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Ghosting, Stagnation & Dumb Jobs

Episode 260 - The Final Stretch: Expert Career Insights for a Sluggish Job Market

As we move through 2024, it’s clear that the job market is presenting unique challenges for corporate professionals. For many, the once-secure world of steady jobs and rising salaries feels like it’s slipping away. We’re facing a period of economic sluggishness, prolonged hiring cycles, and a significant increase in competition. These trends are not just statistics in a report—they’re realities shaping the lives of experienced professionals across industries.

The Global Hiring Slowdown

Recent reports show a marked slowdown in hiring across key regions, with the U.S., Europe, Australia, and Canada all experiencing decreased demand for labor. Central banks, from the Federal Reserve to the European Central Bank, have been shifting from rate hikes to cautious cuts in an attempt to stabilize economies. However, the impact of these changes won’t be felt for months. In the meantime, professionals are facing more intense competition for fewer roles, particularly in traditionally stable sectors like finance, tech, and professional services.

For job seekers, this translates into a longer, more complex job search process. Whereas hiring managers once quickly reviewed resumes and scheduled interviews, now we’re seeing delays, drawn-out processes, and a rise in what is often referred to as “job ghosting.” The market’s volatility is creating a tense atmosphere for corporate job seekers, where frustration and uncertainty are daily companions.

Job Ghosting: A Frustrating Reality

The term “job ghosting” is relatively new but painfully familiar to anyone seeking work in today’s market. Once reserved for casual dating scenarios, ghosting has now infiltrated the professional sphere, with recruiters or hiring managers suddenly disappearing after initial conversations or even after multiple rounds of interviews. While ghosting may reflect a lack of professionalism, it’s often the result of overwhelmed recruiters struggling to handle high volumes of applications. This problem is compounded by the increased use of automated screening software, which may eliminate candidates before a human ever sees their application.

The emotional toll of job ghosting can be severe, especially for experienced professionals who have invested years in their careers. It’s a significant source of anxiety, adding to the already stressful process of job searching. Candidates feel left in limbo, unsure of whether to continue pursuing other opportunities or wait for a response.

Wage Stagnation and the Evolution of Job Negotiation

For those who do make it past the application process, the challenge of negotiating compensation has also become more difficult. The wage growth seen over the last few years has slowed, with many industries seeing only modest increases or even stagnation. This shift is driven in part by slowing inflation and tempered economic growth. As companies tighten their budgets, employees are finding it harder to secure salary increases, and many are being encouraged to negotiate on non-salary benefits instead.

For job seekers, this means a change in how we approach negotiations. Rather than focusing solely on salary, candidates must also consider the value of flexible work arrangements, professional development opportunities, and other perks that can add to their overall quality of life. For example, the option to work remotely or maintain a four-day workweek has become a valuable bargaining chip, particularly in a market where salary increases may be out of reach.

The “Dumb Job” Trend: Rethinking the “Dream Job” Ideal

One of the most surprising trends emerging in 2024 is the shift away from high-stress corporate roles to simpler, often lower-paying jobs—roles that some have termed “dumb jobs.” While the phrase may carry a negative connotation, this trend is indicative of a deeper desire for work-life balance and personal satisfaction. Many corporate professionals, having faced years of high-stakes pressure, are looking for jobs that allow them to clock in, complete their tasks, and clock out without the constant stress of late-night emails and endless meetings.

Professionals are realizing that the “dream job” ideal—one defined by impressive titles, high salaries, and the prestige of working for a Fortune 500 company—doesn’t necessarily equate to happiness. The allure of a simpler life, perhaps working at a winery or opening a small business, offers a chance to escape the burnout that often accompanies corporate life. In my own career coaching practice, I’ve seen executives transition into roles as consultants, small business owners, and even gig workers. These roles may not provide the same level of income or social prestige, but they allow for a greater sense of autonomy and balance.

Looking Ahead: Building Resilience for Future Success

For those navigating this challenging market, the key to success lies in resilience and adaptability. The ability to pivot, learn new skills, and approach your career from a long-term perspective is more important than ever. Professionals need to be proactive in enhancing their personal brands, particularly on platforms like LinkedIn, where an optimized profile can help you stand out from a crowded field of candidates.

