Is Following your Passion Really a Good Idea?

Is Following your Passion Really a Good Idea?

More from the Economist:

Many people aren’t sure what they want. And even if they have one strong interest, it may not lead to a job. In a survey in 2003, almost 90% of Canadian students said they loved music, art or sport—fields which accounted for just 3% of jobs in Canada. In 2020 a personality-based quiz by Britain’s education department advised many jobseekers to become lock-keepers, just missing the canal boom of the 18th century.

Is the best strategy:

“Get good at something that helps others, and passion will follow.” 

Helping others increases life satisfaction. Mastering a skill is satisfying in itself. If you are good at your job you will have more leverage to do enjoyable work than if you pursue a passion and are mediocre at it (consider the musicians who end up playing to classrooms rather than arenas).

Interesting perspective.  Your thoughts?

Disappointment in the Job - Underemployment

From the Pages of The Economist

Disappointment in the Job  - Underemployment

As they trawl LinkedIn—firing off AI-polished applications, to be rejected by AI-powered human-resources departments—graduates may wonder why they bothered with college at all. Among recent American grads, 40% are employed in roles that do not require a bachelor’s degree, according to a recent survey by the New York Fed.

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Job Market Issue - Lengthy Interview Cycles

 Job Market Issue - Lengthy Interview Cycles

Recent survey indicates that the average length of time for hiring for a new position has increased from 29 days to 48 days, an increase of 65.5%!! Why!?! To begin:

1. Too many resumes submitted for each role.

2. Hiring managers / recruiters / interviewers are having a hard time determining proper qualifications / credentials / achievements because AI driven resumes (according to the Harvard Business Review (HBR) constitute 68% of all resumes submitted.

3. Interviewing cycles are multiple rounds as companies attempt to minimize bad hires.

4. Economic, Geopolitical issues affect the job market and lengthen cycles.

5. Seasonality - Summer time hiring is always slower due to vacations / lack of available staff for training

How Geopolitical Factors Affect the Job Market

How Geopolitical Factors Affect the Job Market

Geopolitical events disrupt the job market by driving economic uncertainty resulting in hiring freezes and lack of worker movement between jobs (job hugging). Conflicts and trade disputes increase inflation and energy prices, prompting a shift toward domestic talent, supply chain reshoring, and greater investment in defense and strategic industries.

Ongoing real-world events (i.e. conflict in the Middle East) have highlighted how rapidly global tensions alter employment dynamics. The escalation of conflicts in the Middle East and ongoing tariff adjustments have directly impacted everyday economic conditions (inflation) which slow economic growth and adversely affect the job market.

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Does this post add value to your business day? I post about job search best practices and issues related to the job market 2x per day M-F. Click "Follow" on my profile - Allan

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Remote Work - Early Career Workers

Remote work is making it harder for grads to find (and keep) jobs. Early-career employees learn crucial skills from shadowing colleagues and networking, so those without an in-person office are struggling to grow. A London School of Economics study showed that entry-level hiring rates, already on the decline, are even lower at fully remote companies.

"Spraying and Praying"

"Spraying and Praying"

Are you "spraying" your resume to apply for jobs and "praying" for a response.

Don't!!!

It is silly and inefficient. According to a recent survey conducted by Robert Half, a Bay Area talent and business solutions firm, over 50% of hiring managers said that AI-generated resumes are “flooding the market,” making it difficult to weed out candidates who are actually qualified for roles. To combat this torrent of resumes, 33% of hiring managers are now using AI-detection tools and spending more time training employees on how to spot ones that feel authentic.

Job Market Slowdown - Seasonality

Job Market Slowdown - Seasonality

From June 15th - mid August is historically a slower time in the job market. The summer slowdown is due to the fact that schools are out of session and many people take vacations, making it harder to schedule interviews and get approvals, let alone scheduling onboarding / training programs for new hires.  Hiring normally ramps up again about two weeks before school go back in session.

Of course, the economic slowdown, geopolitical factors, inflation, the resetting of the technology market, the low-fire; low-hire environment that companies and employees are entrenched will make it more challenging to see a complete reversal of fortune in the job market  in the short term and please, do not dismiss seasonality.

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Does this post add value to your business day? I post about job search best practices and issues related to the job market 2x per day M-F. Click "Follow" on my profile - Allan

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Current Job Market Stagnation (June 2026)

 Current Job Market Stagnation (June 2026)

The current job market is caught in an unusual "low hire, low fire" stasis. Employers are hiring at a sluggish pace—resembling levels last seen after the Great Recession—because the market is still correcting from pandemic-era over-hiring, and economic and policy uncertainties have caused companies to pause and evaluate their hiring needs. This issue, coupled with the traditionally slow period immediately after public school graduation leading to family vacations, (and, of course, the geopolitical factors (war, inflation, social unrest) that have plagued the country have contributed to the very sluggish job market).

