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20 tips for landing a high-impact job (from both sides of the hiring table)
15 min readOct 1
TL;DR: Job searching in the EA movement is harder and longer than most people expect, even if you're experienced. In 2021, it took me five months, about 10 applications, and one offer. This post combines my best job search tips from that period, updated for today. The tips still hold, but I'd now weight them differently: most of my time on putting myself in a position where jobs come to me, and a smaller share on fewer, better applications. These 20 tips are the full toolkit, from the long game to the nuts and bolts of applying.
Back in 2021, while transitioning between roles in the animal advocacy movement, I wrote several posts about job searching on the EA Forum. They became some of my most-read pieces, but parts of them are now outdated, so I’ve combined the tips that still hold into this one post. I now lead Hive, a global community for people working to end factory farming, and since 2021 I’ve been on the employer side of hiring, having had hundreds of conversations with job seekers.
The biggest change is the ratio. Back then I put applications at the centre of my search and treated everything else as extras. Today I would spend most of my time on the things that make opportunities come to me: relationships, visibility, volunteering, showing my work, and being in the right place at the right time. I’m writing a follow-up on exactly how I’d sequence all of this, for both early-career and senior advocates.
I learned how long a search takes the hard way. Three and a half years after being chosen from 300+ applicants for my Veganuary role, the first and only job I applied for, I assumed my next search would go the same way. Instead, back in 2021, it took five months, and I spent much of it reassessing what I wanted. The tips below are what got me through it.
It’s long and resource-heavy, so skip to whatever’s most relevant.
There’s no point applying for jobs if you don’t know what you want. I applied for a couple of first-level management positions that matched my profile well, but the whole reason I was looking was that I wanted more challenge and responsibility. If you fit 100% of a job description and you’d be doing the same work, you may be bored within six months.
Resources:
Before you start looking, understand a few things:
Job search is usually long and emotionally draining. Applications take ages to prepare, interviews are nerve-wracking, waiting for updates and getting rejected are the worst parts. Job searching can feel like a full-time job. Accept this upfront, and it won’t hit as hard.
You don’t know your market value until you apply. Don’t assume you’re the best or the worst. A mix of ambition, curiosity, and humility is the right attitude. The best tip I got (from my mother-in-law): “Let them decide if you’re qualified or not.”
Help the employer find the right fit. Rather than trying to convince them to choose you, think about what the employer is looking for and whether and how you fulfil these criteria. If you’ve ever hired people, you know how hard it is to find the right person.
Don’t take it personally. Your professional value isn’t your human value. A rejection means someone else was deemed a better fit — not that you’re not good enough. Multiple people could have done the job; there was only one spot.
Rejections are redirections. If I hadn’t received every rejection in my career, I wouldn’t be where I am now. I always tell myself, “This wasn’t meant for me,” and “Something better is coming.” More on this in point 10.
One of the important qualities EA employers look for is mission alignment and passion for the cause. Hiring managers often tell me, “It’s so much easier to hire someone from the movement — they already speak the same language.”
Even if you’ve never had an EA job, demonstrate your motivation everywhere: your CV, cover letter, all communications with the hiring manager, your LinkedIn bio. Write a clear bio about the impact you want to make. Read up on core EA concepts like cost-effectiveness and impact evaluation (start with the EA Handbook). Consider writing a post on the EA Forum or doing skilled volunteering for an EA organisation.
No single place has all EA jobs. You can’t set up alerts that cover everything. Some places to look:
No matter how good you think your CV is, there's likely room to improve. I've reviewed over 1000 CVs, and you’d be surprised to hear that, per application, only a handful were clear enough to get people shortlisted.
Nowadays, AI can do wonders to your CV if you prompt it well. If you want to learn more about the basics, I recommend the book Knock-out CV and getting feedback from at least three people: someone in recruitment/HR, someone with hiring manager experience, and someone with a successful career. If you have access to university alumni services, they often offer free CV feedback.
Key tips:
You can also consider creating a reverse CV, which I described in my other post here.
This post from 80,000 Hours about how to become a better applicant in one week is very useful.
