test it too.” 

      • Tyler: I was Product Owner, but put “(same as Product Manager)” on his resume. 

  • Sharon: What about gaps in your resume? 

    • Jenny: can put in what you’ve been doing during the gaps. Volunteer work, School / courses.

Next Week

  • Next Meeting: April 15 @ 3:00pm

  • We plan to talk about our top targeted companies.

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Meeting Notes - Details

2026-04-01 @ 3pm-4:30pm
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees & Introductions - who you are, what you were doing, what you’re looking for…  

  • 8 attendees

    • Sharon, Stuart, Tyler, Jon Michel, Mark, Irene, and...

    • 2 members joining us for their 1st OCA meeting

Discussions

  • Open chat about “Best” & “Worst” interviews recently and what’s working, not working, and suggestions, etc.
    Key takeaways:

    • Confidence over Perfection: Hiring managers often look for confidence and cultural fit rather than just technical perfection.
      The "Interview the Company"

    • Mindset: Asking insightful, high-level questions (e.g., "Is this a new role or a replacement?", "What does success look like in one year?") demonstrates engagement and professional maturity.

    • AI Usage: Use AI to refine answers and research companies, but avoid over-reliance, as it can lead to robotic responses or off-topic tangents.

    • Storytelling: Instead of predicting specific questions, maintain a repository of 3–5 core professional stories that can be pivoted to fit various interview scenarios.

    • Managing Tension: Maintaining a "healthy disconnect"—where you are prepared but not desperate—helps reduce anxiety and improves performance during interviews.

Next Week

  • Next Meeting: April 8 @ 10:30am

  • Guest speaker!
    Jenny Zenner, who has joined us for support, will be sharing tips based off her experience as a former recruiter turned career coach. She’ll share a resource list, and we'll do live demos in both LinkedIn and AI.

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Meeting Notes - Details

2026-03-18 @ 10:30-12:00pm
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees & Introductions - who you are, what you were doing, what you’re looking for…  

  • 9 attendees

    • Sharon, Stuart, Tyler, Jon Michel, Kelly, Bryan, and...

    • 3 members joining us for their 1st OCA meeting

Guest Speaker - Larry Asher - Networking Presentation

  • Larry has been the Director with Seattle’s School of Visual Concepts (SVC) for more than 2 decades

    • He has been helping creatives and people in the marketing / advertising industries.

    • Lately he’s been providing advice on how to make connections and make yourself stand out.

    LINK TO A VIDEO LARRY RECORDED THAT IS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT HE PRESENTED TO US
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6bPfsb18F0

  • NOTES

  • Why he’s been helping people lately about how to land a job:

    • 450 people went through an SVC program, and it was SVC’s job to help place them.

      • 75% placement rate dropped to 20%, and students started coming directly to him.

      • Then people with 5-15 yrs of experience also started coming to him for help.

  • Questions for the team… 

    • How are your OCA people feeling? (1-10)

      • answers: 3, -2… 🙁 

    • How many applications have you done in the past 3 months? 

      • answers: 40, 30… 

    • Are you applying to the jobs that you’re seeing posted? 

      • Yes. 

  • The challenge…

    • Most jobs are filled before they’re even posted, and

    • Jobs that are posted are what they want, not what you want.

  • Larry’s suggestions…

    • Spend less time looking for job postings. Connect with people at or who’ve been with companies you’re interested in joining.

      • Spend 80% of your time making connections and 20% looking for jobs online vs. the opposite.

    • STEP 1 - Figure Out What You Want 

      • Spreadsheet to gather this info: https://svc.pub/personal-audit

      • Your skills → Your experience → Your interest → Requirements (what you want with the company, ex. Remote or On-site/Hybrid, strong social values, etc.) → Challenges (age, etc.) → Job Titles → Employer categories

      • Let AI help you figure out what would be good position titles, what companies might be a good fit in your market… 

    • STEP 2 - Figure Out Who Needs to Know You 

      • Another tab in the sheet: Which companies are you targeting → contacts → and who can introduce you to them?

      • How do you find these people?  

        • LinkedIn

          • Search a Job Title within the People portion (ex. “Marketing Manager”)

          • Then use the “All Filters” to put the company you’re after in “Past Companies”…

          • Larry suggests using Past Companies, because “you want to learn the lay of the land of a company before you expose yourself to people who might be influential in a hiring decision. Former employees could very well be in a position to introduce you to people who still work there.
            But the main thought is to learn what the hot buttons are before you penetrate the inner circle.”

