A woman who has suffered three layoffs has shared how she has “cracked the code” to job applications.
Applying for jobs is a daunting and tiresome process which can feel like a job in itself.
Giovanna Ventola, 34, (@giovanna.ventola) from Charleston, South Carolina, knows the arduous task of job hunting all too well, having been laid off three times over three years, but since has learned a life-changing hack.
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In a video which has garnered 1.8 million views, Ventola shared the best way to structure your week if you are in the process of looking for new employment—to “power” apply to jobs on Monday and then look again on Friday at ad repostings.
Giovanna wants to empower other job seekers to manage their mental health and help structure their weeks which can feel endless.
@giovanna.ventola/@giovanna.ventola
She told Newsweek: “I’ve been laid off three times in the past three years. I worked in the commercial real estate industry and it has just completely changed since COVID. This last time has been the hardest. The job market is drastically different than it even was a year ago.
“It’s taken a huge toll on my mental health and this time I really wanted to find the power in my search and take control of the way I was handling my professional future. It’s really hard to grow when you keep getting cut down.
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“I realized I don’t need a job to grow. I can find a way to use this time to develop skills for myself. Hopefully that benefits a future employer someday or I learn enough to become that future employer.”
Being the only person among her family and friends facing the hardship of unemployment, Ventola started to post her experiences on TikTok to network with other professionals who found themselves in the same position.
In March 2024, she started a professional Slack community called Rhize, so those job hunting could exchange their tips and tricks.
Giovanna Ventola shared how she has “cracked the code” to job applications.
@giovanna.ventola/@giovanna.ventola
During one Slack community call, a former HR professional recruiter shared some advice on how to plan the week ahead when someone who is currently unemployed asked how to maintain structure and mental wellbeing in the week when time seems to be endless.
The recruiter said her weekly structure involved posting a job ad on a Monday and allowed applications to come through to the Tuesday morning and then would start going through applications that day.
The woman said she did not use an applicant tracking system (ATS) but there would be certain “knock out” questions, for example, if there was a specific quality or certification they didn’t have.
She told Ventola she then went through all the resumes personally and on Wednesday and Thursday, she would call the qualified candidates to set up interviews for the following week.
If she didn’t get enough applications or qualified candidates, she would then repost her job on Friday to make way for weekend applications.
The recruiter now uses this formula to structure her week, by power applying to jobs on Monday through to Tuesday morning, leaving Wednesday and Thursday free of job applications and on Friday she reviews reposts of job ads.
Ventola said on TikTok: “I have not heard such tangible advice in the three layoffs, in the three years that I’ve been going through this where it’s like yeah, this is how you should structure your day.
“We just cracked some code of like scheduling and managing our own calendar and I think when you can manage your own calendar and your time and you feel like you’re doing real work and you’re productive your mental health just goes up.”
Ventola revealed she was laid off the first time in November 2020. She said it was particularly testing as there was no stimulus check, a direct payment made on behalf of the government, to help during financial hardship.
She said: “It was the dead of winter, and no one knew how to handle COVID. This was the time when we were all still completely isolated and a vaccine wasn’t even in sight. It took me seven months to find a job.”
The second time Ventola was made unemployed was when the company went bankrupt, so it was less unexpected.
The third time was another shock as she lost her job just before the holiday season alongside other employees, who had been at the company for just 90 days.
“I truly go through periods where I don’t think I will ever get a job. And that is scary… because I don’t have anything to fall back on… and if that’s the case… and there’s no jobs to be given… I need to figure something out for myself,” she said.
Ventola’s other tips for those out of employment or job hunting:
- Pace yourself.
- Keep tabs on your mental health. Find people who can relate and validate your experiences. Talk to them as much as possible.
- Get scrappy with your ideas.
- You might need to let go of your idea of “career.”
- Learn how to budget.
- Plan for 12 months without work.
- Learn how to network in other ways. LinkedIn isn’t cutting it anymore. I volunteer a lot which gets me out and meeting people.
- Talk to people in elevators, on airplanes, at the dog park, say hi to people on the sidewalk, take your headphones out for a minute, just get comfortable having random conversations.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