I’ve conducted and sat in many interviews on the employer side, and it’s striking how many people don’t prepare. There’s no such thing as a perfect interview, but there are major dos and don’ts. Invest 5–20 hours in general interview prep before you even get an invitation — you’ll usually only get a few days’ notice.
Top resources: Why You (the most common 111 questions) and The Interview Expert. I’ve used them to get three jobs. YouTube also has a wealth of interview advice. Don’t just read — practise answering questions aloud (AI can help).
Prep also means researching the organisation. I’ve interviewed people who didn’t know what the organisation does. Know their mission, values, recent achievements, and challenges. Bonus points if you can articulate how you’d help address those challenges.
The job offers I have landed since 2021 came through EA networking. You never know where the right connection will come from. Aim to connect with someone new every week. Our Donut channel on Hive connects you to someone new every 3 weeks!
If networking doesn’t come naturally, track it: who you spoke to, when, what you learned. Develop a short pitch about yourself and what you’re looking for. People will say “Have you spoken to X?” or “You should check out Y.” Ask your network directly: are they part of invite-only networks? Do they know anyone hiring? If you tell people what you’re looking for, opportunities come your way.
I have since written about this in my practical post on Being in the right place at the right time.
This is one of the most underrated job search strategies: make your thinking and your work visible. People who share their work — whether it’s a blog post, a project update, a resource they created, or a thoughtful comment on someone else’s work — get noticed. When conversations or opportunities come up later, others already know what you care about and what you can do.
You don’t need to be a prolific writer. It can be as simple as commenting thoughtfully on the EA Forum or LinkedIn, sharing helpful resources in relevant Slack spaces, hosting a reading group or small event, or publishing a short post about something you learned. Many people have recently started Substacks.
The key is that this creates context that works asynchronously — people can find and understand you even when you’re not in the room. I’ve seen people get pulled into hiring processes because someone remembered a post they wrote months earlier.
If you can’t get a paid role, skilled volunteering is a great way to build connections, improve your skills, and contribute to the movement. Organisations I volunteered for helped me connect with people across the movement, and one of them gave me a reference for my next job. You can even get hired as a permanent employee.
Don’t overlook temp roles either. Many people dismiss them because they’re not permanent, but temp and contract roles are an excellent way to showcase your work in a real environment. They often lead to permanent positions, and at minimum they build your skills and references.
I have since written more about this in another popular post: How unofficial work gets you hired.
When I think back to what made my best jobs a good fit, they all had a manager I got on well with. Conversely, most not-so-good-fit jobs had a manager I didn’t click with.
Recruiters often say “don’t choose a job, choose a manager.” In interviews, focus on whether you like the manager as a person and whether their management philosophy aligns with yours. Ask yourself: would I want to be stuck in an airport with this person? Observe how interviewers communicate with each other. Ask other employees for their honest take on the culture.
Don’t hesitate to withdraw from applications if you don't think you’re a good culture fit (I’ve written more about culture here).
Use a spreadsheet, Notion, or Asana to track conversations and results. I tracked every job I applied for and what happened at each stage. Without a system, you’ll lose track. Without data, you’ll feel like you’re making no progress when you’ve done a lot.
An offer is the goal, but it’s not the only metric. Track: people you spoke with this month, suitable opportunities found, interview prep completed. Progress is progress.
Job search is mentally tough. What helped me:
I can’t stress this enough — if you’re intrigued, apply. Don’t assume that not meeting 50% of the criteria disqualifies you. Hiring managers sometimes change their idea of the role and hire someone with different skills or create a different role altogether. You can also get recommended for similar roles at other organisations if you get far enough in the process.
If you can do the trial task by googling and figuring it out, that counts (as long as you can do that within the time limit).
In your application, don’t say “I can’t do this” or “I don’t have this experience.” Talk about what you’ll do to make up for it. Back in 2021, in one application where I lacked significant org management experience, I wrote: “I’m highly skilled at project management, and this will be useful in managing this organisation, as every project needs planning, control, and execution.”
Job applications are also good for connection building. People notice your CV and put you on the map. They may recommend you for another role or help make connections in the future. I know people who were runners-up and got hired at the same organisation later when the new person left or a new position opened.
