Understanding Job Market Competitiveness

You applied to 100+ jobs but no interviews? Here's what's actually happening. Your experience is valuable. You're just invisible. Let me explain why, and how to fix it. When you apply online, your resume goes into a database called an ATS (Applicant Tracking System). Think of it like a massive filing cabinet. Now here's the key: Some recruiters don't read every resume. They search. Just like you search Google, they search their database: "Python AND data analysis" "SAFe AND agile transformation" "Tableau AND dashboard" If your resume doesn't have their exact search terms, you’re making it harder to get discovered. You're not rejected. You're just not found. But here's the secret: The job description often tells you EXACTLY what keywords they'll search for. It's like having the answer key. Example from a real job posting: If they say "Experience with Snowflake required"... → They'll search "Snowflake" → Make sure you write "Built data warehouse in Snowflake…" Not "cloud database" or "modern data platform." Use their exact words: Snowflake. I've mapped out 80 keywords that get candidates noticed in 2025: Top searches happening right now: • Python, TensorFlow, LangChain (AI roles) • Kubernetes, Terraform, Docker (tech leadership) • Power BI, Tableau, SQL (data leadership) • SAFe, Agile, DevOps (transformation roles) Your action plan: 1. Read the job description carefully 2. Circle every tool, platform, or methodology mentioned 3. Add those EXACT terms to your resume (if you have that experience) 4. Use them naturally in your accomplishments Example: Instead of: "Led team through digital modernization" You say: "Led SAFe agile transformation using ServiceNow and Jira, reducing delivery time by 40%" You have the experience. Now make it searchable. Your next role isn't rejecting you. It just hasn't found you yet. You’ve got this! 💡 Save this cheat sheet of 80 searchable keywords ♻️ Share to help someone in your network Follow me for more insider recruiting insights

BREAKING: The job market is cooling with hiring down 5.8% in March, according to LinkedIn's latest data. Worth noting: 62% of CEOs are now predicting a recession within six months, up from 48% just last month. Smart job seekers aren't panicking; they're strategizing. So, what does this mean for you if you're currently job searching or considering a move: 1️⃣ Target growing industries: Healthcare added 53,600 jobs last month, with social assistance adding 24,200 and retail trade gaining 23,700. Meanwhile, Utilities (+0.4%) and Holding Companies (+5.9%) were the only industries showing month-over-month hiring increases. 2️⃣ Develop future-proof skills: LinkedIn's report highlights several in demand skills plus I've added several employers value in uncertain times: • AI literacy and technology adaptation • Conflict mitigation and communication • Adaptability and agility • Data analysis capabilities • Cost management expertise • Supply chain knowledge (especially as tariffs impact operations) • Automation-related skills (as manufacturers focus on "more automation rollouts") Companies implementing AI are seeing 10% revenue increases—they need talent who can leverage these tools while demonstrating agility, which Aerotek's April report calls "the X factor that will give companies an edge." 3️⃣ Consider geography: The Sunbelt continues to outperform with Miami-Fort Lauderdale showing a 4.8% hiring boost and Phoenix maintaining strong numbers. Meanwhile, St. Louis (+4.2%) and Denver (+1.9%) are bright spots in other regions. If you've been searching for a while: Revisit how you present your skills: Highlight how you can help companies navigate uncertainty and control costs—top priorities as businesses prepare for potential downturn. Expand your industry targets: If you've been focusing on manufacturing (-10.3% YoY) or government (-17.3% YoY), consider how your transferable skills apply to healthcare, retail, or utilities. Consider contract roles: With economic uncertainty, many employers are shifting to flexible hiring strategies—these can be excellent foot-in-the-door opportunities. In every economic shift, there are still thousands of jobs being filled daily. Position yourself where growth is happening and showcase the skills employers need most right now. What strategies are working in your job search? Share them with me below. #LIPostingDayApril #Careers #LinkedInTopVoices

Cybersecurity Job Market: A Paradox Despite a reported global shortage of nearly 4 million cybersecurity professionals, job seekers face significant challenges in landing positions. Key Insights: • Skills Gap: Organizations struggle to fill over 500,000 unfilled cybersecurity roles in the U.S. alone. • Unrealistic Expectations: Job descriptions frequently demand a mix of skills that typically require multiple mid-career professionals. • Skill Mismatch: Many companies seek expertise in niche areas like cloud security and AI, leaving gaps in foundational roles. • Budget Constraints: 41% of organizations cite budget limitations as a barrier to hiring despite the urgent need for talent. This disparity highlights the need for more realistic job requirements and targeted training programs to bridge the skills gap. Let's work together to create pathways for aspiring cybersecurity professionals! #Cybersecurity #JobMarket #SkillsGap #CareerDevelopment