Additionally, staying informed about economic and hiring trends can help job seekers make strategic decisions about where to focus their efforts. In the coming years, sectors like healthcare, MedTech, and digital finance are expected to grow, and job seekers may find more opportunities by exploring roles in these emerging fields.

In a time when stability feels elusive, my advice to clients is to build a career that isn’t just about the next job, but about sustaining long-term growth and fulfillment. This means focusing on roles and industries that align with personal values and life goals, rather than chasing positions that simply look impressive on paper.

The corporate landscape is shifting, and as we adapt to these changes, we must redefine what success means. It may no longer be the high-paying corporate job with a corner office; it may be the role that allows for meaningful work, time with family, and the ability to shut down your laptop at the end of the day. This new vision of success is one that values balance, sustainability, and personal satisfaction—a refreshing change that may just redefine the future of work.

Renata Bernarde

About the Host, Renata Bernarde

Hello, I’m Renata Bernarde, the Host of The Job Hunting Podcast. I’m also an executive coach, job hunting expert, and career strategist. I teach professionals (corporate, non-profit, and public) the steps and frameworks to help them find great jobs, change, and advance their careers with confidence and less stress.

 

If you are an ambitious professional who is keen to develop a robust career plan, if you are looking to find your next job or promotion, or if you want to keep a finger on the pulse of the job market so that when you are ready, and an opportunity arises, you can hit the ground running, then this podcast is for you.

 

In addition to The Job Hunting Podcast, on my website, I have developed a range of courses and services for professionals in career or job transition. And, of course, I also coach private clients

Timestamps to Guide Your Listening

  • 00:00 Introduction to Hot Topics in Job Hunting
  • 02:49 Global Labor Market Slowdown
  • 20:01 Navigating Job Ghosting
  • 28:40 The Appeal of ‘Dumb Jobs’
  • 39:03 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

All right. Oh, it seems like I’m breaking all of the rules of podcasting today. First of all, it’s Sunday, the day before it’s supposed to be released. Never a good sign, but I really like to tackle just in time, important subjects and release it to you as soon as possible. And I, I felt like this episode had to be recorded.

a few days before I release it. I hardly ever do this, but it’s important for me to do this. But it’s Sunday and it’s hot in Melbourne. It’s probably one of the hottest days since winter. And it’s so exciting for us. Um, The washing machine is, you know, going right next to the room. So apologies if you can hear that.

So if you’re new to this podcast, probably not the best episode for you to begin with. But if you are an old friend, then consider yourself at home. Go grab a drink. Let’s talk about these topics. I, um, have been craving to talk about you about all of them, especially the one about dumb jobs, because I feel, you know, very strongly about it.

And I want to talk about this one last because I think it’s more important for us to tackle. Global labor market slowdown first, right? Let’s tackle the most important ones. Get them out of the way. Um, because they can really affect you. It’s October now, 2024. You could be listening to this later. That’s completely fine, but you know, it’s timely for us to talk about the global labor market slowdown.

Now let’s start by discussing the recent developments, the new data that we just, uh, just LinkedIn and other reports about, um, What’s impacting and maybe affecting your experience as a job seeker in the corporate, nonprofit, or government sectors because it’s affecting lots of my clients. It could be affecting you as well.

So here’s an detailed outline. If you are out of the loop, my goal is to bring you into speed. So here’s a detailed outline. If you’re out of the loop, because my goal here is to bring you up to speed. So let’s go. If you’ve been living under a rock, this is what’s happening. The labor market in 2024 has been facing a period of prolonged sluggishness.

This is partly influenced by a shift in monetary policy, things that are happening post pandemic, lots of elections in the US and other countries, UK, India. The U. S. Federal Reserve and central banks across Europe and Canada have recently made the pivot from aggressive interest rate hikes aimed at curbing inflation to interest rate cuts to stimulate economic growth and support the economy.

job market. So there could be a change coming. We’re going to talk about that in a moment. However, the benefits of these cuts will take time to be felt. So right now the market is quite slow if you’re looking for work. And it’s not just in the US. Like I said, Europe, Canada, Australia, we’re all experiencing this.