If you get rejected, write a gracious message thanking the hiring manager. Say you hope your paths will cross again. I've built good connections from most job hunts, and they've led to other opportunities.
It’s easy to take rejections as an attack on your skills or who you are as a person. But most of the time, it’s about solving the employer’s problem at the right time. You'll never know all the internal and external factors at play, and none of them depends on you.
Think of it this way: if you’re buying a laptop and choosing between a Mac and a Dell, you might pick the Dell because it runs specialist software you need. That doesn’t mean the Mac is bad — it just doesn’t solve your particular problem right now.
A few reframes that helped me:
The application process is long but moves fast once things happen. You can get an interview invitation with only a couple of days’ notice. When you get an offer, organisations usually expect an answer within days.
Respond to the hiring manager’s emails and requests as soon as you can. If you are going to be on holiday or travelling, flag it to the hiring manager ahead of time so that they can expect some delays. When requested, book an interview as soon as you can to keep things moving.
Prepare for interview questions before you have interviews. Most organisations won’t send questions in advance. But you can prepare common questions like “Why do you want to leave your current job?” and “What are the most likely reasons you will leave this job in 6 months if hired?” well ahead of time. When the invite comes, all you need is organisation-specific research.
By the time you get a reference request, it’s too late to reconnect with people you haven’t spoken to in a year. Create a list of potential references. Reach out when you begin your search, tell them your plans, and ask if they’d serve as a reference for the kinds of roles you’re targeting.
Have more than 2–3 people — they may be unavailable or not suited to a particular role. Be strategic: don’t ask someone who’s never seen you manage to vouch for your leadership. You want glowing references, not standard ones (it’s about what they don’t say).
Speak to your references before they’re contacted. Not to alter what they say, but to make sure they are happy to be your reference for this specific role and that your answers to the potential employer will be similar. Have at least 10 trusted contacts — some managers, some peers. Coaches and mentors could also work. If you don’t have them, start cultivating them now.
Know in advance how you’d react — whether you’d take the job, what salary you’d need, what logistics matter. When an offer comes, you usually have less than a week to decide. That’s not enough time to analyse everything from scratch.
Read up on offer negotiation. Don’t accept on the spot, even if you’re thrilled — the excitement can cloud your judgment. Thank the employer as soon as you receive it, show enthusiasm, then take appropriate time to think. Check salary benchmarks, calculate total compensation, and list what you’d like to negotiate. If the organisation wants you and has room in its budget, it may be able to improve its offer. Remember: this is your last chance to discuss salary before your next review.
One piece of advice though: don’t be stubborn when negotiating. I have heard of cases where employers withdrew the offer when the candidate kept negotiating after being told the organisation couldn’t increase it. The offer ended up being rescinded. Worth knowing if this is a job you’d really love and you’re happy with the salary offered.
For deciding between options, I recommend this 80,000 Hours piece on career decisions and my more recent post on how I have made some hard career decisions.
This one is more specific to EA, but worth knowing. During my job search, several organisations said: “We would love to hire you, but we have no budget.” In some cases, we agreed to fundraise for the role together.
This is a promising path for getting into underfunded new projects. It also shows initiative, fundraising skills, and an understanding of the organisation beyond your role. The downside is uncertainty — funding can take time, and until you have a signed contract, keep looking elsewhere. Just because an org is fundraising for your position doesn’t necessarily mean you’re the only candidate they’ll consider.
Don’t let your job search skills atrophy. You never know when you’ll look again. I also recommend Ask a Manager — great for all things career, with advice for both job seekers and hiring managers. Entertaining reading, too.
Did you find these tips useful? Anything resonate or differ from your experience? I’d love to hear your thoughts and any extra tips — different perspectives help everyone.
If you’re in the middle of a job search, you can do this!
Hi, I’m Sofia Balderson. I lead Hive, a global community for people working to end factory farming. This is a link post from my Substack, Notes from the Margin to share the messier, more personal reflections that don’t fit in formal updates. If you care about leading, belonging, or building something that matters (especially from the edges), feel free to subscribe here.