Key takeaways from Mary Meeker's (340 page!) 2025 AI Trends report: 1. The Job market is actively reshaping with data showing a dramatic divergence in the labor market. Since January 2018, job postings in the USA requiring AI skills have skyrocketed by +448%, while non-AI IT job postings have declined by -9%. 2. It's about augmentation AND replacement. While the cliche that "You're not going to lose your job to an AI, but you're going to lose your job to somebody who uses AI" may be somewhat true, it's also true that companies are exploring agents to perform work, and this will have an impact on human jobs. HR and L&D need to really kick upskilling and integration into gear, empowering the workforce to use AI as a tool for productivity. 3. Company mandates on AI use are becoming the norm. Leading tech companies are no longer suggesting AI adoption - they're requiring it. Shopify now considers "reflexive AI usage" a "baseline expectation" for all employees. Duolingo is officially "AI-first," stating that AI use will be part of performance reviews and that new headcount will only be approved if a team cannot first automate its work. AI strategy starts at the top and leaders need to lead by example. 4. Employees are already seeing the benefits of AI - a survey of employed U.S. adults found that over 72% of those using AI chatbots at work say the tools are "extremely" or "very" helpful for doing things more quickly and improving the quality of their work. No surprise there, with the exception that perhaps the number should be higher than 72%. 5. The next generation of talent is AI-Native. Today's students are already leveraging AI for career readiness. A survey of 18-24 year-olds showed top use cases for ChatGPT include starting projects, summarizing texts, and career-related writing. Recruitment and onboarding strategies must adapt to a talent pool that expects AI tools from day one. So what does this all mean for HR and Talent leaders? This report signals a clear need to: 🚀 Rethink job descriptions & skill requirements - are you hiring for AI literacy? 🚀 Transform L&D - is your upskilling strategy focused on experiential learning and practical AI application or is it limited to online learning? 🚀 Update performance management - how will you measure and reward effective AI usage? 🚀 Adapt recruiting - how are you preparing to attract and retain an AI-native workforce? I don't think you can afford to take a "wait and see" approach. What are you and your company doing to get ahead and take full advantage of the benefits AI has to offer? Check out the full report here: https://lnkd.in/ed7j4Wi7 #AI #FutureOfWork #HumanResources #TalentAcquisition #Leadership

Hiring has fundamentally changed over the last few years. Here's what our data reveals: 1. Hiring is starting to come back with a modest rebound After a steep decline in 2023 (-28.1% YoY), hiring growth rebounded slightly in 2024 (+5.8% YoY). Smaller companies (<500 FTE) saw the largest relative increase. 2. Recruiting teams are leaner than ever before The average recruiter headcount per team has noticeably declined, from 31 in 2022 to 24 in 2024. Team resources were still shrinking in 2024 despite a resurgence in hiring activity. 3. Doing more with less is a reality The average recruiter manages 56% more job reqs (14) and 2.7× more applications (2,500+) than 3 years ago. AI and automation are key investments for teams looking to avoid burnout. 4. Teams are taking longer to hire with more interviews Hiring teams are conducting 42% more interviews per hire than in 2021 (20 vs. 14)... …contributing to a 24% increase in average time to hire (41 vs. 33 days). 5. Post-and-pray is popular, yet inefficient Job boards and social sites dominate the application pool, accounting for nearly half (49.0%) of all applications. Yet, they contribute less than a quarter (24.6%) of actual hires. 6. Sourcing continues to attract the best talent A sourced (outbound) applicant is 5x more likely to be hired than an inbound applicant is… …demonstrating that sourcing talent is one of the most efficient strategies to hire top-tier talent. 7. Talent rediscovery is the key to building deep, qualified pipelines The proportion of hires that are rediscovered within companies' CRM or ATS has shown a clear upward trend… …rising from 29.1% in 2021 to 44.0% in 2024. 8. If you're a candidate, getting hired is harder than ever A prospective applicant is 3x less likely to get hired for a role today compared to 3 years ago. 9. Offer-acceptance rates are on the rise Candidates are now slightly more likely to accept job offers (84%) than they were during the pandemic and the Great Resignation (81% in 2021)... …signaling an increased willingness to commit to new opportunities. 10. Mixed results in diversity hiring highlight ongoing opportunities While women see higher success in later interview stages, they face lower passthrough rates at the top of the funnel. Conversion rates vary across racial and ethnic groups, with notable differences by industry and department. 💡 Want to see detailed year-over-year insights and industry trends in greater detail? Download Gem’s 2025 Recruiting Benchmarks Report: https://bit.ly/4agcr3y

