If You Feel Behind in Your Career, Read This
There’s no playbook when it comes to building a career. To quote the Dread Pirate Roberts, “Anyone who says differently is selling something.”
This is especially true right now in the midst of seemingly endless waves of economic, occupational, and technological disruption. You can be doing everything “right” and still find yourself unemployed, underpaid, or unsure about your next moves.
If you’re feeling lost right now, it’s not your fault. No one could have prepared for today’s crappy job market. But now that we’re here, it may help you to get some context on what’s going on and how to make a plan to move forward.
Nonlinear Paths Are the New Normal
You may have heard that people change jobs an average of 12 times in their lives, or something similar. If so, you’ll be surprised to hear that there really isn’t any good data on the typical number of career changes.
Part of the problem is that no one can agree on what constitutes a career change. If you’re a teacher and then you decide to go back to school to become a doctor, almost everyone would call that a career change. But what if you’re a journalist and you move to PR, or a PR professional and you jump departments to content marketing? Many career changes are subtle evolutions, not giant leaps.
It’s easier to say how many jobs people have in a lifetime. The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks this data. Comparing the different generations of workers is especially eye-opening. Per the BLS, late baby boomers (born between 1957 and 1964) held an average of 12.9 jobs between ages 18 and 58. Meanwhile, American workers born in the 1980s held an average of nine jobs between ages 18 and 36. At that rate, millennials could easily wind up holding 1.5x or 2x the number of jobs as boomers over the course of their lives.
In 2023, the World Economic Forum predicted that two-fifths of the core skills workers used would be displaced by 2027 — and that was before AI started chipping away at white-collar jobs. Zippia’s analysis showed increased job loss and career changes during the pandemic, as well as noting the key demographic most likely to make big career changes: middle-aged workers.
In short, changing jobs is normal, especially these days. If your career path takes some twists and turns, you’re not doing something wrong. You’re doing what most of us are doing.
‘Hot Jobs’ Have a Way of Growing Cold in a Hurry
A few years ago, social media trolls were exhorting unemployed journalists to learn how to code. Now, AI is making some coding jobs obsolete (or at least, drastically reducing the number of people needed per team). When Jen graduated from college in the year 19-muhfahfahfuh, everyone’s auntie was telling English majors to go to law school. Shortly after, the legal profession contracted, and many newly minted lawyers found themselves struggling to pay off their law school debt.
Perhaps more importantly, choosing a job based on some pundit’s “hot jobs” list is no guarantee that you’ll enjoy your work and therefore be successful at it. There are just no guarantees in professional life; you might as well choose your job based on what you’re interested in and try to find practical ways to keep down your debt while training. (There’s an interesting Reddit thread on this that’s worth your time if you’re contemplating going to school.)
Knowing Where You’re Going Isn’t Important. Here’s What Is.
Ask any middle-aged person: there are no adults here, just wrinkly kids who’ve learned to fake it a little bit. You don’t need to know what you’re doing. You just need to be thoughtful, realistic, and kind.
If you’re stuck, try the following:
Talk to a real person. You don’t have to get on the phone or go to an in-person informational interview if that’s not your thing. But connect with people who are doing jobs that interest you or who have tried things you’re considering (like getting a certification or going back to school). Most people are surprisingly willing to help and generous with their time.
Help someone else. Proofread someone’s resume. Write a LinkedIn recommendation. Listen to a friend vent about their job search. You’ll strengthen your real-life ties to other people, feel better in the short term, and make sure you have a community to back you up when you need it.
Focus on what’s in front of you. This is especially important if you have the kind of brain that zooms ahead to future catastrophes. (Both Alison and Jen are afflicted with this, and it’s one reason we’re friends.) When you’re struggling, you need to take everything one step at a time. What do you need to do today, tomorrow, and this week? If the future still creeps in, make one of your tasks adding future to-dos to the calendar.
Be kind to yourself. To repeat: you’re not doing anything wrong. Everything really is this hard right now. Give yourself credit for being resilient and moving forward.
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Earlier Posts From The Job Hopper
How to Survive Financially Until You Get Hired
Job searching is tough under the best of circumstances. Throw in a stagnant job market and limited unemployment benefits, and you have a recipe for financial stress. If you’re unemployed and worried about finances, here are some ways to buy some time until you land a job.
5 Ways Your Company Can See What You’re Doing On and Off the Clock
Worried about how closely your company is watching you? It’s a legitimate concern. The more information you make public, the more a current or prospective employer can discover. Here’s what you need to know.
The (Pretty Grim) Job Search Advice We Need to Give You Right Now
If you have a job right now, hold on to it at (almost any) cost. That’s the bottom line for workers right now, and it’s extremely unpleasant advice to give and to hear. More on this, plus some good news, in our post.
The Top 5 Job Search Sites, According to the Data
Job sites are less effective on-ramps to employment than they used to be, but they can be part of a successful job search strategy. However, not all sites are equally useful.
Are You Applying to Ghost Jobs?
If you go by the number of listings on job sites and data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job openings are seemingly plentiful. So why is everyone we know having an impossible time getting hired? The answer is ghost jobs.
Is AI Really to Blame for All These Layoffs?
Layoffs surged 205% from December to January, according to Challenger, Grey & Christmas, with technology and tech-adjacent sectors especially hard hit. If you’ve skimmed the headlines lately, you might assume that these cuts are due to companies deploying AI technology in order to cut labor costs. But there may be more to the story.
Here’s How Long It Takes to Get a Job Now
Huntr released its Annual Job Search Trends Report last week, and the numbers confirm what many job seekers have been saying: getting hired really is taking longer than it used to.
Free Tools for Job Seekers and Career Changers
You don’t necessarily need to pay for help when you’re looking for a job. Some of the best job search tools are 100% free. You can get no-cost help finding job listings, writing your resume and cover letters, interviewing for jobs, and more. There are even free career quizzes and online classes — just in case you’ve decided to pivot to an entirely new line of work. Find tools here.
How To Find Companies That Are Still Hiring
If your job search is stalled, take a break from looking for specific job openings. Instead, target companies that are staffing up. Here’s how.