It’s not you, it’s the job market

Five job-seekers in the last week confided in me that they're doubting their marketability because they aren’t getting the responses they’re used to.

What I told them applies to you, too:

It’s not you . . . it’s the job market.

(I mean, maybe it’s you, if you have a reputation for quiet quitting or loud criticism. But odds are you’re a gamer like most PR pros I know.)

If you expect interviews just for applying . . . or offers just for the right experience . . . your perspective has been skewed by the magical years after 2020.

The previous four years were objectively the best job market in a generation – maybe ever.

When I started the Inner Circle in November 2009, there were SIX unemployed people for every job opening. This chart from the Bureau of Labor Statistics will make you feel way better about yourself – if not a bit worse about the market (wince).

By 2022, the ratio flipped – two OPENINGS for every unemployed person. That’s why recruiters were cold-emailing you, and every application led to an interview.

Now it’s one-to-one, just like the two years pre-pandemic. Still way better than the previous decade.

So how do you adapt to this return to normal?

• Crush it at your current job, even if you hate it.
  • Interview confidence comes easily when you have fresh wins to share.
  • Make your current coworkers and bosses look good, and someday soon they’ll want you on their next team.
• Recognize that applying is only the first of many steps.
  • Find an “in” with the hiring team. Difficult? Yes. 100x easier than before LinkedIn existed? Also yes.
  • Forget the fear of “annoying” them – they want finishers. Show you can follow up diplomatically and persistently.
  • As you follow up, share shining examples of your work products and demonstrate recent wins.
• Recognize that most jobs are “filled” before they’re ever posted.
  • If you want a good job now, your network needs to be twice as big as it was two years ago.
  • Make a Google Sheet with 20 acquaintances who can connect you to the right people. Be systematic about emailing, texting, calling and Zooming with them and ask them for intros.
  • Grow that Google Sheet to 50 people, and you’ll be the one getting calls.

Too much work? Does any of that make you uncomfortable? That’s totally fine – if you’re content to stay where you are.

But if you’re looking for something more, you gotta accept the new (actually old) reality that the world has changed and getting a better job takes effort.

Put your head down and you’ll get there :).