Um, Let me know if you’re in another country. This, this podcast is listened in like a hundred plus countries. So let me know how things are going with you. You can send me a reply back from my emails, from my weekly newsletters, or you can just comment in one of my posts or send me a DM. I have spoken to some clients that say, no, things are fine here.

But then again, I work with a wide range of clients. Clients in many different countries. So I’d love to hear from you, but in the main countries where most of my clients are, things continue to slow with hiring rates and job transition rates, both dropping significantly. The job market has become for that reason, more competitive for you if you’re seeking work.

Particularly in specific, specific industries like professional services has been struggling. Um, job seekers. Um, activity has surged in professional services, but job openings have not kept up. So that’s what it means. With that increased competition, what happens to professionals who are looking for work means that they need to be more prepared.

They need to be sharper in their focus, in their pitch, in their message. They need to be, um, Uh, more strategic about the opportunities that they’re seeking in the sectors and regions that are still hiring. So they need to do a bit more research and look for emerging markets, you know, uh, countries like India, UAE, even if you cannot move, um, of course, I wouldn’t expect you.

But some people do, um, but if they have subsidiaries or they’re setting up shop in your country, um, and they come from these emerging markets, then they might be willing to hire. So you need to do a bit more research, think, um, Outside the box of the main companies, you can remember top of mind that are big, big brands, blue chip companies, big names and think, okay, what are the competitors, suppliers, clients?

Let’s think about the whole food chain. And think about more opportunities for you. This is particularly true in healthcare and technology, medtech, fintech. Um, so have a look at those jobs. My advice, in addition to that, you know, I have a few other advices that I took note here I wanted to share with you.

Be prepared for increased competition and longer job search. So it’s important to keep that in mind. Uh, the average time, um, of unemployment has increased in number of weeks. The last time I spoke about this, um, were in episodes. I, I. recorded during the pandemic. So I, I want you to use this time wisely.

There is no reason why you should just wait. I remember during the pandemic, I was quite grumpy and annoyed that some of my counterparts, some of my other colleagues, career coaches and outplacement services were telling their clients, I’ll just wait until next year, wait until things get better, you know, go rest or take a holiday.

I’m like, no, no, some people can’t afford to do that. It doesn’t mean you’re going to go to. going to get a job now if the market is luggish, but this is an opportunity for you to strengthen your personal brand, stay active on LinkedIn, consider looking at roles in emerging markets, think about your career long term, you know, okay, this is happening now.

How can I make sure that this doesn’t happen to me again? You are going to get a job. This is what I always tell my clients, right? It may take longer, but you are going to get a job. Let’s use this as a learning opportunity for you to never go through this anxiety again. So, for example, I’ve been reviewing LinkedIn profiles for the past five years.

It’s one of the services that I have, right? And this year, more than ever, we are making sure that the profiles act like a magnet for the recruitment platform. So LinkedIn has a recruitment platform, and it’s a very powerful search engine. Um, search engine, um, and I want you to think about it like Google for job candidates, right?

So recruiters want to find you before you even apply. So when they land, then when they land on your profile, they need to have this immediate sense that there is a connection between you and the job they need to fill. That’s what the LinkedIn audit does. That’s what a good LinkedIn profile and a great activity does to you.

If you’re not sure about your profile optimization, then check out my LinkedIn audit, book it, be ready for a waiting time because that service is always booked out and. You know, it’s taking me longer to get through all of the LinkedIn audits that I’m doing. It has become incredibly important for corporate professionals to have a great optimized LinkedIn profile.

It’s, some people don’t understand. I want, I want you to make, to make it really clear for you. This is not about your profile looking good for you and your friends. This is about your profile being found by recruiters that don’t know you for the jobs that you want. Right? That’s what LinkedIn optimization is.

That’s what my LinkedIn audit will do for you. In addition to that, adaptability is key if you’re able to relocate or work remotely or change industries or use some of your transferable skills for other sectors, this is really important and it could be An opportunity to open new doors for you. So make sure you’re open to work.

