Seeing less jobs? It's not your imagination...

Let's move on from saying the sky is falling. Time to strategize for clear skies.

This may seem overly obvious but I think it helps to say it out loud. There are fewer jobs out there across multiple key industry sectors.

Sometimes when we see an extended dip in hiring activity, we might be guilty of self-delusion. We might say "Well, it's just my corner of the industry" and "Just give it some time". I think its important to stay grounded and understand what's happening not only in our own industry sectors, but across the spectrum of the economy if for no other reason but to strategize where we should be targeting our efforts in job-seeking.

CNN today published an article that's telling about this current trend, and Forbes likewise published a similar article.

An excerpt from CNN's article "Why it's harder to find jobs online":

Traditional white-collar office jobs have decreased their online recruiting efforts the most, according to Indeed. “Software development job postings are down 44.6% from a year ago, while postings for banking and finance jobs are down 31.3%,” Bunker said.

But Indeed isn’t the only online jobs marketplace with data pointing to a labor market slowdown this year.

In a report released Wednesday, LinkedIn’s chief economist, Karin Kimbrough, shared that according to the site’s data, hiring on LinkedIn in December was down nearly 10% year-over-year.

In an article from Forbes on January 18 titled "Google, Citigroup, BlackRock And Amazon Announce Job Cuts—Here’s Why We Will Continue To See Layoffs" they point out some of the causes:

Companies are playing it careful by reducing their headcount and minimizing costs, suggesting that the era of white-collar job cuts is far from over. The ongoing reduction in workforce size suggests that companies are still grappling with tough economic conditions, such as high interest rates, and preparing for potential turbulence ahead.

Forbes goes on to call out the impacts of GenAI and pandemic over-hiring as the main culprits, but add in the general concerns about an unclear future fueled in part by higher interest rates. And we all know uncertainty begets caution, and caution begets curtailed investment. All of these point to two major nexuses of this slowdown, the Tech and Banking Sectors, which together comprise massive components of the white collar job market.

Again, please forgive if this all seems too obvious. Maybe it is to many, but sometimes we choose to rationalize it and twist the facts into unfounded hopes. Hope, however necessary, is not a strategy. It's just an impetus to move forward. Strategies tell us where to go, how fast and how often, what to do when we get there, and how to determine success. And the best strategies are data-driven.

It's time to regard your own experience both opportunistically and objectively. For instance, my resume is full of technical, professional services, and banking. But my industry experience is not limited to these areas by a long shot. My exposure to highly regulated areas like finance and pharmaceutical, process-heavy areas like manufacturing and supply chain, and cutting edge areas like high tech and engineering give me a broad swath of experience with different environments. I credit not only working for different kinds of companies during the course of my career, but my exposure to the dynamic needs of consulting as well. Add to this the idea that I have successfully sourced candidates from entry level to C-list and I have an effective "Swiss Army Knife" toolset at my disposal. At the end of the day, I consider myself to be a staffing expert with an elite set of skills and experience, capable beyond just the transactional end of filling jobs, but an actual trusted advisor to hiring managers in multiple enterprise settings.

And a note to employers: believe it or not, there can be great value to looking at candidates with some experience outside of your particular line of work but still have the capabilities and mindset to be successful in your industry. Case in point: I have never been a successful technical recruiter because I understand how to code in Java or what a database "left join" is, no more than a healthcare recruiter is there to have in-depth medical knowledge. In my field of work, good recruiters have a high level conceptual understanding of the industry landscape, and they focus on discovering the presence of skill, not the trying to measure the absolute depth of it. When it comes to recruiting, ultimately you need someone who is a staffing expert, understands (or can easily learn) the motivations of candidates in your field, understands how and for what they're compensated, can steer you clear of compliance landmines and process bottlenecks, understands why quality, accuracy and speed are important to your kind of business, and most importantly, how to find the top-tier talent matches to your requirements. This is not to say you shouldn't seek out the perfect match for your open jobs, but it is to remind you that if you've having difficulty finding that perfect fish, cast a slightly (responsibly so) larger net. Work in a couple of candidates who aren't perfectly "in profile". Believe me, I've seen the disastrous effects a dogmatic adherence to a narrow profile can have on the business when a search becomes challenging. Casting a slightly wider net works in candidates who keep you from being self-referencing, helps you to understand what "good" actually looks like, and might even bring value to your teams you've never thought of.

With all this in mind, my own strategy becomes much clearer to me. Firstly, this marketplace data brings into stark relief why I'm not seeing the activity I'm accustomed to. More importantly, it tells me I need to diversify my search further to find opportunities beyond more familiar horizons. It tells me how I need to position myself and my experience as a "plug and play" recruiter with varied experience across multiple sectors and org level hiring. And this strategy is already paying off for me and I suspect will continue to do so.

It can be perfectly natural to reach a point of inaction and frustration when you feel like a victim of circumstances beyond your control. Don't give into that. Understand your situation, understand the world around you, see where "the sky is falling", and find a new path. Thinking like a victim invites continued pain, but thinking like a strategist invites success. Hope, Data and Strategy will put you back under clear skies and better days.

Good luck, and good hunting.