    • STEP 3 - Set up 13-Min Coffee Meetings (with people you don’t know)  

      • Reach out to the person you found who would be good in Step 2.

      • Write them a note: Can you introduce me to ___? 

        • Ask for 13 min

        • Provide 3 questions you plan to ask the person they’re introducing you to

      • When you meet with them, ask the questions, and

      • Then ask for 1 more name they’d suggest you get introduced to. (Can do that after the meeting, in a Thank You note.)

    • STEP 4 - Differentiate Yourself 

      • With so many people applying for jobs, how can you stand out? 

      • Tie something unique into your work 

    • STEP 5 - Keep Your Name Out There 

      • Use the power of LinkedIn for getting out in front of people

        • Things that are relevant to your audience. 

    • BONUS suggestion…

Next Week

  • Kelly is out of town the next two Wednesday’s, but the meetings will keep going.

    • Jon Michel will lead them and continue to provide reminders and meeting notes.

  • Next Meeting: March 25th @ 3pm

  • Please note: 5 out of our next 6 meetings will be at 3pm (exception: April 8, 10:30am)

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Meeting Notes - Details

2026-03-11 @ 10:00-11:30am
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees & Introductions - who you are, what you were doing, what you’re looking for…  

  • 5 attendees

    • Sharon, Tyler, Jon Michel, Kelly, and...

    • New member: Bryan Chambers

      • Was at IBM Consulting last 9 yrs; Chief of Staff with their Global Leader;
        background in design research, product development. 

      • Exploring jobs that aren’t consulting; hybrid program management roles and looking at companies that have digital teams. 

      • Couple interviews so far.

      • Has had good recommendations and connections, and is getting career coaching help, via severance package, from Randstad. 

    • Each person provided updates on latest interviews / screenings, connections, and rejections.

Discussions

  • 3/4 meeting recap: letting Bryan know we’d done the Deep Dive with Stuart. Really good.

  • Bryan: uses JobScan to check his resume against the job description (and it can check vs. ATS)

    • He said it tells him to change his job title on his resume to match what he’s applying for.
      Ex. “Product Manager” role, but he was a “Consultant.”

    • Kelly: suggested maybe getting that title in one of the job bullets if he was acting as Product Manager during the consulting project.

Deep Dive with Sharon Lynch Grey‍

  • Sharon shared her resume

    • Overall, it was good - and she shared how she’s had to fill space with a volunteer job and time spent with a college course for Python programming.

      • Some of us have had to do the same thing. Seeing people on LinkedIn saying they’re “consulting” or “contracting”

      • Kelly: suggested maybe taking the months out of the dates, so that her job ended 2023, and college course is 2024-2025. Less of a gap.
        And can move the volunteer work below the other work positions and lable as “Additional Experience” (or “Volunteer Work”) - since she doesn’t want a recruiter to think she wants to be going into Social Media.

      • Bryan: suggested possibly moving the Certifications she has to the top, with the Competencies. Since she’s focusing on technology jobs.

        • Kelly: asked if she should put some stats and achievements in the Competencies section. She has them in the position bullets, which were good.

  • Sharon’s LinkedIn profile

    • Her LinkedIn was also good. Just a couple things were recommended.

      • Zeta Global job could be combined with another one, which she has combined in the resume.

        • Discussion on what can be done with short-term jobs

        • Kelly: Sometimes it can be taken out. Ex. I had a 5-month contract between two jobs in one year. Taking it out makes it look cleaner. Not much is missed — but if you have to put Months and Years in an application, it would result in a 5-month gap. Just years, no problem.

      • Activity section.

        • Jon Michel: Checking to see if Posts show up or Comments.
          Important to get some LinkedIn posts (or reposts) to show you’re active and in tune with what’s important recently.

Next Steps & Action Items

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Meeting Notes - Details

2026-03-04 @ 3:00-4:30pm
Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees & Introductions - who you are, what you were doing, what you’re looking for…  

  • 8 attendees (largest meeting to date!)

    • Mark, Sharon, Tyler, Heather, Stuart, Shelli, Jon Michel, and Kelly.
      - Each person introduced themselves, as some hadn’t met.
      - Stuart provided an update on how his most recent job interview went.
      - Led to a short discussion on how it’s tough to know what to expect with each interview.

    • 2/25 meeting recap: Reminder that Wendy Hellar is taking resumes for her recruiting agency.

Deep Dive with Stuart Olson

  • Stuart shared how he’s approaching the job search process and shared his:

    • Job Search Plan - link to an example

      • Very good and detailed set of steps to follow

      • He’s using AI for multiple job search activities

    • Resume

      • Thoughts from the group were positive

      • Led to a couple questions (listing skills / competencies? and the “6-second reviews” from recruiters?)
        See below for what we talked about.

