Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There is a Season)

I took a trip down memory lane last weekend. I've posted 700+ times on LinkedIn in the past 4 years, so I figured that I would go through some old posts as I consider my content strategy now and for the future.

One post in particular stopped me:

2022: "The job market is still hot: 11.5 million new jobs were posted in March with 4.5 million workers leaving their current roles."

Wow, that feels like forever ago. The latest job numbers are coming out this morning, but the most recent ones that I could find are as follows:

2026: "Job openings are around 6.5 million (lowest since September 2020). The number of people quitting their jobs was about 3.2 million — much lower than the record highs seen earlier in the decade."

With that said, I'm seeing hope. I've had 10+ clients land recently. They each are in different industries, at different levels, and in different stages of their careers. Some of them found their jobs through their networks. Others applied online. And others were recruited on LinkedIn.

What did they have in common? They didn't give up in spite of the market challenges. They kept on going, even when they were discouraged and didn't really feel like it.

I asked several of them what their advice would be for folks looking for work today. Here are some of their tips:

VP for $1 billion company: "When I look back at the journey this process involved (14 months from start to finish): external recruiters, networking, job boards, skill enhancements and renewals. The two strategies that proved most meaningful and effective for me were the personal connections and verbal engagement during the interviewing process.

I received a call from a long-term friend and former colleague at *** - vouching for me went a long way with the CFO.

The rework we did on the resume last November did turn into more traffic for me. During the end of January and first of February, I had 4 different opportunities come up. This opportunity won out on many variables."

CIO for Midwestern-based firm: "Be grateful for what you currently have and optimistic about the good things still to come. Be helpful to others and take the focus off of yourself for a while.

When I shifted to this mindset, everything changed. I still did the work, went to networking events, applied for roles, but only spent a couple of hours a week on it.

I trusted that the tide would turn and it did. And those six months were so much better than the first six months. And I didn't settle for lower-level opportunities.

In the end, I think the right job finds us, no matter how hard we push. "

70-year-old analyst: "I found it applying online but at a different site. I used the shotgun approach for my applications. I had them everywhere. It was a little tough keeping them all straight.

For advice, I think I did one thing that pushed me over the finish line. I studied the company both on their website and on LinkedIn. I tracked information about the operations and during the interview gave a sort of critique. I doubt any other candidates went that far but as I mentioned I was determined to get what I want. I suppose it could have backfired since my comments were a little on the negative side but I think instead it showed some confidence, initiative and insight."

Closing thoughts: If you've followed things for any length of time, you know that these markets are often cyclical - what goes up must go down. In turn, what goes down will come back up again. No one can really predict what's coming next. In MBA school, we read "A Random Walk Down Wall Street," which basically found that a blindfolded monkey throwing darts at a newspaper's financial pages can pick better investments than a human.

I often think of that analogy because it's almost impossible for us to forecast the future. I do think this market feels particularly hard because things were so much easier just a few years back - it wasn't that long ago that people could call their shots on their next role without a huge amount of effort. We may be back to those days sometime soon. For now, I'm hopeful that things are improving.

In the news:

Kiplinger: I recently spoke with Kiplinger about what many experienced professionals are feeling right now: How to Find Joy and Meaning When You Want to Retire — But Can’t Yet​

AMA Pittsburgh: Here's a great summary by the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Marketing Association on LinkedIn best practices as discussed in our February panel at the National Aviary: Level Up Your Personal LinkedIn Brand​

Fast Company: Yes, you can proactively avoid ghost jobs - here's some tips: How to spot a 'ghost job' before you waste time applying​

CNBC: I shared my thoughts on "peanut butter" raises with CNBC: ‘Peanut butter’ pay raises could cost companies their top performers, according to experts: 'It's such a shortsighted strategy'​

The Business Journals: It's not just you - there is definitely an uptick in assignments recently: Work assignments in job interviews are growing — but there are some legal risks​

AARP: There are things that you can do to keep age out of the job search equation: How to Age-Proof Your Résumé​

As always, thank you for being part of this community.

Best -

Colleen​
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