• 9 to 5 Dilemma: 576 Applications and No Offers.

• Upcoming Events.

• Testers Needed : gumption. Wins & Impact GPT

• Is It Really Imposter Syndrome?

• Dollyism.

LinkedIn is now processing 11,000 job applications per minute. That’s a 45% increase from last year.

Math isn’t my strength, but roll with me…

11,000 applications per minute
× 60 minutes per hour
= 660,000 applications per hour

660,000 applications per hour
× 24 hours per day
= 15,840,000 applications per day

15,840,000 applications per day
× 365 days per year
= 5,781,600,000 applications per year

Final Answer:

Roughly 5.78 billion job applications per year on LinkedIn alone.

(And no, that’s not a typo.)

And most of the advice that circulates around from coaches and “experts” on how to beat the other 5.78 billion applications sounds like…
💩 "Use Calibri 11pt to beat the bots!"
💩 "Rearrange your resume so ATS picks up the title!"
💩 "Submit at 6:34am on a Tuesday for best results!"

And when you’re already feeling discouraged, overwhelmed, and unsure what else to try, it only adds to the noise.

The Gumption Perspective:
You cannot out-AI the AI.
You cannot contort yourself into a perfect keyword Frankenstein.

Here’s what actually works in this market, especially if you’re applying over and over and hearing nothing:

✅ 1. Build and maintain real relationships
You don’t need a huge network. You need a human one.
This could mean:

• Reaching out to 1–2 people a week for a virtual coffee or casual chat

• Asking for a warm intro instead of applying cold

• Commenting and engaging authentically on LinkedIn with people in your space

Most job opportunities still come through relationships—not job boards.

✅ 2. Refine your value proposition
Ask yourself:

• What do I do best?

• Who benefits from that?

• What happens when I do it well?

If your answer is, “I’m a strong communicator with a track record of success”—go deeper.
You need a clear, confident statement of what you do, who it helps, and what outcomes you drive. This is the root of every good resume, profile, and interview answer.

✅ 3. Tighten your impact bullets

Swap vague for specific.

Instead of:
"Led cross-functional projects across departments."

Try:
"Led a 6-person cross-functional team to launch a new process that cut turnaround time by 28%."

Even better? Include metrics, audience, and results whenever possible.

✅ 4. Practice telling your story
No AI-generated resume can do this for you.
You have to say it out loud. The more you practice sharing your career path, pivots, and wins, the more confident and clear you become.
Try recording a short voice note talking through:

• Why you left your last job

• Answering the dreaded… “tell me about yourself” question

• What you’re great at and the results you can show from being great

• What kind of roles or work align well and why your past experience has positioned you for this exact job

This clarity makes interviews easier and makes networking far more effective.

Let’s be honest:
This is a hard market.
This is a massive shift from how people used to find work.
And it is incredibly jarring to feel invisible after putting in so much effort.

But you’re not broken. And your skills aren’t unmarketable.

You just need a different approach, one that centers clarity, connection, and story over noise.

Got your own 9 to 5 dilemma?
If you’re wrestling with something at work—confusing feedback, job search drama, leadership challenges, or just trying to figure out what’s next—I want to hear it.
Send your dilemma my way right here, and I might feature it (anonymously) in an upcoming edition.

Because if you’re feeling it, chances are someone else is too.

Upcoming Events & Trainings

August IRL : Nashville on August 7

TroopHR Coffee & Conversation, Nashville ☕️

Let's meet at The May Hosiery Mills Library @ The Malin 1131 4th Ave S, Nashville, TN.

This isn’t your typical networking event.
No awkward icebreakers. No salesy intros. Just real conversations with thoughtful people about how we lead, grow, and show up at work and beyond.

Join me and TroopHR for a low-key, energizing morning that includes:

• Non-cringe networking (we promise)

• A quick 3-2-1 learning session on how to advocate for yourself and your team in ways that build trust, spark alignment, and make work more human

• Light breakfast, great coffee, and even better company

This space is for you if you care about building things that last, leading with intention, and staying connected while doing meaningful work.

RSVP now to save your spot.

Want to help me test something new?

If you’ve ever sat down to update your resume or prep for a performance review and thought, “What have I even done lately?” — this is for you.

I built a custom GPT that helps you uncover, shape, and save your career accomplishments using the Wins & Impact method I use with clients.

You’ll get:

• Resume-ready bullet points

• LinkedIn-friendly phrasing

• Coaching-style questions to go deeper

• A running list of your wins you can reuse anytime

👉 https://chatgpt.com/g/g-686d284d47fc8191a36d8dbc40eef37c-the-gumption-career-wins-impact-builder

If you try it, I’d love to hear what you think — what felt helpful, what felt off, what you wish it could do next. Your feedback will help me make this even better (and I read every note).

Just hit reply and let me know how it went.

Maybe It’s Not Imposter Syndrome?

You weren’t born doubting yourself.
So where did all that noise come from?

I was asked to sit on a panel last week to chat with a room of women about confidence. The irony of me, a not always confident person, speaking to other women about confidence is not lost on me.

In our session, imposter syndrome came up a lot. It’s one of those universal experiences that we all can relate to, especially when it comes to our confidence journey.

But what if, for some of us, it’s not a syndrome at all?
What if it’s just… self-doubt that got really loud over time?

Think about it:

Kids are wildly confident.
Kids don’t sit around questioning whether they’re qualified to do something.
They don’t worry if they’ll look weird/dumb/inexperienced/ridiculous when they do the most INSANE things, often in public.

They just go. Try. Figure it out. Lead. Fall. Start again.

Somewhere along the way, we learn to doubt.
We’re taught to shrink, second-guess, be realistic.
We pick up other people’s fears. Their stories. Their standards.

And suddenly, the voice in your head says:

That voice? It’s not your intuition. It’s not truth.
It’s an old recording. One you didn’t write.

So how do you turn it down?
You don’t have to silence self-doubt to get things done.
But you can learn to keep it in the passenger seat.

Here are three ways to start:

🧠 Name it.
Say out loud what the doubt is actually saying.
When you name the fear, it loses power.
("I’m scared I’ll sound stupid in this meeting." Ok, what else could be true if you spoke up?)

📚 Counter it with evidence.
Keep a running list of things you’ve figured out, navigated, created, solved.
Your wins aren’t accidents, they’re receipts.

🚪 Act before you feel ready.
Confidence doesn’t come first—action does.
Take the next small step. Hit send. Speak up. Apply anyway.

You don’t need to fix yourself.
You just need to remember who you were before the doubt took up so much space.

And if you’ve forgotten?

We can find it again.

Don’t Be a Stranger!

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