Many individuals seeking employment are facing a competitive job market despite positive economic indicators. This trend is particularly prevalent among white-collar professionals earning close to or exceeding six figures.

Vanguard’s recent  hiring report underscores a notable contrast in recruitment rates between individuals earning lower incomes (below $55K) and those with higher earnings (exceeding $96K). While white-collar recruitment has markedly decelerated, there is a noticeable opportunity surge within the blue-collar sector.

Several factors are attributable to this hiring slowdown, including decreased resignations, challenges within industries such as technology and finance, and efforts to streamline operations and reduce excess expenses, commonly referred to as managing “corporate bloat.”

As employment options become more limited, professionals may feel trapped in unsatisfactory positions, contributing to what has been termed the “trapped in place” economy, known colloquially as “The Big Stay” or “The Great Stay.”

The concept of “vibecession” illustrates the disparity between perceived economic conditions and the reality of the job market.

As reported by Business Insider, despite registering a half century low unemployment rate and minimal layoffs of college degreed individuals at 2.1%, many individuals still struggle to secure desirable employment. Layoffs are less than before the pandemic.

In Pennsylvania, the unemployment rate stood at 3.4% as of March 2024, slightly below the national average of 3.8%.

As reported by NBC News, while some white-collar professions, particularly those requiring advanced degrees such as Master’s and Doctoral degrees, remain relatively unaffected, there has been an increase in employment within the healthcare industry.

The unexpected challenges faced by high-income earners in today’s job market have led to confusion and dissatisfaction. Prolonged periods of limited white-collar recruitment could result in widespread discontent and decreased morale throughout the corporate landscape.

To adapt to evolving job market dynamics, individuals must embrace digital literacy and leverage artificial intelligence tools to enhance productivity and remain competitive.

Additionally, professionals earning six-figure salaries should prioritize optimizing their LinkedIn profiles with relevant keywords and cultivate a strong personal brand to distinguish themselves within their industry from their colleagues.

For those seeking to enhance their LinkedIn presence, here is a great starter checklist of action items!

• Customize your URL
• Create a custom banner – this is your billboard advertisement
• Professional photograph and ensure you check your settings so it’s visible
• Analyze your headline and incorporate a key title, keywords, and create a memorable unique selling proposition (USP) within 220 characters
• Complete your contact info including phone number & email and duplicate this info at the bottom of the About section to make it easy for anyone to reach out
• Change your location to your closest metropolitan city (Greater Philadelphia and not the city in which you live or work)
• Get to over 500+ connections
• Consider hashtags like #opentowork or #ONO for job seekers OR #openforbusiness #opentobusiness for entrepreneurs
• Make your About section skimmable and scannable with emojis and bullet points rather than showcasing dense text in paragraphs that most people will not read, and especially optimize your first line
• Between bullet points, create white space so the text is easy to read and the metrics stand out
• Be consistent with the use of Oxford commas
• Unicode on your profile is not a good idea if you are a job seeker because it’s code
• Post content in the Featured section to stand out
• Be active and engage with comments on others’ content to share your thought leadership and post your own content at least one to three times a week
• Embellish your job titles in the Experience section up to 100 characters using your real job title before keywords
• Add up to 100 skills, making sure your top two have been reordered and are visible and then also connect your skills under your About and Experience sections
• Add company page logos to your employment or self-employment and education
• Add at least one education institution to reach All-Star status
• Join up to 100 groups
• Follow target companies of interest
• Give and receive recommendations
• Add honors and awards, languages, licenses and certifications, projects, patent, and volunteering (as applicable)
• Check your public profile settings and turn the button on and off monthly to refresh
• Add media to your experience
• Verify your account as a real person with biometrics
• Add emojis to your About section for a pop of color
• Use the scheduler to schedule your posts
• Add a Linktree link of links or another hyperlink as your custom button

If you don’t know what to do or how to do it, participate in LinkedIn workshops you will find on the event page.

Did you catch the previous article? Introducing Pinpoint, Crossclimb, and Queens: Linked’s Leap into Gaming

NEXT STEPS

• Subscribe to my newsletter on LinkedIn™ for bright ideas on how to manage your career.

• If you need a resume or LinkedIn™ profile to get you to your next step, book a call to chat!

• Join as a member at https://greatcareers.org/membership of the #1 business networking association on the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Book of Lists four years in a row!

• To support our charity at KeepOnSharing.com and use the referral code Career

• Follow #GreatCareersPHL

UPCOMING EVENTS – Registration info is on the events page.

• Mon May 13 – Career Success Group Job Seeker Accountability & Networking
• Mon May 13 – Transform Your Wealth: Master Key Mindsets for Financial Success
• Tues May 14 – LGBTQ+ OUTstanding Careers Group™
• Wed May 15 – How to Gain Customers with a LinkedIn Company Page Lunch & Learn (in person Paoli)
• Wed May 15 – Deep Dive: Using AI to Improve Your Resume and Cover Letter
• Thu May 16 – Recruiter on Call with Jobs LinkedIn Audio
• Thu May 16 – How to Spot a Good Hiring Manager (Future Boss)