Job Searching Is A Masterclass In Irony

Oh, nothing. Just me, sitting here, thinking about how the job market is a masterclass in irony...

🤨 Companies worry about job hoppers…
…but have no issue laying off entire teams over Zoom.

🤨“Too many short stints on your resume.”
... but no mention of the 3 layoffs and 2 startups that imploded due to leadership’s mismanagement.

🤨 Candidates are judged for being unemployed too long…
…in a job market where companies have hit the pause button on hiring for just as long.

🤨Employees are expected to give 2 weeks’ notice…
…but get cut off from Slack and email five minutes after being let go.

🤨Internal employees are denied meaningful raises…
…but they pay the new hire doing the same job 20% more.

🤨Employees are told “there’s no budget” for raises…
…but somehow there’s always money for executive bonuses.

🤨You're told to be loyal to your employer…
…but they're not exactly loyal to you.

🤨Ghosting candidates? Totally normal.
... but if a job seeker ghosts an interview? Outrage! Unprofessional!

🤨Job seekers must tailor their resume to each role…
…while companies copy/paste the same vague job description from 2018, and oftentimes, you can totally tell they just totally copied and pasted from some other company's job posting and made it 15% different.

🤨Job seekers must come prepared for the interview…
…while many interviewers don't even review the job seekers' resumes until 5 minutes before the call.

🤨Entry level” roles require 3-5 years of experience.
.. and then we wonder why early career professionals are on LinkedIn airing out grievances.

🤨 Companies say they want experienced professionals…
… but if you have too much experience? Suddenly you’re “overqualified.”

🤨 Companies want to know your salary expectations up front…
…but won’t tell you what they plan to pay until round 3 or if they're in a state that requires them to put the salary on the job posting, they put down $45,000 to $300,000.

🤨“We’re like a family here.”
... until you're laid off during a quarterly earnings call.

🤨 Companies preach work-life balance…
…but expect you to be available after hours “just in case something comes up.”

Those are the ones I thought of off the top of my head. Obviously, there's more. What did I miss?

This list is enough to give you job search fatigue, but here's one thing I do know: When it comes to job searching, there are things that you can control and there are things that you can't control. What makes the difference is knowing which one's which, and how to overcome whichever obstacles are in your way.

If you don't know how, it might be high time you reached out to a job search strategist or career coach to help you navigate your job search!

Dezzi