Life Sciences Executive | Pharma | Biotech | Device | Clinical Trials | FDA Submissions | CRO Leadership | AI & ML | SaaS | SaMD | Digital Health | Patient Recruitment | Global BD & Sales | P&L Management |
LAYOFFS IN 2025: THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE But, you'll probably get blocked. There are things you're not supposed to discuss in polite society. Religion and politics immediately come to mind. You probably shouldn't discuss the fact you can't stand Taylor Swift and don't like watching football as well, but you play the game to not rock the boat. Layoffs and the brutality of job hunting aren't popular subjects in certain circles, either. Especially the circle of career coaches, cv writers and influencers who traffic in toxically positive messages and pie in the sky delusions that the market is turning because green banners are coming down. Banners are coming down to avoid the scammers from American Samoa or the Maldives, spammy DMs and bots preying on desperate jobseekers. Oops! Not supposed to talk about those things, either. They're revenue streams for this platform. But for those job hunters fighting in the trenches, 2024 was nothing more than basic training for the inevitable battles to come in 2025. They're foot soldiers on the ground fighting for their futures and lives, facing insurmountable odds and constant barrage of ghosting, gaslighting and rejection. They've earned the right to talk about what they're experiencing, whether the powers that be want to hear about it or not. Jobseekers know the truth, because they're living it every day. Just because certain people don't want to acknowledge how things really are doesn't mean it isn't happening. So, they stick their heads in the sand like an ostrich and protect their fragile psyches from the dystopian landscape that is the 2025 job market. For everyone else mired in the muck and dysfunction, tell your stories and speak the truth to anyone who will listen. The public needs to know what's happening behind the propaganda espousing a strong economy and low unemployment. Things aren't what they seem. They're far, far worse. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AS MUCH AS I BELIEVE IN YOU! #LINKEDINKEITH
Spot on. I took my green banner down, just so I could initiate it again with a new Open to Work post. Within a minute, I had about 6 people contact me, all with the title of "Recruiter"... but quickly pivoted to selling resume services. Solicitors, we know you also have a job to do... but position yourself honestly! Don't say you are a recruiter with a banner of "hiring", when you are actually a broker. The positive of this? As soon as I called them out for not being able to provide any active JDs, they seemed to disconnect and vanish en masse. Less clutter for me √
It’s more nuanced than either the pollyannas or the doom-and-gloomers would have you believe. If you are a strong IC in many fields, things are definitely improving. Of my relatively close connections who were laid off in the last year, probably 80% have found similar or better jobs. On the other hand, there are segments where it is very, very rough. Anything where the AI hype is really strong, like content marketers, are still struggling. Very senior people always need more time to find a job in a downturn. This time seems worse than average for that. Part of it is elimination of middle management positions. Some folks will have to go back to being ICs and will be competing with people whose hands-on skills are fresher. There are also areas like customer success where there has been a major shift toward trying to push their activities back to quota bearing account managers. It’s not fun for anybody, but it is getting better for some groups, while staying pretty awful for others.
The govt has learned its lessons. You don't show the general public the ugly if you want politically survive. This lesson was learned from the Vietnam War. Keep the general population ignorant of the trauma. This is the reason for the inflated jobs numbers, rainbow, and unicorn farts. 55 year old professionals with drained 401ks and sleeping in cars or on their children's sofas don't keep you in office.
From all measures of success, the economy is booming and unemployment numbers are down across the board - from a purely numbers perspective, the aggregate macro and micro economic indicators are wildly strong. Unfortunately - in a field of 370Million people, 4 million folks being underemployed or unable to find work (even though there are almost 8 million openings) - only impacts those numbers by a measly 1% - but for anyone in that 1%, it's like they're living in a completely different universe. What's it going to take to close this gap? That's the bigger question.
So many challenging factors that truly make up the dumpster fire of a job search. I agree with 2025 job market is a continuation of 2024 and will probably get a lot worse before it gets better. Job Seekers need to prepare for the long haul and probably pivot to other career paths. Employed individuals will need to stay vigilant. Keep their resumes updated, continue networking, and tracking companies for opportunities. No one is safe. No gaurantees. All employment is at-will. Layoffs will continue to happen. Corporate greed is the driving force. New jobs will continue to be created but at lower salaries, misaligned with people’s skills, and more on-site than remote jobs.
Did you see the post where I tagged you the other day? A young lady boldly announced that another "Great Resignation" was coming. She defended her stance to her death.
At 58, I am considering going back to school for a masters in art therapy (a dream of mine since the late 1990's - long story). I give myself 2-3 more months in the job search before I pursue my dream job.
So According to you this year will be worse than last year Wow So homeless its what is left for me Sorry but I preffer to be a little bit more optimistic and keep pushing as much as I can Keep moving https://www.linkedin.com/posts/masteraco1605_jobsearch-passionoverpay-careergoals-activity-7281726341656317952-o_ZB?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android
Well said Keith 👏
Senior Technical Recruiter | Automation, AI, Machine Learning
1moKeith Tode, MBA (Part 1 of 3) But, but, everyone is hiring. Companies are bursting at the seams, and can not hire fast enough, I know this because everywhere I go has help-wanted signs, so it must be true, and my cousins, neighbors, brother uncle said it’s a great market, because his son got a job at one of his companies, only a day after applying! Shopping carts are bursting at the seams and bank accounts are ballooning with lottery-winning balances, if you disagree, you are sexist, racist, and anti-American, just get a job boomer, everyone can be a billionaire, if you just close your eyes, and wish upon a star, just have to believe it hard enough. Just work hard, do your job, and of course, your job will reward loyalty. The people who got laid off were just deadweight and could go work at McDonalds. If there was a problem, don't you think the government would tell people? Just more conspiracy theories. Everyone knows if you are struggling to pay rent or buy food in America, countless programs will just hand over thousands in virtually unlimited free welfare, and if you can't get them, you just are not looking hard enough, and don't want it bad enough.