    • LinkedIn profile

      • Stuart said he wants to do a more unique header image. What he has is good, but it’s helpful to have something that stands out.

      • We discussed LinkedIn posts. How we’re hearing you need to post to get seen, and how we are all seeing a lot of people posting “thoughts” on the job search, AI, marketing, etc.
        Stuart has some good posts highlighting what he knows.

    • Portfolio - he did a quick share of work he’s highlighting

Notes summarizing our discussions …

  • Professional Branding & LinkedIn Conversation 

    • Specialization: Focus on creating a "super-specific" specialization for LinkedIn titles to improve niche targeting.

    • Content Strategy: For senior leadership, the primary goal is building thought leadership through likes and followers.

    • Linkedin Posting: mentioned above.

    • Visuals: Standard LinkedIn visuals often underperform; experiment with vertical images instead.

    • Engagement: Case studies are highly effective. While "emotional words" increase readability, there is an ongoing debate regarding the balance of

    • Emotion vs. Storytelling and how to best demonstrate value.

  • Resume Optimization & ATS

    • The "6-Second Rule:" [from Google AI answer] Using eye-tracking, Recruiters scan in an "F" shape, checking for job titles, company names, employment dates, and educational credentials.
      - To pass, ensure your resume highlights relevant skills, includes keywords, and uses clear, formatted, and concise language to immediately demonstrate value. Resumes must be designed for instant pattern recognition to pass a human's 6-second initial glance. F pattern. 

      • Key Areas of Focus (6-Second Scan):

        • Current/Last Job Title & Company: Instant verification of role relevance and industry experience.

        • Dates of Employment: Scanned for career progression, duration, and potential gaps.

        • Education: Quick check for required degrees or certifications.

        • Top Third of Resume: This area is crucial, acting as a "hook" to prove your suitability for the role. 

      • How to Make the 6 Seconds Count:

        • Tailor for Keywords: Align your skills and terminology with the job description to pass both manual and automated scans.

        • Use Clear Formatting: Use headers, bullet points, and a clean layout to ensure readability.

        • Focus on Accomplishments: Use bullet points that quantify achievements, not just list duties.

        • Be Concise: Avoid fluff and ensure the most relevant information is at the top.

    • Strategic Bolding: Bolding does not affect ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) but is critical for getting a human recruiter's attention once you pass the auto-screen.

    • Title Matching: A useful tactic is putting the specific job title on the resume if at least 50% of the experience matches the role.

    • Internal Databases: Recruiters look at their internal database first. (Action: Wendy is adding Stuart’s resume to the database).

  • Job Search as Marketing

    • Methodology: Treat the job search like a marketing plan.

    • Targeting: Create a target list of companies and leverage locations/roles where you have the most existing connections.

  • Stuart’s Specific Updates

    • Passion Project: Successfully launched a project using Claude Code.

    • Interview Prep: Heather has a specific "takeaway story" to use during the "Tell me about yourself" portion of interviews (breath work project, built an app) 

    • Observation: Noticed a wide variety of different interview strategies being employed by companies, hard to tell what kind of personality we will encounter.

Next Steps & Action Items

  • Next Meeting: March 11th @ 10am, a 1/2-hr earlier than ‘normal.’

    • Another Deep Dive

    • What companies are people targeting? (so we can figure out if other members have connections to make introductions)

BACK TO THE TOP

Meeting Notes - Details

2026-02-25
10:30-12pm | Seattle Library - Northeast Branch: 6801 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees & Introductions - who you are, what you were doing, what you’re looking for…  

  • 7 attendees

    • Tyler Bollish (New): Product Manager; former advertising major with experience in youth sports tech.

    • Shelli Martineau (New): 15 years of experience in Life Sciences social media.

    • Sharon, Stuart, Jon Michel, and Kelly

    • Wendy Hellar: Guest Speaker; COO at Prime Team Partners and GeekWork (GeekWire). 35 years of recruiting experience in technical, engineering, and product roles.

Meeting Updates

  • Survey & Outreach: The group survey received 5 "Yes" responses; many invites may have hit junk folders. Recent outreach confirmed attendance for Belinda, Tyler, and Diana (FL). Kelly will continue reaching out to others.

  • Schedule Change: Due to room availability, next week's meeting (March 4th) is moved to the afternoon.

    • New Time: 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM PST. 

  • Formatting Preference: The group agreed they prefer detailed meeting notes that include member names rather than high-level summaries.