Preferences are switched on correctly to allow you this flexibility. Make sure that your skills listed in your profile. Again, they help optimize your profile. So make sure that they’re there. And they are actively supporting your opportunity to be adaptable. They will be able, um, by they I mean recruiters, will be able to see it in your profile and consider you for, um, roles that maybe you haven’t thought of for yourself.

I, I mention LinkedIn a lot, but you can do that also on your Indeed profile, if you’re in Australia, Seek, um, and of course there are other platforms. I only mentioned LinkedIn more often because LinkedIn is a must have for all. All of my clients, if you’re in the corporate world, if you sit behind a desk and you’re a manager, senior manager or an executive, you cannot live without LinkedIn.

If you’re looking for work, it has to include LinkedIn as your major platform of choice. Everything else is, you know, a good to have, but not a must have. The other thing that stats, um, are showing now is this, um, thing that we need to talk about, which is weight, wage growth, or lack of, and inflation trends, right?

So the rapid inflation that we saw in 2022 has slowed. Right. It led to wage growth as company struggled to keep up with rising prices. So in 2023, wage growth has reached the peak, right? There’s those things go up and now it’s a cycle. And there was a significant peak in 2023, I think first half of 23.

2024, however, has not been a year of wage growth. It has been a slowing wage growth since then, and there’s a high demand for labor seen over the past couple of years that then stabilized this year, so we don’t see that high demand. And this deceleration will Impact your ability to not only find jobs, but to negotiate salaries and benefits and things like that.

So, um, look, some, some sectors have been impacted more than others. So don’t take this as Bible. Please research in your region, in your sector, in your industry. If what I’m saying, what I’m saying in this This is overall. You can look at the links below to find out more because of course, it’s not just me saying this.

I read this from data that has been published recently. And you know, what we know for sure is that wage growth in 2024 has been moderate. And like I said, what this means for you is that when you’re negotiating for a new role, when you get a job now or in coming months, And you’re asking for a raise, you know, when I work with clients, we do that really strategically.

We make sure that we’re not sort of, um, overreaching and we need to consider that wage growth may be more conservative, conservative now than in recent years. So you need to be prepared to present a very solid case for how your skills align with Companies, um, current needs. If you type cat in the category search, sorry, in the search box on the job hunting podcast website, and you type salary, you will find some other, um, episodes about this.

There’s a, an interview that’s really interesting about how to negotiate salaries, but most importantly, I don’t want you to compare yourself with some of your colleagues and friends that got similar jobs to yours. Last year you you will be upset and mad about it. Chances are they got better deals than you will and I’m sorry but it’s You know, I have to tell you this and it’s important that we know this and that we understand that things work in cycles and that you will have a better chance next time.

And, yep, it’s just something I need to say. In, in sectors where Where wage increases have slowed, you may find, however, that there are more focus on benefits, on flexibility. So that’s what we’re working for. Can we make this four days a week instead of five days a week? Can I work from home? Three days a week instead of two, you know, can I add career development opportunities, professional development courses, a membership as part of my package.

So negotiate is important. Negotiate with knowledge of what you can achieve in the negotiations is even more important. So make sure that you, um, Pair up with somebody that’s knowledgeable, that can help you for that specific organization, role, industry, country, etc. Right? So, don’t just read things on Google and apply to wherever you are.

It may not work. Now, okay, let’s think about more long term, okay? Because long term outlook, Is showing, and we’ve known this for a while, that things will start to turn in 2025, you know, the world economic forum, chief economist outlook this week or the week before has mentioned that, you know, LinkedIn, um, statistics is showing that as well.

So we do expect that the global growth will stabilize, inflation, inflation will ease. There will be more jobs advertised, especially after the Um, end of all of these election cycles. So, you know, the United States being the next one, we had UK before that we had, um, you know, um, France, we had India early next year.

We may have Australia as well. So we need to, we need to wait all fall of these things to stabilize both economically and politically, politically. We still have a couple of wars that always eats up a lot of time funding and energy from a lot of people. So, but look. And I think that because of all of that, and because things don’t just happen overnight, we need to sort of be patient and understand that once things start stabilizing, the pace of growth will be slow, right?

So I’m not saying that you’re going to start 2025 and it’s going to be a boom year. It’s going to be a better year than 2024, so let’s um, at least take that. But we will continue to have a few vulnerabilities there affecting us. And, um, you know, there has been some concerns you can list in the articles below.