You have to be a bit of a Goldilocks when job hunting and look for the "just right" jobs. When I'm considering opportunities, I think of it a lot like college: 1. I apply for a few "reach" jobs. Reach jobs are those that are a stretch. You meet less than 80% of the requirements, the job is a big promotion, or it's in a new industry. This also includes very desirable jobs (remote, high comp, etc.) Particularly in a tough market, you'll be lucky to land an interview on 1% of reach applications. For me (a recruiting manager at a remote tech company), that might look like a director role at a similar company, or a recruiting manager role at a consulting firm where I have no industry experience. In this market, even a Sr. Recruiter role at a remote company could be a "reach job" because there are so many people on the market and I have only 2 years in tech. 2. I apply for a few "safety" jobs. These are jobs that you are beyond qualified for in every way. You have done that job in that industry at a similar company and excelled. It's targeting lower paying industries where things are less competitive. This also includes work environment. I want to work remote, but I'm going to apply for hybrid/on site as safety jobs to maximize my chances. Even in a tough market, you won't get an interview every time, but you should see maybe 10-20% on these applications. For me, this would look like applying for individual contributor or management roles in non-profits (where I spent most of my career) and where there are typically fewer applicants due to compensation. 3. I primarily apply for "just right" jobs. These are jobs that I am very well qualified for, with some room to grow. This could look like doing the same job you're currently doing but at a larger company. It could be a job that's a step up (moving from a Manager to a Sr. Manager) at a hybrid company. It could be taking a step back in level but moving to a new industry or a company with better compensation/work environment. Given this market, you're still only looking at landing interviews for 5-10% of these jobs. For me, this might look applying for Sr. recruiter or Recruiting Manager roles at companies that are similar to mine. Then combine this strategy with how quickly you need a job: -Laid off and need a job NOW! Go heavy on those safety jobs. If I needed a job in the next 3 months, I would be applying for 50-60% safety jobs and the rest just right jobs. -Happy and just seeing what's out there? Go 50-50 on just right and reach jobs. -Know you need a new job in the next 6 months? Go 20% reach, 60% just right, 20% safety. Here's a hard truth: I think most people are way too heavy on "reach" jobs, especially in the context of this market. And this just sets you up for a lot of rejection and disappointment. So take a realistic assessment of your experiences, your urgency, and the market, and make sure the mix of jobs you're applying for matches that.

The strong economic growth in the past year is generating a significant number of new jobs. Despite this the job market has become less tight, at least until now. This unusual trend is primarily attributed to a substantial increase in immigration from the Southern border. However, recent data indicates a sharp decline in border apprehensions, a trend likely to persist due to new governmental policies aimed at curbing these numbers. This change is expected to slow the growth of the labor force in the upcoming quarters. This shift coincides with the ongoing retirement of the large baby boomer generation, which is naturally reducing the growth rate of the labor force. As these dynamics—the decrease in new immigrant workers and numerous retirements—intersect, we may see tightening in the labor market. While two months don't make a trend, in the last two months, our Labor Market Tightness Index has been increasing. #labormarkets #laborforce #economy #recruitment