  • Resources Added: Books, including Never Search Alone, and two free agency companies, A.Team and Braintrust, have been added to the resources page. A contact is also available forOutsource Marketing. Tell Kelly if you’re interested. 

Guest Speaker Insights: Wendy Hellar (Recruiting & GeekWork)

Wendy provided a comprehensive look from the "recruiter’s side" of the desk, noting that Prime Team Partners/GeekWork reviews applications by hand to combat AI-generated "slop."

  • The Current Market Landscape

    • Volume: GeekWork is currently managing 13–14 roles, and Wendy received 5 new roles just this morning. 

    • The Remote Challenge: Remote roles are hyper-competitive, having seen 1,500+ applications, of which 90% are typically "invalid" (fake or unqualified). 

    • The Onsite Advantage: Niche onsite roles that Team Partners source often have very few applicants (e.g., one role had only 7), leading them to search nationally. 

  • Resume & Application Advice

    • Stand Out Without "Big Tech" Names: If you don't have Amazon / Google / Microsoft experience or Ivy League credentials, focus on impact figures: increased revenue, cost reductions, ROI, and growth percentages. 

    • The "2-Year Marker": Companies look for 2-year tenures on your resume as a sign that a candidate has successfully navigated at least two performance review cycles. 

    • Speed & Reach-Out: Apply as quickly as possible, then immediately find the hiring manager on LinkedIn. Send a direct IM explaining why you are a fit. 

    • LinkedIn & Cover Letters: Use the "About" section to stand out. Shelli suggested using cover letters to highlight specific campaigns rather than generic text. 

    • Networking Power: Referrals are a "silver bullet." Companies like Yoodli, a relatively new, but strongly growing Seattle-based AI company, prioritize hires based on who their current employees know. 

Member Discussions & Observations

  • Stuart: Shared that he is seeing more traction by sending personalized "clips" or parts of his portfolio rather than a full application. He noted frustration with the "gatekeeping" of internal recruiters once an application is submitted.

  • AI Frustrations: The group discussed the "slop" in the ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) and a collective move toward handwriting more content and using less AI to maintain a human touch. 

    • Now that we know AI is being used by so many people to fit their resumes into job descriptions, it’s possible you could get ignored because you don’t stand out. 

    • From a recent LinkedIn post, from the recruiter world, advice is: Lead with outcomes, tell a clear story, and apply to roles you're a genuine fit for. You’ll beat the ATS by being a good candidate.

Next Steps & Action Items

  • Resumes: Wendy has offered to receive resumes from everyone in our group. She’ll look to see if anyone is a fit for what they currently have open or anything that is in the upcoming pipeline. And she’ll put the resumes into Prime Team’s database, which is the first place they search when a new job comes in.

  • Next Meeting (March 4th, 3pm): If no guest speaker is secured, the group will conduct a "Deep Dive" on 1 or 2 members.

    • Focus: Walking through their resume, LinkedIn, and target companies for group feedback. 20 minutes? 

  • Follow-up: Wendy suggested a follow-up session; the group will coordinate a date.

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Meeting Notes - Details

2026-02-18
10:30-12:00pm | Northeast library - 6801 35th Ave. N.E., Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees & Introductions - who you are, what you were doing, what you’re looking for…  

  • 4 attendees: Sharon Lynch Grey, Stuart Olson, Jon Michel Finet, and Kelly Evans

Purpose of the Session

To support marketing and advertising professionals navigating the current job market by sharing experiences, learning from one another, building connections, and identifying practical next steps.

Key Topics Discussed

Job Applications & Hiring Landscape

  • High volume of applications reported across the group. We’re often seeing 300+ applicants per role on LinkedIn.

  • Many participants are experiencing limited response or ghosting, particularly from smaller companies.

  • Some traction reported with larger organizations and roles where referrals or networking were involved.

AI in the Job Search

  • Discussion around the growing use of AI for resume tailoring, cover letters, and role-fit analysis. 

  • Questions raised about how applicant tracking systems (ATS) and recruiters evaluate AI-generated content.

  • Debate on whether and how to include AI-related work or examples in portfolios.

    • Stuart has seen people use AI to create marketing dashboards and writing examples, and some of the work is fake but being done to work themselves into the process.

Resumes & LinkedIn Profiles

  • Recruiters frequently cross-check resumes against LinkedIn profiles.

  • General consensus to keep LinkedIn profiles consistent, clear, and professional.

  • Discussion on how much detail to include in role descriptions in LinkedIn.