You can read in the articles below about global labor markets in 2025 as well. But I think, especially for my clients, clients that, um, are seeking, you know, higher paying jobs, managers, senior managers, executives, um, professionals that work in the corporate sector, I think that these jobs will start popping up once we have more political stability and economic stability following that.

So yeah, for you, if you’re looking for work, I think that these trends and knowing them is really important because it helps you understand that it’s not just about you and what’s happening to you. It’s all about, about the whole environment and it helps you understand How important it is for you to be resilient and adaptable.

And it’s a reminder that job markets change all the time and you need to present well, um, and be sharp and crisp and clear in your pitch, especially in these times when there is less, uh, roles for you to apply for. It’s even more important for you to be really sharp and use this opportunity to, um, work on your future career, right?

So that you, uh, Using this time of idleness, if you are not working right now or the time you have found to carve, you’ve carved out of your busy life to apply for roles, you look for roles, they’re not there. Don’t just say, all right, I’m going to watch Netflix now. No, please use that one hour that you identified in your day to do your research and make sure that you’re preparing to have a sustainable career over time.

As I always say to my client, we need to prepare for a long game and a short game all at once when we’re looking for work. This is really important. Also knowing which sectors and functions are going to grow. You know, in the future, this is a good opportunity for you to have those conversations, the conversations that’s not about getting you jobs or introductions and you know, but is about getting advice and support and listening, you know, um, for.

Great opportunities and ways to safeguard your career in the future. Hmm. How does that sound? Let me know if you’ve been doing this, let me know how you’ve been upskilling and learning continuously through this sort of slow burn of a job search in 2024. I would love to hear from you. So if you’ve received my newsletter and you want to just reply back and tell me your story, of course, I’ll keep that confidential unless you want to share that more publicly.

Um, And I’d love to, you know, hear from you and know more about your own experience, because this is based on. Of course, what I’m reading, but mostly, of course, on what my clients are telling me as well. I’d love to sort of expand the pool of, you know, people, um, I talk to all the time. Now, do you want to talk about ghosting?

How appropriate just before Halloween. Yeah, it’s, it’s something that’s. Always top of mind, you know, I don’t think that there’s a single day where we don’t discuss this when I’m doing coaching sessions with clients. And if you don’t know what job ghosting is, it’s the practice when employers or recruiters suddenly stop communicating with you.

Right, and they leave you in a limbo and this might happen after one or more interviews and Unfortunately, it’s a phenomenon that has become more and more prevalent these days I think the whole etiquette of getting back to candidates has just gone out the door right according to you know, the things that have been published recently and also things that my clients tell me.

So there has been a report, um, where recruiters said 80 percent admit to ghosting candidates, right? 80%. So you are not alone. You’re not going crazy. People are gaslighting you. They’re ghosting you. Very spooky. And the reason is For me, I understand. It’s the high volume of applications, especially in a year like 2024.

I have never received so many complaints as this year with ghosting, because if you have less jobs advertised, more candidates applying, the recruiter is struggling even more to get back to you. So there’s that. There’s also the, uh, automation of job applications, which means recruiters may not even see your application.

It’s just the bots, um, that are excluding you from the long list and the short list, so they don’t get back to you. And there is also the discomfort of delivering bad news, and that’s what’s in the, uh, Forbes article that’s listed below, you know. The acknowledgement that, yeah, we don’t like to tell people, so we just ghost them and hope that they will get it and then move on.

Ghosting is specifically painful after an intensive interview process, right? So I mentioned before bots that exclude you, but I think it’s really upsetting. When you have gone through interviews, maybe one, two interviews, and then you don’t hear back. This is devastating because the recruiters, when they’re luring you into this interviewing process, they are saying all the right things.

They’re being really nice. They’re giving you good feedback, saying how good you are for the role. And then they disappear. So, um. What happens is you invest a lot of your hopes, time, energy, research into preparing for those interviews. And then if you don’t receive feedback, you are really uncertain about what to do next.

