Custom Resumes, Cover Letter, LinkedInProfiles. Job Search Tips, Career Advice
Job Hugging:
Elaborating on my earlier post, the country is going through a period of "lower quit rates", which is defined as employed workers are hesitant to leave their jobs, reflecting a lack of confidence in finding new employment. The job market as not been fluid and will continue to be this way until legal immigration rebounds, tariff scares stabilize and the demand for products and services increase.
Factors That Have Made the Job Market More Difficult in 2026 (Over Hiring):
Workers aren’t leaving the jobs they have (this is recognized as "job hugging". The number of jobs people quit in December came to 3.2M, the Labor Department reported Thursday, well below the 4.5M hit in March 2022, when postpandemic hiring was in full swing. The quits rate, which measures quits as a share of employment, was 2%, well short of the 2.3% it averaged in 2019, before the pandemic.
All is relevant because the bulk of hiring in any given month is replacing people who have left. The low level of quits is probably driven by workers’ sense that the labor market is fragile and that available opportunities are in short supply.
Source: WSJ
ATS Format - Stay Away from Graphics!
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/changing-way-candidates-apply-jobs-allan-brown-ctidc/
To those who have been laid off recently.
We are experiencing a whacky job market. Despite the fact that we are not in a recession, there are fewer jobs posted and increased competition for few roles. The hiring cycle is much longer that in recent times and the process is more impersonal, accentuated by the use of AI tools.
In short, the best strategy for Q12026 is NOT the time to step away, detox and assume a comparable job at the same pay is “out there waiting.” The job boards are the equivalent of a "black hole". The best jobs are not published "The Hidden Job Market". Hiring managers are not messing around reading dozens of resumes. People are getting jobs through networking. You will do but you must embrace the new norm. NETWORK! NETWORK! NETWORK!
Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it."
- Steve Jobs, entrepreneur
Bad Advice: More ATS (Location)
ATS - Location
Your buddy told you that you do not need to include your city, state and zip code on your resume.
DON'T LISTEN TO YOUR BUDDY!
Employers want employees at their desks, in their offices and not remote. This is a debate for a different time. However, as related to ATS:
You must add your location by city, state, and zip code (not home address) with your contact information at the top of the first page (please, do not protect in a header - many ATS programs are blocked by the header (and footer).
Many ATS programs will scan zip codes (not the "city" or "state" to ensure candidates live close to the job they are applying.
Bad Advice - Number of Years on Your Resume
Your old college pal told you that you need to have all of your career experience on your resume because employers want more experienced people for the positions they are looking to full.
SORRY - BAD ADVICE!!!
Why in the world would you say that Allan? That makes all the sense in the world.
Well, age discrimination is real and it has nothing with your ability to do the job. The primary issue is the hiring manager's willingness to pay you your worth. The goal of your resume is to get you in the door. If you are 53 years old and have 30 years of sales experience, you need to remember that you are competing against younger sales professionals who, at the end of the day, demand lower compensation. Think of it like this, when was the last time you read a job posting that mentioned as a requirement - "25+ years of experience is required"? You have not read this because this posting does not exist.
In this "what have you done for me lately world" that we live in, it is only necessary to go back 10-12 years tops for mid-level work. Include achievements to demonstrate success. Once you get in the interview, you can speak to culture fit and salary requirements to show that you are a good match.
More about Ghost Posts:
The fake job listing trend isn’t limited to applicants with a broad range of expertise. These fake job postings are used for internal purpose (keep certain staff members / departments motivated, keep the HR department busy) or to avoid discrimination liabilities.”
Factors That Have Made the Job Market More Difficult in 2026 (Over Hiring):
The beginning of 2026 has been a rough ride for the job market. Large employers including Amazon, Pinterest and UPS are cutting jobs, casting blame on the economic (higher interest rates, new tariffs) and geopolitical factors (uncertainty about world events (conflicts, economics), advancements in artificial intelligence as well as over hiring during the pandemic. The "bloating" of organizations during 2020-2021, especially in the tech sector, led to 1.2M job cuts in 2025 by US employees, the highest annual figure since 2020, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The tech sector led all private-sector industries with 154,445 job cuts, followed by warehousing with 95,317.
By many measures, the U.S. economy still boasts a relatively healthy job market. The layoffs are heavily concentrated among a small number of big companies, and overall job losses are low by historical standards. The unemployment rate, while up from 2024, is well below prepandemic levels. As prominent employers such as Amazon now cut roles, many companies in other industries continue to hold on to their staffers.
Hiring has nevertheless slowed to a crawl. People who lose their job today often have a hard time finding a new one, and they stay out of work for longer. In December, the average length of unemployment was 24.4 weeks, according to Labor Department data. In December 2022, the figure was 19.4 weeks.
Source: WSJ
Factors That Have Made the Job Market More Difficult in 2026 (Reduced Headcount COGS):
The job market is stagnant at the lower levels of organizations because their is a lack of new opportunities available as headcount reductions are a priority for companies, (esp. public companies) that are looking to make their Wall Street numbers. Companies are also trying to figure out the effects of tariffs on the costs of goods (COGS) that they bring to market. These uncertainties are complemented by "job hugging", which affects the natural flow of job openings (people are not leaving their jobs because new opportunities are not as readily available). All told, too many candidates, not enough job openings, not only affect movement but also allow recruiters to be more selective in hiring.