  • Consideration of how titles, tenure, and seniority are interpreted by recruiters.

  • Talked about combining jobs in a resume to highlight talent and experience but to reduce years shown.

Seniority, Titles, and Perceived Bias

  • Concerns about age or seniority bias, particularly for candidates with 15–20+ years of experience. Not unusual to have more experience than the hiring managers. (

  • Discussion around whether Director-level candidates are being filtered out of Manager or Senior Manager roles.

  • Exploration of alternative paths, including fractional, contract, or consulting work.

Staffing Agencies & Contract Work

  • Kelly has reached out to a few agencies – to see if they’d like to introduce themselves and meet with us: 24 Seven, Aquent, Robert Half, GeekWork.

    • ** Wendy Hellar, from Prime Time Partners and works on projects for GeekWork, is going to join our meeting next week: Feb 25th. **

  • Mixed experiences shared; some connections made, limited jobs seen on their sites.

  • General hesitation around short-term contract roles versus full-time positions.

  • “Fractional” titles people are using that we’re seeing in LinkedIn. Are they contracting (1099 work)? Is it something they’re doing based on lack of jobs, or is it just what they prefer?

Resources Mentioned

Action Items & Next Steps

  • Kelly to explore the possibility of inviting Larry Asher to a future session.

  • Group to continue sharing AI tools, portfolio examples, and job-search resources.

  • Revisit staffing agencies and contract/fractional work in a future discussion.

  • Kelly to share Outsource Marketing:

    • If I got The A-Team right, this is similar and had been shared with me.  

Note: These notes summarize themes and insights from the discussion; individual comments have been paraphrased.

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Meeting Notes - Details

2026-02-11
10:30-11:30am | Northeast library - 6801 35th Ave. N.E., Seattle, WA 98115

Attendees & Introductions - who you are, what you were doing, what you’re looking for…  

  • 7 attendees: Sharon Lynch Grey, Stuart Olson, Irene Kennedy, Heather Stephens, Mark Farmer, Jon Michel Finet, and Kelly Evans

    • Check out the Members page to connect to their LinkedIn profiles

Discussions / Comments

  • Big challenge - applying for jobs that aren’t at the same level you’ve been in. 

    • Ex. Sr Manager roles when you’ve been a Director or Sr Director. And when you have more work experience than the hiring managers. 

    • Feels like companies are hiring younger, less experienced candidates - and that’s saving them money. 

    • Can be frustrating when you are totally ok working at the level and in the job that’s being promoted. 

  • Artificial Intelligence

    • AI had been around, but it really took off last year. 

    • Sharon - volunteering for a movie group. Needed to do a marketing calendar, and used AI to create it. 

      • Biggest challenge. How do you share? 

    • Irene: AI (Claude) is at AWS, and she was using that. 

    • Kelly: went to a dinner last summer with Jasper.ai. They focus on marketing and look really good. 

    • Stuart: every quarter is shifting. How you go about achieving and how you hit your numbers 

    • Stuart: companies are using AI to do 1st round interviews 

    • Sharon: interviewed with Anthropic - and they said “Don’t use AI” 

      • Kelly: I’ve seen companies put in their job descriptions to not use AI while interviewing. Having interviewed people last year for a contract job, it looked like someone was reading answers. Worked well, but seemed a little off. 

  • How many of you are using AI to help with resumes? 

    • Everyone 

    • Which AI tools are you using? [see the Resources page for links to most of these]

      • Resume tool within LHH (career coaching firm)

        • Reviews your resume and provides suggestions 

        • Kelly: LHH also has an Interview tool, powered by Yoodli - a really good company here in Seattle that is skyrocketing. 

          • And they’ve got a job I can share: Growth Marketing Manager. I’ve met the hiring manager (Head of Marketing, Betsy McKibbin) and can introduce you.

      • ChatGPT 

      • CoPilot 

      • Claude

      • Perplexity 

      • Anthropic 

    • Are you feeling like it’s helping? 

      • Kelly: I’ve been told several times that we need to use AI to provide suggested updates for the resume for each role - to specify terms and language that match the job descriptions. But after starting to do that, I feel that I’ve had less luck than with my ‘standard’ resume that I can easily submit. 

  • How many applications are you doing? 

    • Between the group, we’re averaging 2-6 per week. 

  • Another job search group: Never Search Alone

    • Has a book and meetings. Is there a cost?

Next Week - discussion ideas:

  • Career coaching

  • Staffing agencies

  • Networking, getting referrals

  • LinkedIn profiles - updating summaries, pictures, etc. Should we have “Open to Work” on our profiles?

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