You know, should you wait before you apply for other things, especially when promises have been made about, you know, I’m going to get back to you by the end of the week when they say that they really don’t know when they’re going to get back to you, by the way. So, um, You know, you could potentially be missing out on other things in life, you know, applying for other jobs, um, you know, having energy to in time, time, really not just energy to apply for other jobs and connect and network for other opportunities.

So the article that came out a couple of weeks ago, really focused on mental health of candidates that are experienced this, uh, experiencing these questions. ghosting that’s going on and 72 percent of the people that were interviewed said that it’s really negatively impacting their mental health.

Surprise, surprise, nobody’s surprised, right? There’s a lot of frustration with ghosting. It wastes time. It leads to missed opportunity and it’s sad, really. So my advice to you, if this is happening to you, Remember, you’re not alone. It’s not you. And if you don’t hear back after a week or two, send a polite follow up.

You are entitled to, of course. You’re not going to be seen as needy or, or desperate. It’s just the right thing to do. They should have done it. They didn’t. You do it. Um, but do it anyway. After whatever deadline they suggested to you. So for example, um, I just said that to a client, a couple of clients this week, if they said they will get back to you by the end of the week, wait until Monday, you know, mid day Monday, for example, and say, look, yeah, so that’s the right time.

Don’t take it personally, realize that it’s happening. It’s in the news. There are more than one article about it. I, I’ll put the links below for you, um, and these are recent articles, but of course people have been talking about this forever. Keep applying. You know, don’t remember that, you know, um, you need to spread your, um, your risks and, and hedge yourself.

So keep applying for roles. Don’t wait until you hear back before moving on to another opportunity. Create a rhythm where you have a couple of options at any, any one time. So, um, that’s really important for you to be resilient, to be hopeful, and to understand that you are not yet the preferred candidate.

Remember that I’ve said this many times on the pod, so for those that have listened before, you already know this, but at the tail end of a process, it’s between you and somebody else and you have 50 percent chance and 50 percent is not a lot, right? So, even without all of the ghosting, you have to remain, um, resilient.

pragmatic and practical about all of this.

So, um, there is something else about ghosting that, um, I think it’s important to talk about. And that is that, um, employers also Advertise ghost jobs, right? So this is a different definition. So let me explain to you what ghost jobs are if you’re not familiar. These are jobs that are listed but they don’t actually exist.

They are advertised for ghost jobs. And posted by companies to build a candidate pool. I have a client going through that kind of at the moment here in Australia. So the company, in fact, it’s actually a government job. They have been quite open about this. They said, look, we’re going to look at lots of candidates.

We have an opportunity to grow our team. Please send here some details. Please send your resume and your cover letter to the best of your ability. That was quite well done because I think it’s government, but when it’s not government, they will just, they just want to have a candidate pool and they will come back to you maybe six months from now, a year from now, who knows, right?

Um, there’s also dodgy business when, um, they want to have chats to usually more senior executives of professionals that have very specific expertise, hoping to get an inside knowledge, um, on stuff that they don’t understand. Hmm. Be very careful with that. And finally, ghost jobs could be also, um, Um, dodgy jobs.

So be careful to send your applications and lots of personal details, um, to companies that are just, that all they want is to hack you and commit fraud and et cetera. So this is very common. LinkedIn is very quick to delete stuff when they see that a job ad is dodgy. So if you, if you have even a feeling that the job that’s advertised on LinkedIn is dodgy, Send them a message in the support, let them know, and they will deal with it.

Now, that is, um, not as common, the ghosting jobs. I don’t see as much complaining about this, but I decided to list this because it is in some of the articles I’m mentioning below. And it’s something that has happened just this week, um, with, uh, one of my clients. So I thought it was worth reminding. You again, it’s not the first time I talk about it, but it’s, it’s, you know, it’s about Halloween.

It’s all about ghosting. Keep an eye on the red flags. Um, think about, you know, when you have a great experience with a recruiter that treats you well, that provides information for you. Remember that, nurture that relationship, thank them for it. Um, and go back to them for other roles in the future. So it’s important to nurture those good relationships.

That’s positive networking for you. Um, so moving away from Halloween topics to this final, um, article that I wanted to talk to you about, because a couple of clients have brought it up. I read about it. There are podcasts about it. There’s a whole Reddit about it. So it’s the, um, article that was published a few weeks ago.

