Treat your job search like a growth marketing campaign

Most job searches are passive in that you apply, wait, and repeat. I take a more active, structured approach by applying techniques from SEO, marketing, and growth engineering to stand out and increase my odds.

🔍 Defined my ICP for which audiences to reach and what they look for.

📊 Researched the total addressable market of roles I wanted to target.

🔠 Analyzed job descriptions to optimize my resume and LinkedIn profile.

🔗 Built backlinks to my LinkedIn profile to improve visibility.

📈 Measured KPIs and attributed success to specific outreach and content.

🧪 A/B tested messaging and resume content to increase response rates.

🚀 Focused on click-through rates from copy and visuals to landing pages.

🧭 Mapped visitor behavior to identify content journeys that led to results.

🤝 Engaged in relevant communities to increase visibility and credibility.

🔒 Used gated content to build interest and track engagement.

Here’s a breakdown of the strategies I use:

ICP Creation

I started by defining my Ideal Customer Profile. In this case, the “customer” was the audience I wanted to attract. I identified the types of professionals I wanted to engage (e.g., hiring managers, peers, recruiters) for which roles, and dug into what those audiences were likely to be looking for. This guided everything from the tone of voice to the examples I highlighted in my work.

TAM Research

I approached role targeting the way you’d approach market sizing. I mapped out the Total Addressable Market of roles that fit my background and goals, categorized them by alignment and availability, and used that to prioritize which role types to invest time and effort.

Keyword Analysis

To improve visibility and alignment, I analyzed patterns in job descriptions, recruiter outreach, and industry content. I then updated my resume and LinkedIn profile with those keywords to ensure I showed up in relevant searches and resonated with the right people.

Backlink Building

Instead of sending traffic to a portfolio site, I focused on building backlinks to my LinkedIn profile from content, comments, and community interactions. This helped improve my discoverability and authority in search and social algorithms.

Measuring KPIs and Content Attribution

I tracked key job-search metrics like email response rates, interview conversion rates, and time-to-first-response. I also used attribution methods to determine which content or actions led to those results. This gave me more time to do what worked.

A/B Testing Conversion Rates

I tested variations in message framing, subject lines, and resume content to see which versions generated better outcomes. Even small tweaks sometimes had outsized impacts, just like in product copy or landing page experiments.

Campaign Building

I treated outreach like a campaign, making sure the initial messaging and visuals (e.g., thumbnails, headlines, summaries) were compelling enough to drive engagement. When people clicked through, they landed on tailored pages or content with clear next steps.

Journey Mapping

I paid close attention to how people engaged with my content across platforms. What did they view first? What did they come back to? Which pieces of content tended to lead to interviews? This helped me identify and reinforce the most effective content journeys.

Community Engagement

Rather than cold outreach alone, I participated in relevant communities and added value where I could. This helped build credibility and gave my work more reach, without needing to push it aggressively.

Gated Content

I experimented with content gating in the form of "comment and I’ll send it to you" style posts. This gave me lightweight lead generation inside LinkedIn, creating natural follow-ups and surfacing people who were actually interested.

Final Thoughts

Treating my job search like a growth campaign gave me structure, measurability, and momentum. It turned an often-draining process into something I could improve, track, and learn from, just like any good marketing effort.

If you’re in the middle of a job search or hiring and want to think more strategically about reach and visibility, some of these tactics might be worth trying.