2025 is here, and while many are posting a list of predictions, I’m here with one clear warning for the talent world and business leaders... This year will see a hiring boom (and I've been pessimistic the last 3 years). But if we don’t heed the lessons of 2021, many companies will find themselves over-hiring—again—and paying the price. Here’s what needs to happen to avoid a repeat of the mistakes we’ve seen: 1️⃣ Stop rushing into Q1 hiring frenzies. Base hiring plans on historic seasonality data. From experience and conversations with peers, many companies don’t finalize formal hiring plans until February. That means Q1 targets are often missed, and Q4 becomes a scramble due to the short quarter. Don’t panic-hire in March and onboard 100 recruiters to "catch up." Rushed hiring leads to overcapacity and inefficiency. Unless your business has changed significantly since 2024, stick close to historic hiring patterns and resist overestimating what strategy alone can accomplish. 2️⃣ Scenario plan for the unexpected. Ask: What if your product outpaces expectations and demands a robust infrastructure team? What if revenue dips after a big deal falls through? What if an executive departure triggers attrition? This is not optional. Revenue swings, key departures, product surges—2025 will surprise you. Smart leaders are already brainstorming around “weird but possible” scenarios. 3️⃣ Tie headcount to results, not wishful thinking. Every role should have a direct tie to business outcomes. Period. Anything else is a gamble. Be deliberate: hire for stability in Q1 and link additional roles to measurable growth triggers as the year unfolds. 4️⃣ Build a flexible recruiting team. Let’s prevent another wave of mass layoffs like 2022. Invest in a lean team supplemented by flexible contractors or RPO support. Keep an eye on the ratio of fixed-to-contract hiring (ahem, Google) but know that adaptability benefits everyone. 5️⃣ Anticipate how AI will boost productivity in all functions. By late 2025, will you still need the same size or structure of sourcing teams? Of Eng teams? Maybe, but AI advancements could amplify their output. Plan now for where AI will make the biggest impact in your org—and be ready to adapt. Here’s my warning for 2025: pace yourself, plan ahead, and stay flexible. This year promises to be a fun one, full of exciting growth in the talent space and hopefully more opportunities for everyone. If you’re a strategic recruiter already thinking about these challenges, reach out! Many of our startups at Sequoia are eager to find thoughtful recruiters and leaders ready to crush 2025. #recruiting #hiring #techrecruiting #techrecruiting #2025 #predictions

There's compelling data to suggest that applying to a "Goldilocks" number of job roles can significantly enhance your chances of success. Applying to too few or too many positions can be a suboptimal strategy. Let's go to the facts. Research from TalentWorks, which analyzed over 10,000 job applications over a six-month period, found that candidates who applied to 21-80 positions had a 30% higher interview rate than those who applied to fewer than 20 or more than 80 roles. This sweet spot allows candidates to maintain application quality without being overwhelmed. LinkedIn's Economic Graph Insights further supports this, showing that job seekers who apply to 15-25 roles per month are 3.5 times more likely to secure interviews than those applying to fewer than 10 or more than 100. They found that applying to too many roles can lead to burnout and a decrease in application quality, which in turn lowers the chances of getting interviews. A study from the Harvard Business Review also highlights that an excessive number of applications often results in generic submissions, which decreases conversion rates. Quality over quantity is essential; targeted applications are more effective. According to Jobscan, candidates who focus on a smaller, targeted number of applications (around 10-15 per week) see better results because they can tailor their resumes and cover letters more specifically to each position, increasing their chances of standing out. Glassdoor data shows that candidates who apply to a well-targeted 25-30 positions per month tend to receive more interview requests, as these applications are more customized and aligned with job descriptions, making them more appealing to hiring managers. The data is clear: for optimal results, focus on crafting quality applications tailored to each role. This approach balances reach and personalization, maximizing your chances in the competitive job market. Shotgunning will not help you.

Internships are your fastest path to a great job! During my bachelor’s degree, I did 5 internships in 5 different domains—each one building on the last. That diverse experience helped me land my first product management internship in the U.S., which then led to another offer as a PM. Eventually, all these experiences combined made me a strong candidate for my current job! In today’s ultra-competitive job market, internships aren’t just optional—they’re essential. They help you stand out and increase your chances of landing interviews. I started with an unpaid internship because I lacked experience, but I used that as a stepping stone. One opportunity led to another, and soon, I was working with some of the best companies out there. 👩🏻💻If you’re a student: ✅ Find internships early – Many top companies start hiring interns months in advance. Set up alerts on job boards like LinkedIn, Handshake, and Glassdoor. Maybe say yes to an unpaid internship? ✅ Network your way in – 80% of jobs aren’t posted online. Reach out to alumni, attend career fairs, and connect with industry professionals on LinkedIn. ✅ Leverage side projects – If you don’t have experience, create it! Work on personal projects, contribute to open-source, or freelance to build a portfolio. ✅ Be open to startups & smaller companies – Big brands are competitive, but startups offer hands-on experience and faster growth opportunities. ✅ Keep learning – Certifications, online courses, and workshops can help you gain new skills that make you a stronger candidate. By the time you graduate, you’ll already have a competitive edge in your job search! 🚀 #career #tips #students #linkedin #internship