It went viral. And. It’s called I Just Want a Dumb Job by Charlotte Coles in the Cuts, uh, financial column. She’s a financial advice columnist for the Cuts and she has correctly identified through her interviews, um, that people are interested in, you know, careers that are different from the ones that they aspired to and they studied for.

I think that people. Um, not everyone, but some individuals are really moving away from jobs that are peer prestiges and are a dream career on paper. And I have lots of examples from my career coaching practice, which I won’t describe here because they’re clients and I don’t want to breach confidentiality.

But trust me that I have seen directors, CEOs, project managers. Um, senior executives, senior partners in consulting firms, choose to be shop floor salespeople, tradies, um, sell flowers, serve wine at, you know, salad doors, do Uber, become teachers. I’ve seen everything. And I think that there is a realization that these roles, despite their titles, And perks, I mean, the corporate roles, the fancy titles, they come with stress and low, I wouldn’t say low pay, but lower paid and some of them lower paid than you would imagine.

And especially, for example, if you’re in the, um, non profit world and you are, have a senior role, it’s not very well paid and it’s very high stress. And You know, if you fall into a place where there’s an unhealthy culture, then it really puts you off. Now, some, one of my clients asked me this week, if I move from corporate to To hire to non profit or higher ed, will the culture be better?

Not necessarily. Bad coach culture is not correlated to the corporate sector. Bad culture exists in everywhere. It can be in a, in a, um, um, hospitality organization. It can be in a higher education. organization. It can be in a non profit organization. Bad culture is not correlated to a specific sector, a specific industry, a specific culture.

So you need to really understand that the transition you decide to made, to make, needs to be aligned with your purpose, your values, and your interests more so than the external environment because you can change from one company to another and experience completely different cultures within the same industry and the same town.

But look, going back to the dumb jobs thing, these jobs are not dumb at all. They’re actually, that’s the, that’s the concern that I have when I talk to clients about these things, because I think we romanticize a simpler life, and then we have it, and then we realize it’s not that simple. But, Having said that, I have to admit that there are people now that are seeking a balance.

They are seeking more stability and in some case more of an emotional mental load with work and mental demands with work. And I understand that, you know, I, I understand that because when I stepped away from my career and into career coaching, it is demanding. It’s a lot of work. It’s a I mean, I’m doing this on a Sunday afternoon and I worked all day yesterday as well, but it gives me such a sense of purpose.

There is an interview coming up with an amazing man called Nick Grano. He’s the CEO of the Freedom Fund. He deals with modern slavery, slavery day in, day out. This has been his job for the past 10 years. He wrote a book about nonprofit leadership. He loves his work. He, he gets paid. I don’t know. A tenth of what he used to at Goldman Sachs, but you know, I think that whenever you make a change like this from corporate to nonprofit, from a corporate, um, lifestyle to becoming a landscape designer, it needs to be something that you believe it in.

Right? So it needs to be something you’ve also researched and you don’t have any romantic ideas about it. You know, it’s. It’s not going to be dumb at all. It’s just going to make you happier. And look, yeah, corporate careers, they can be exhilarating, right? I loved mine. Sometimes I look back at the things I did and I think, wow, I can’t even, I can’t believe that was me, right?

Like, My career has been fantastic. I had some amazing opportunities. Sometimes I can’t even believe it’s real, but it was long hours. There was a lot of bad coaches in some of my jobs. It was relentlessly stressful. And at the time I actually did. I liked the stress. I liked the, um, challenge that I was given, but it took a toll on me over time, and I didn’t mention this article below.

I don’t think I even could be able, I could find it now. It’s about a year old. Some people think that you only get burned out from jobs you don’t like. And this article was about this woman who got burned out from a love a, a job that she loved. And I can a hundred percent relate to that, right? So I think people sometimes forget that jobs you love can burn you out as well, including the one that I have right now is, you know, being my own boss and being a career coach, I have to be very careful.

Um. I tell my husband this all the time. I have to be so careful because every conversation I have, especially the consultations, the one on ones, not the private coaching that goes on for three months or six months. Um, people come to me when you’re really desperate and can bet, can give very emotionally intensive for me to have lots of sessions like that, you know, in a day.

