Conquering a Tough Job Market!

Over the past two years the job market has become increasingly tighter, especially in the high-tech space. Current estimates (December 2025) project about 500,000 unemployed in the high-tech section alone across all work areas, including senior executives. What is making this worse for those out of work is that they’re getting fewer interviews for their submissions and even fewer Hire signals.

Something needs to change to make this work for those looking for work. The problem is further compounded by the fact that because of the uncertainty those working are also looking for a change and that makes it doubly hard for those out of work. This is because those already working and looking for change can wait much longer to land what they desire than those who are out and are in urgent need for some relief to their plight. Even in this market employed get preference over those who are not.

But that should not deter those out and looking if they follow what has worked for my clients during this period of uncertainty

For those in either camp the same shift in how they approach their job-search campaign must take place if they want to see some positive action in their efforts to land a job they desire. During the past year or so I’ve found that clients who landed well, adopted a different overall approach to how they planned, designed, and executed their overall campaign. So, what is the learning from their successes?

Here is my Top-10 list:

1. Clear Positioning: This means that you have a clear value proposition for what you are offering. This does not mean that you must have only one job title that you are pursuing, but for each of the job families you have a clear narrative in your résumé that articulates your unique value proposition for that job opportunity. You can have up to three adjacencies in how you can position yourself.
   
   For example, if you are data architect, but have also done work in distributed data systems, AI/ML applications, and ML Ops you can have two or three flavors of your résumé carefully tailored to each job family.
   
2. Blended Profile: Because you have two or three flavors of your résumés in adjacent technology areas you must carefully fashion your LinkedIn profile and especially your Headline to be found when searched in any of those areas of pursuit. This is not always easy, but my clients were able to do this with some effort and trials (based on the inbound traffic). Also, keep posting on LinkedIn in a variety of ways: blogs (hard), forwards (less hard), comments (easy), Likes (easiest). Your best strategy is to position for inbound calls from what you put out.
3. Clear Targeting: This is an important aspect of how you want to manage your campaign. Rather than the usual “spray and pray” approach sending out your responses to any and all open jobs in your category, be selective in how you target your search. For example, if you want a mid-size, high-growth, post-IPO company in your area of interest make a list of these and then find someone you can connect with inside those companies.
4. Explore Connections: Once you list these target companies find someone inside the company through your network and from someone your know who knows them (“two away”) on LinkedIn. Get in touch (hard) and set up a conversation (harder) to better understand the job and seek their help in presenting you to the hiring manager (harder yet). But in some cases of my clients this has worked. It requires diligence, patience, and persistence. You do not want to come across as if you are stalking them, but there is a fine line between being persistent and being a stalker.
5. Take the Call: From your LinkedIn profile and your network you’ll get inbound calls asking about your interest. No matter who it is, take that call. There is a difference between taking a call and accepting an offer. You can always turn down an offer that does not work for you.
6. Differentiate Yourself: In this market being just better than other candidates is not as compelling as being different and memorable than others. Find ways to differentiate yourself with your stories, accomplishments, and how you see a challenge or a pain point a company faces, articulating in ways that gets their attention. This is where a well-written cover letter can help you get past the gatekeepers. Sending response by an overnight courier or even by US Mail can differentiate your approach, especially if you address it directly to the hiring manager or to their skip-level boss.
7. Interviews: In this market getting in front of someone to present your credentials and bona fides is the name of the game. So, when you get an interview spend all your energy preparing and getting ready for that event. Do not underestimate the power of a well-rehearsed interview preparation. Find someone who can help you with a mock interview. Here, too, getting some insight from your contact can further help your cause.
8. Negotiate: Despite the nature of the market do not shy away from negotiating what they offer, including title, responsibility, and salary. Just last week one of my clients got an offer from Google for an L-6 software lead. The package was good, but my client wanted a different mix of some parameters. So, we negotiated a more favorable mix, which resulted in his getting more out of the package than he was originally offered. Negotiating for what you want requires some knack and practice. So, go with a well-prepared script.
9. Start Date: Once the negotiations are complete, they want a quick start date. In the case of the above client, Google wanted him joining right after the New Year. My client had some other constraints. So, we negotiated an early February join date which worked out well for both as my client offered to be available during January in case there were any urgent matters for him to participate in some developments.
10. Thank Yous: Do not forget to appreciate those who go out of their way throughout the selection process by sending them appropriate thank you notes. This is yet another way to differentiate yourself and for them to remember you by.

For example, if you are data architect, but have also done work in distributed data systems, AI/ML applications, and ML Ops you can have two or three flavors of your résumé carefully tailored to each job family.

Yes, the job market these days is tough in general, but especially so in the high-tech space. So, follow these and other differentiators and surprise yourself with a job that restores your faith in the economy and in yourself!

Good luck!