Career Switching and Job Search 101: Essential Strategies from Account Manager Jordyn Wallace
May 26, 2025
In this episode of Guidance Counselor 2.0, host Taylor Desseyn interviewed Jordyn Wallace, account manager at Randstad with over five years of experience in tech and telecom recruiting. Their conversation provides practical insights into navigating career transitions, maximizing relationships with recruiters, and executing an effective job search strategy in today's market.
Understanding the Recruiting Landscape
One of the most valuable aspects of Jordyn's perspective comes from her deep understanding of how different types of recruiters operate. Many job seekers don't fully grasp the distinction between agency and internal recruiters, which can limit their search effectiveness.
Internal recruiters work exclusively for one organization, focusing on filling positions within that specific company. When they reach out to candidates, it's always for opportunities within their employer's organization.
Agency recruiters like Jordyn have access to thousands of clients across multiple industries and companies. This broader scope means they can present candidates with a much wider range of opportunities and often have deeper market insights about salary ranges, industry trends, and hiring patterns.
"As an agency recruiter, your net is cast much wider. You have the opportunity to get access to a lot more jobs, to work in a lot of different areas, to work in a lot of different industries," Jordyn explained.
For job seekers, this distinction is crucial because it suggests a strategic approach: engage with both types of recruiters to maximize your opportunities and market intelligence.
The Four-Bucket Networking Strategy
Taylor and Jordyn outlined a comprehensive networking framework that divides potential contacts into four key categories:
Non-engineering employees at target companies who can provide referrals
Engineering leaders and hiring managers who make hiring decisions
Internal recruiters at specific companies
Agency recruiters with broad market access
Jordyn recommends job seekers maintain regular contact with at least one agency recruiter and one internal recruiter per week, even when not actively job searching. "Proactive engagement is key," as one viewer commented during the stream.
This approach treats relationship building as an ongoing investment rather than a desperate last-minute effort when unemployment strikes.
Making the Most of Recruiter Relationships
Even when recruiters can't immediately help with job placement, Jordyn emphasized that these conversations can still provide tremendous value. She recommends asking specific questions that leverage recruiters' market expertise:
Resume Optimization: "How does my resume look? Give me one piece of advice." Agency recruiters review hundreds of resumes and understand what hiring managers want to see.
LinkedIn Strategy: "Can you give me one recommendation to make my LinkedIn better?" Your profile is often the first impression recruiters and hiring managers have of you.
Salary Benchmarking: "What should I be asking for salary-wise compared to industry standards?" Recruiters have real-time data on market rates and can help you avoid pricing yourself out or undervaluing your skills.
Future Opportunities: Ask recruiters to keep you in mind for future roles and maintain engagement through social media interactions and periodic updates.
Taylor also shared what he calls the "BCC trick" - sending monthly email updates to multiple recruiters about your job search status. While Jordyn suggested personalizing communications might be more effective, both agreed that consistent contact is essential since recruiters handle numerous candidates and opportunities simultaneously.
Leveraging LinkedIn Strategically
The conversation provided several actionable LinkedIn strategies that many job seekers overlook. When recruiters post job openings on LinkedIn, the platform typically displays who posted the role, creating a direct connection opportunity.
"Most of the time it has the ability to see the person - the internal recruiter, the agency recruiter who actually posted that job," Jordyn explained. "You can easily go to their profile. It'll also show you other potential contacts at that company based off of who posted that job."
This feature essentially provides a roadmap for targeted outreach. Instead of blindly applying through job boards, candidates can reach out directly to the recruiter with personalized messages.
The hosts demonstrated this approach in real-time, showing how searching for terms like "tech recruiter" or specific job titles reveals not only job postings but also the recruiters and hiring managers behind them.
The Psychology of Career Transitions
Jordyn's personal story of transitioning from real estate to recruiting offers valuable insights into the psychological aspects of career change. Her transition wasn't driven by a clear vision of where she wanted to go, but rather by a strong desire to leave an unsatisfying situation.
"I didn't have an idea of what I wanted to do. I just knew what I didn't want to do," she reflected. "If you are physically uncomfortable enough in a position that you're in, you will do anything to get out of it."
