Economic Weirding — a New Era in the Job Market

Let’s face it: the market is reacting in ways that don't feel typical. We recruited when the .com bubble burst in 2000 and through the real estate collapse in 2008. These were big drop-offs and relatively fast recoveries within 1-2 years. During the pandemic, we had some industries completely shut down and hyper growth in others. Digital industries such as Amazon, Zoom, and streaming services took off. Amazon added 400,000 jobs alone during the pandemic.

This also caused hyper-salary inflation in many of these industries. Since the pandemic, the industries that were completely shut down, and hit the hardest, are still working to recover. The industries that had hyper growth have started to right-size. Due to hyperinflation, we also now have high interest rates to bring it down, making investors more skittish about their investments. So startups are more closely scrutinizing what hires they make and when. And of course, this has made it more unpredictable for candidates.

Another big impact to jobs that isn’t talked about as much is the downside of remote work. Companies that moved to fully remote can now hire almost anywhere, so while there may have been more jobs available to candidates locally in the past, now they are competing with the entire US market and, in some cases, the global market.

What does this all mean? For candidates, it’s going to feel frustrating. It’s an employer’s market right now; they can hire anywhere, be even pickier on who they hire, and make job-searchers jump through more hoops. Candidates will find themselves more often getting to the final interview but not making the cut. To combat this as a candidate, you will need to stay more flexible than ever, making yourself available for remote work that may not be in your timezone, flexible to jump through all of the interview hoops, and to stay motivated and positive through the process. You will need to be more vigilant not to air your frustration and to make every interaction you have with an employer feel like it’s the most important.

Don’t worry: the tides always eventually change and it will again be a candidate-driven market — but it may never be the same.

Employers may not be as focussed on candidate experience, but those who are will be rewarded in the future. Right now, employers will get better talent, more affordably, and have more leverage. What they need to be cautious of is dragging interviews out for too long simply because there are more people in the market; this is not a good long-term practice. When the market shifts they will be less disciplined and slower, which could hurt them.

When it’s an employer-driven market, it’s a huge opportunity for employers to make their process even better, build a more empathetic talent brand, and dial in their recruiting operations and tools so they are prepared when the tides turn.