But look, someone might say that, um, Finding, um, a less flashy role, allow them to have a more stable income, although it’s probably a smaller income if you come from the background of some of my clients, but they had more time for their personal life. They maybe can afford it now. They bootstrap themselves to be able to afford that.

So. Um, I think it matters for job seekers to think about it, to read the article, to reflect and to think what sort of day to day, um, life they want. And that would bring them contentment and happiness and purpose. And what does it mean to have a dream job? If you, if you look at my website, you will not find the word dream job anywhere.

I’ve never liked the idea of dream job. Um, And I think that, you know, it’s a level of perfectionism that I don’t think we need to have. I’d much rather focus on sustainable career, taking control of your career, taking control of your personal and professional life, avoiding burnout, and focusing on what’s important to you, not to others.

Family background, prior education, sunk costs, all of that stuff. So I want you to use this opportunity listening to me, um, after you listen to this episode, reflect on what truly matters in your work, in your personal life, if your job is compromising your health, your personal relationships, then, you know, that’s a dead giveaway.

It’s time to explore some alternatives. Um, And I guess that’s all I wanted to say to you today. I don’t want to make this too long. I think that as long as you read that job or, you know, understand that I’m not talking about jobs that are dumb, they are not. I think that that’s fine. You know, um, a catchy title for the cut article that made a lot of people click on it.

Um, these jobs are not for lazy people or unambitious people. These are, you know, it’s just an opportunity to reflect on what’s your priority now, as opposed to your priority 10, 20 years ago. And are you willing to invest in making this change? I have a bit of advice for you if you take this seriously. So if you take this seriously, Um, make this change, um, very strategically, right?

Um, I have a two recommendations for you for reading. So there’s a book by Stephen Pressfield that I always recommend on this show. It’s called Do the Work. It’s a tiny book. You will read it in a few hours. Read it to make sure that you understand that whatever change you’re about to make is still a major change and it will require work, commitment, grit, action.

Persuasion from your past to explain that change to others, which is when I’m working with clients, it’s the biggest thing that we focus on when they are making those big changes in their careers, because they need to totally change their brand equity, their brand awareness, their professional reputation.

That’s really important. Another book that is a favorite of mine is called shop class as a soul craft. And that book is, um, unnecessary, very long essay. It will take a few days to read it, but it’s about the value of work, you know, to, again, deep dive into this idea of that you need to be ready for the consequences.

And It may be, you know, an inspiration for or against making this change from desk job to shop floor job. So the author did it, you know, he went from shop floor to desk job to shop floor. So I think it’s a very good book, um, to get an insight on what it would mean. Coincidentally, that book also came about from originally an article that came up in the Athletion.

So maybe if you want a shorter version, just search for the original article in the Athletion that then was so popular that he decided to write a book about it. Okay. So look, job seekers, professionals, listeners, it’s really essential that we Recognize that this pursuit of a job search can be, you know, really an important time for you to take stock of what you’ve done so far, re evaluate your ambitions, re evaluate what will bring you more balance and more satisfaction, more strategic ways to look for work in a, you know, a slow market, as I discussed before, how you can prioritize your mental health, your family time, your personal growth over prestige is also a great, um, Reflection point for you.

I hope that with this episode, I can encourage you to think more strategically about your career to invest in your career. Just if you’re listening and it’s been what 40 minutes, then you are already ahead of the game of head of your competition. Because I really think that this discussion will trigger something in you and make you more self aware.

More ready for conversations, important conversations with your network, with recruiters, and be better at planning your career. But remember that you don’t have to do this alone. It’s actually really hard to do this alone. Remember that employers are not doing this alone. They have a lot of support internally.

To look for candidates like you. So if you feel like you need expert advice, reach out to me, let’s work together. My services are many of them DIY. You can just go to my website. They are not very expensive. You can book them and you, you will have access to a very structured way of going about this job search and careers reset with more ease and.

Hopefully, go through it faster and more successfully. That’s the whole point. My website is www.RENATABERNARDE.com, so you can book or learn more. I’ll see you next time. Ciao for now.

 

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