Field Notes · 6 MIN READ
Why am I not getting hired? The six real reasons.
It is almost never one big thing. It is one specific friction point that compounds across every application until the pattern looks like rejection.
Read essay// ON POWER, ON BUILDING
Essays
I write about the systems that decide who gets hired, who gets promoted, who gets funded, and who gets believed as a leader — and why those decisions are rarely as objective as they're made to sound.
On Power · 5 MIN READ
LinkedIn Is Cringe Because Corporate Culture Is Cringe
LinkedIn feels cringe because corporate culture often is. The platform reflects power, privilege, and incentives — and understanding that changes things.
Read essayOn Power · 2 MIN READ
How to Navigate a Hiring System That Wasn’t Built for You
Hiring systems look formal on paper. In practice, decisions are shaped by informal discretion, risk avoidance, and unspoken norms that reward the already-insiders.
Read essayOn Power · 3 MIN READ
The Super Bowl Backlash Wasn’t About Culture. It Was About Control
What the 2026 Super Bowl reaction reveals about identity, power, and modern leadership.
Read essayOn Power · 4 MIN READ
The Hiring Process is Just Politics at Work
Hiring isn’t as objective as we’re told. Qualifications alone don’t guarantee the role. This essay explores how power, perception, and internal dynamics shape hiring decisions and what job seekers need to understand about the system.
Read essayOn Power · 3 MIN READ
"Just Be Yourself” Is Terrible Job Search Advice
Just be yourself” sounds like good advice, but it breaks down in real hiring systems. This essay explores who authenticity actually works for, why it’s policed unevenly, and when performance is safer than honesty.
Read essayOn Power · 6 MIN READ
Return-to-Office Mandates: Culture Rhetoric or Managerial Control?
What the evidence suggests about power and decision-making related to return to office mandates.
Read essayOn Power · 7 MIN READ
LinkedIn Layoff Posts Are Gaslighting You
What looks positive online is often very different from what’s actually happening behind the scenes.
Read essayOn Power · 5 MIN READ
You Are Not What They See. You Are What They Decide.
What does it mean to be seen as a question instead of a person? A personal look at racial ambiguity and bias.
Read essayField Notes · 4 MIN READ
Why am I not getting interviews? The funnel is the problem.
If hundreds of applications have not turned into a screen, the issue is rarely the words on your resume. It is the filters between you and a human who can say yes.
Read essayField Notes · 4 MIN READ
Why am I not getting job offers after interviews?
Reaching finals and not converting is a different problem. It usually means your resume is working and something else is breaking in the decision room.
Read essayWant to work together?
For consulting, speaking, media, or other collaborations, get in touch.
Email Shauna