About ten years ago, I recorded an episode called “Mistakes Job Seekers Make in Planning His or Her Career Trajectory” with Melissa Cooley. We offered an idea that most people plan for the sprint and not the marathon.

We plan for the exercise, not for the workout.

We plan to lose weight, not to gain muscle.

You know where this is going.

That advice hasn’t aged. If anything, it’s more urgent now. Unfortunately, It might be irrelevant or misunderstood.

What we got right (and job seekers still ignore)

In that conversation, we talked about language that quietly reveals mindset—like “I finally landed something.” The problem isn’t the phrase. It’s the attitude behind it.

Allow me to pontificate.

This is the truth job seekers universally reject. Adaptation is a skill you’ll need to implement regularly. The job you’re hired for today may not be the one you quit. The college freshman’s major today will likely be obsolete if the college doesn’t adapt.

So, it will be on the freshmen to keep their eyes on the books, and not the degree. I would even suggest that some may leave college to adapt to today’s career landscape.

And if we’re being honest, this is something most parents often have no clue about. Look at their career, and it will tell you a narrative you’ve never seen before.

We also shared a few timeless truths:

• A job is a pit stop, not a tent you pitch. Treat each role like a platform for skills, relationships, and receipts (proof).
• Transferable skills matter more than job titles. Titles change. Skills stack.
• Textbooks are static; mentors are dynamic. Mentors update you in real time—especially when industries shift fast.
• Apprenticeships and real-world reps beat “perfect training.”

Back then, we referenced how many students were chasing careers that no longer existed. You can listen to the episode here:

The bigger point was this:

Your career trajectory can’t be built on assumptions.

What changed since then (and why trajectory is harder now)

1) Skills expire faster—so your “trajectory” must be skill-driven

The World Economic Forum’s 2025 Future of Jobs work found employers expect 39% of key job skills to change by 2030.
They also cite skill gaps as a major barrier, with 63% of employers saying it’s a big obstacle to transformation.

Translation: if you’re not regularly updating skills, your career plan is already outdated. It’s not just conjecture, it’s happening now, as you’re reading. And there’s little time to wait for an ideal scenario to adapt.

2) Most workers don’t stay long enough for titles to “save” them

BLS data show median employee tenure was 3.9 years in January 2024 (3.5 years in the private sector).
Your career stability can’t rely on one employer’s org chart, or budget plans for next year, or your performance review six months from now. If you were just hired last year in tech-reliant industries, the end of this year’s review could be a rude awakening if your expectations were to review your job description.

3) “Skills-based hiring” is real… and also more marketing than execution

A hard reality check from research coverage: Harvard/Burning Glass findings have been summarized as less than 1 in 700 hires benefiting from degree-requirement drops (despite widespread talk of skills-based hiring).

So yes—build skills. But also: learn how to prove skills in ways employers will accept (projects, assessments, portfolios, referrals, outcomes).

4) Hiring is more cautious, and job seekers feel it

Recent reporting points to a slower hiring environment to close out 2025 (a “low-hire, low-fire” feel), which makes planning your next step more competitive.

They may face some hiring interruptions as fake job candidates clog their pipelines. If you’re ready to read more on that, then read my “The Job Scam Report” articles. Employers are investing in tech solutions for verification and risk control to prevent fraudulent hires.

If you’re looking for a new job, hopefully you’re considering what adaptation means for your industry and how those who seem to keep getting hired seamlessly adapt.

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I know, it’s been a while on this platform. I’ve been busy with “The Job Scam Report” as a lot has been happening over there (with good reason). The questions I’m asked never stop. They may get postponed, but I got a few I’ll do over the next several weeks.

Please continue to send me job search and career questions. Here’s a question I responded to last fall.

What viable side hustles can I pursue while working an underpaying job?

Here are a few potentially viable side hustles. While success may take time, they could play the long game. The strongest one is number one because it is proven and an ongoing process.

1. A business to help disabled veterans, an underserved group, can fill gaps the federal government may not fill as quickly, or possibly abandon with imminent budget cuts and RIFs. Side hustles, helping this group survive, and securing grants could be beneficial once needs are reset through administrative changes.

2. Some grants serve lower-income older Americans who wish to get back to work. One reason is the Medicare cuts (or anticipated ones). Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP). If an organization or educational institution applies for and is approved for the grant, it can pay the facilitator the funds from the grant.

3. Colleges offer non-accredited classes or workshops on the weekends (you’ll need to research because not all do this). They often need facilitators for those classes. Colleges experiencing federal cuts may be open to these opportunities. The requirements vary, but the possibilities are many. They may need an AI specialist or a swimming instructor. The more creative you are with your offerings, the more opportunities you create.