This honesty about career uncertainty resonates with many professionals who feel stuck but don't have a clear alternative path. Jordyn's advice focuses on commitment and learning rather than having all the answers upfront.
When she started in recruiting, she committed to learning everything possible about the tech industry: "I used to watch these whiteboard sessions where they would explain from start to finish how it worked and how the other roles build off of that or how they build off of the other positions."
The Power of Admitting What You Don't Know
One of Jordyn's most powerful networking strategies involves embracing ignorance as a conversation starter. Rather than pretending to understand industry concepts, she recommends openly asking for explanations.
"You will learn so much by admitting that you don't actually know anything," she emphasized. "If you're a career transitioner, the biggest thing is asking 'what's your biggest advice for somebody getting into the industry?' People will love to give you advice."
This approach accomplishes several things simultaneously: it provides genuine learning opportunities, makes the other person feel valued for their expertise, and creates natural conversation flow that can lead to deeper professional relationships.
Building Authentic Connections
Throughout the conversation, both Taylor and Jordyn emphasized the importance of finding genuine commonalities with potential contacts. Rather than generic outreach messages, they recommend researching people's backgrounds to identify shared experiences or interests.
"If someone went to Auburn and they messaged me and they're like, 'Bama sucks,' I'd be like, 'let's fight about it.' And then we'd get in conversation," Jordyn laughed, illustrating how even playful disagreements can spark meaningful interactions.
This approach recognizes that people want to connect on a human level beyond just professional transactions. Whether it's shared alma maters, sports teams, hobbies, or career experiences, finding these connection points makes networking feel more natural and authentic.
The Numbers Game Reality
Both hosts were frank about job searching being fundamentally a numbers game. If you're unemployed, "finding a job is your job," as Taylor put it. Jordyn recommended treating job search activities with the same intensity and structure as full-time employment.
For active job seekers, this might mean having 2-3 meaningful conversations per day with recruiters, hiring managers, or industry contacts. The goal isn't just quantity, but consistent, quality engagement that builds relationships and maintains visibility in the market.
Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt
When asked for her biggest career advice to her younger self, Jordyn's response was both simple and profound: "Stop being so afraid. Just do it and do it loudly. Don't minimize yourself to feel like you have to fit into places you don't need to."
This advice addresses one of the biggest barriers to effective networking and career advancement: the fear of looking foolish or being rejected. Jordyn's perspective, shaped by years of successful relationship building, emphasizes that most people are too focused on their own concerns to judge others harshly.
"People think about you a lot less than you think they do," she noted, encouraging job seekers to take risks and put themselves out there more boldly.
Practical Takeaways for Job Seekers
The conversation provides several actionable strategies that job seekers can implement immediately:
Weekly Recruiter Outreach: Establish a routine of connecting with at least one agency and one internal recruiter each week, even when not actively job searching.
LinkedIn Optimization: Use job postings to identify and connect with the recruiters who posted them, personalizing messages based on shared backgrounds or interests.
Question Preparation: Develop a standard set of questions to ask recruiters about resume feedback, LinkedIn optimization, and salary benchmarking.
Relationship Maintenance: Create systems for staying in touch with your network through regular updates and engagement with their content.
Learning Commitment: When transitioning careers, dedicate time to understanding industry terminology, roles, and how different positions interconnect.
The Long-Term Perspective
Perhaps the most important insight from this conversation is viewing networking and relationship building as ongoing investments rather than emergency tactics. Jordyn's success in recruiting came partly from her willingness to engage authentically with people and learn continuously about her industry.
Similarly, job seekers who treat networking as a continuous practice rather than a crisis response will find themselves better positioned when opportunities arise or when career changes become necessary.
The conversation between Taylor and Jordyn demonstrates that successful career navigation requires both strategic thinking and authentic relationship building. By understanding how different types of recruiters operate, leveraging LinkedIn effectively, and maintaining consistent engagement with professional networks, job seekers can significantly improve their career prospects while building meaningful professional relationships.
This blog post summarizes insights from Guidance Counselor 2.0, a live streaming show hosted by Taylor Desseyn that explores career development in the tech industry. Find the full video of the episode and more here: Career Switching and Job Search 101 w/Account Manager, Jordyn Wallace
