"Why won't anyone just give me a chance?" is an oft-repeated sentiment among job searchers these days (especially among entry-level and early career professionals, as well as those who are established but are perhaps pivoting into a different role or industry).
The fact is, none of us would be where we are if it wasn't for that one person who decided to take a chance on us at that one pivotal point in our careers. Unfortunately, we also are faced with the fact that with the way things are (chiefly, the economy, fallout from the current administration's policies, geopolitical factors, and yes, AI), the job market right now feels like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall. As a result of all this turmoil, hiring teams are more hesitant to take chances the way they used to because their own necks are now on the line.
In this video, I'm pulling back the curtain on the intense pressure recruiters and hiring managers are under and how this affects you:
⚠️ The Cost of a Bad Hire is HUGE (as in, $15K to $240K per bad hire). In this economy, every dollar counts, and a bad hire can literally jeopardize other people's jobs.
You then have to account for soft costs such as lost productivity, wasted training, manager time, and impact on morale.
⚠️ Post-ZIRP Reality: Corporate America is in a massive hangover from the "growth at all costs" era. Companies are now course-correcting, playing it safe, looking for sure things, not wildcards. Investors are a lot more tight-fisted than they used to be.
⚠️Recruiters' KPIs, hiring managers—If you're an agency recruiter, companies pay 20-25% of the 1st year salary for (typically) hard-to-fill roles or to augment internal recruiting. If the hiring manager rejects too many of your submits, you won't be working with that company again. When I was a baby recruiter ages ago, I was told to have the more senior members of the recruiting team (we were agency-side) review the people I was submitting for roles we had been given the reqs for because they wanted to make sure I was not way off the mark. That went on for about a month before I was allowed to submit without the cursory once-over.
If you're a corporate recruiter, you have to meet your KPI's or else you'll find yourself let go. Same goes for hiring managers, who will be told "Your hiring decision cost us."
I honestly don't think there is a single member of a hiring team in the tech industry right now who doesn't have a sword of Damocles hanging over their head. And in this job market, we have The Great Stay because no matter how miserable people are in their jobs, they stay because they know that they're in the safest position possible right now.
💡 The good news? You can show that you're a less risky hire. It's not about just applying; it's about strategic networking, social selling, and letting your reputation precede you.
Whether you like it or not, job searching is sales, marketing and public relations on an individual level, and the ones who know how to go beyond just applying are the ones at a huge advantage.
(I worked at ad agencies in my 20's. There's a reason why companies pay agencies huge retainers for marketing expertise. It translates to $$. It doesn’t matter how good your product or service is, if you don’t prioritize marketing and sales, you’ll be dead in the water sooner rather than later!)
I hope this video gives you a better understanding of why hiring decisions - especially right now- are made this way and, more importantly, how you can position yourself as the trusted, visible choice.