4. Online notaries are becoming more common, but not universal for all types of notary needs. To succeed, networking is essential for securing frequent opportunities. In industries such as real estate, successful notaries work with a team that has an efficient workflow and a comprehensive understanding of the entire process.

I hope this helps.

For two years, Jack Kelly and I hosted a LinkedIn Live series, “#jobseekernation.” It was a panel show that still survives on LinkedIn, but is easier to find on YouTube.

Those shows are time capsules of what was going on in the job market. I noticed similarities: It was turbulent then, as it is now. Many of us who regularly watch these trends are noticing the differences, but the feeling of uncertainty always makes for uneasy viewing.

I liken it to watching a dog turn against its owner, not aggressively, just enough to feel the air thicken with tension.

Strange and uncertain.

It’s nonsense, yet it aptly describes today’s job search.

I mentioned in an episode of the LinkedIn Live series, “#jobseekernation,” a few years ago, retail stores would copy Best Buy’s business model by rehiring their workers part-time.

I’ll try to provide some context for 2021. You can correct or debate in the comments. I’m going off some notes, so here goes:

The economy was adding a significant number of new jobs, with one report showing almost a million new positions in a month.

Financial institutions, such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, were predicting that hiring would increase and a “Goldilocks Economy.” The Federal Reserve Chair described the moment as an “inflection point.”

There was stimulus monies, PPP loans, and unemployment trials and challenges, only to be cut off in late September.

Businesses were buying land like candy. We now know why.

We were talking about jobless recovery. While some sectors were booming, others, such as the airline and hospitality industries, continued to struggle, leaving fewer options for those with experience in these fields.

We learned mental health didn’t understand the political party divide, as everyone was trying to gauge and protect their own state of mind, maintaining some sense of balance. It’s the investment everyone will need to be intentional about.

Unemployment gaps were and still are weapons of hiring destruction. I know there are many to disagree, but, yeah, this is real.

So, companies continue to copy each other, and they always will. Layoffs, unemployment, and pay debates. We might as well call this the “Great Reset.”

There’s much more. It felt so hard to bear them for many, but it feels that way now. Some of you are still recovering. Others of you have gone through two or three rounds in the last four years.

I hope you’ll find a way to navigate this transition as well.

What appears to work right now.

It’s counterintuitive to only apply for jobs for which you’re best qualified. We naturally think the more options, the better. The successful job seekers who seem to navigate challenging job search climates can be narrowed down to two factors: what they want to do, and where they want to do it. When they eliminate the noise from the places they don’t want to be, they can focus on where they want to go.

Many experts I talk with regularly agree that being open to everything appeals to no employer. They don’t try to fit your skills into the buckets needing to be filled. They won’t say where you’re better qualified, nor will they put you on a waiting list unless you’ve impressed them.

Here are a couple of action items:

Change begins with a mind shift.

Approach today’s job search as if you were training your body for better health:

It takes a solid individual plan to make bigger strides. You may need to take small steps at first, but just like your body adapts to small steps, your mind adapts to creating small wins first before the big ones.

This is the mind shift you’ll need to make: While many gurus and coaches advise applying for jobs for which you’re 70% qualified, my recruiter friends discourage this approach. Candidates are being more scrutinized than ever. I can’t tell you a magic percentage where it’s OK to apply, but neither can recruiters. They will interview the best-qualified candidates before them. That’s why even the 80% don’t and won’t get interviews for positions.

In other words, a good recruiter might see a candidate with seven out of ten skills and be able to advocate for them by explaining why the missing three can be learned or are less critical.

You must connect the dots.

As a job seeker, you must present a no-brainer case for your hiring. You’ll need a few stories to tie what you can deliver to their needs. If they have to do the thinking for you, don’t expect to get hired. In other words, a good recruiter might see a candidate with seven out of ten skills and be able to advocate for them by explaining why the missing three can be learned or are less critical.

If your skills aren’t creating demand for you to find work…

There comes a time when you’ll need to create demand for your work. If what you do is so unique in quality or quantity, then create an ecosystem around the results, sharing how people benefit and how it aligns with their work. I must add that creating demand isn’t the only thing to do. You also create demand through conversations. I told Fast Company, “Get to know those professionals whose career paths you want to emulate and get to know their work deeply.”

Notice that I didn’t mention expanding your network. Instead, let your network lead you to your next contacts. It’s easier than meeting new people without the exhaustion.