I expect the slowdown to continue until the end of July.

Partial Source: Washington Post

June 5 - Employment Numbers - Part 2

 June 5 - Employment Numbers - Part 2

Friday’s report showed the share of long-term unemployed, or people without a job for 27 weeks or longer, jumped to 27.5% in May, up from 25.3% in April and the highest since December 2021.

American consumers report feeling miserable about the economy, gasoline prices, inflation and the labor market. A key measure of consumer sentiment has hit all-time lows in recent months amid anxiety about future inflation. Americans keep spending, though high-end consumers continue to drive the economy.

Earlier this week, Dollar General reported that its customers are feeling stressed. They are increasingly reining in spending on household expenses such as groceries as they face higher prices at the gas pump.

Source: WSJ.com

June 5 - Employment Numbers - Part 2

June 5 - Employment Numbers - 2

Friday’s report showed the share of long-term unemployed, or people without a job for 27 weeks or longer, jumped to 27.5% in May, up from 25.3% in April and the highest since December 2021.

American consumers report feeling miserable about the economy, gasoline prices, inflation and the labor market. A key measure of consumer sentiment has hit all-time lows in recent months amid anxiety about future inflation. Americans keep spending, though high-end consumers continue to drive the economy.

Earlier this week, Dollar General reported that its customers are feeling stressed. They are increasingly reining in spending on household expenses such as groceries as they face higher prices at the gas pump.

Source: WSJ.com

June 5 - Employment Numbers

 June 5 - Employment Numbers

The US government announced today that the country added 172K+ in May, surpassing expectations by 80K (unemployment remained at 4.3%. Here is the breakdown:

1. Payroll net gains = 188K - a 90 pace not experienced since March 2024

2. Leisure and Hospitality - added 70K new jobs (not expected by those in that sector - seasonality + World Cup

3. Local government - 55K new hires - largest gain in 24 months

4 Healthcare and social services - 47K

Industries that lost jobs - Retail, Information Technology (IT - Tech) - Finance and Air Transportation (attributed to the bankruptcy of Spirit Airlines.

In other words - the unemployment rate remained steady as new people entered the workforce but the number of people looking for work remains constant at 61.8%.

More later...

Job Market Trend - April 2026

 Job Market - During April 2026, 50%+ of all new jobs created were in the healthcare sector while the remained were concentrated in retail, transportation and warehousing.

The healthcare sector has remained robust since demand for workers keeps rising as the population ages — and also because many services can’t easily be automated.

Source: CNN

Survey Says - Job Market - Job Loss - AI

 RECENT POLL - The Economist completed a recent poll about the job market. One of the conclusions made is that the average person believes they have a 22% chance of losing their job in the next five years, according to one survey, a higher share than even during the global financial crisis of 2007-09. The cause of this gloom is artificial intelligence. Nearly one in five American workers recently told another pollster that AI or automation is “very” or “somewhat” likely to replace them.

Source: The Economist

Inflation > Wage Growth

 Yesterday's April Inflation Report unveiled the obvious - Inflation has risen to 3.8% YOY, according to the latest data from the Labor Department, outpacing wage growth of 3.6%. Consumers are struggling to keep up with higher prices on gas and groceries due to the ongoing Iran war, and those in lower income brackets are particularly feeling the strain. Economists expect the situation to persist, with inflation projected to peak during the summer and remain elevated through 2026.

Abridged: LinkedIn News

Inflation:

 Inflation:

It should serve as no surprise that today's announcement of 3.8% inflation for April 2026, caused by the spike in gas prices, has affected consumer and business spending, esp. hiring. Inflation is the key indicator of economic uncertainty and when companies and people are unsure of the short-term direction, spending tightens, esp. in recruiting and hiring, the largest cost of doing business. Expect this weakness to occur until gas prices subsidy, which is going to be a while, given the Iranian conflict and supply / demand as we hit the summer vacation period.

Job Market Issues - Younger Workers (Signs of a Reversal)

Job Market Issues - Younger Workers (Signs of a Reversal)

After years of steady deterioration, there are early signs entry-level hiring is picking up. A widely watched survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers out Monday shows employers expect to boost new-graduate hires by 5.6% this spring from a year ago—a turnaround from their much grimmer forecasts last fall. 

Another recent survey by ZipRecruiter found nearly a third of employers planned to hire a greater share of entry-level workers this year than the previous one. Big companies such as McKinsey and International Business Machines say they have also increased graduate hiring this year.

Rationale: Those signals suggest that, for now, some employers feel the need to replenish their pipelines of entry-level workers after holding back for several seasons. In some cases, artificial intelligence is spurring hires by enabling companies to expand services and product lines, said NACE President Shawn VanDerziel.   

More  on this topic later today.

Source: WSJ.com