March 4, 2025 • 32 mins
Feeling anxious about job security in today’s unpredictable market? You’re not alone. In this episode of The Mid-Career GPS Podcast, host John Neral breaks down the most pressing concerns facing mid-career professionals in 2025. Drawing from a recent webinar, John shares expert insights and actionable strategies to help you take charge of your career, stay resilient, and proactively prepare for industry shifts.
Discover how to confidently navigate uncertainty, build a strong professional network, and develop a personal brand that keeps you relevant in an evolving job market. Whether facing workplace instability or simply looking to future-proof your career, this episode will equip you with the tools you need to thrive.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✅ Key job market trends and corporate restructuring insights from a recent webinar
✅ How to manage job loss fears and workplace instability without sacrificing well-being
✅ Actionable strategies to adapt to change and maintain work-life balance
✅ The power of personal branding and how to showcase measurable career results
✅ Leveraging emotional intelligence to stay competitive in the job market
✅ The value of mentorship and building a personal board of directors for career support
Thank you for listening to The Mid-Career GPS Podcast.
Please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts here.
Visit https://johnneral.com/resources to get The Mid-Career Job Search Jumpstart and join The Mid-Career GPS Membership Community.
Visit https://johnneral.com to join The Mid-Career GPS Newsletter, a free, twice-weekly career and leadership resource for mid-career professionals.
Connect with John on LinkedIn here.
Get John's New Mid-Career Journal on Amazon here.
Follow John on Instagram @johnneralcoaching.
Subscribe to John's YouTube Channel here.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
John Neral (00:10):
Hello, my friends, this is the Mid-Career GPS
Podcast and I'm your host, JohnNeral.
I help mid-career professionalslike you find a job they love,
or love the job they have, usingmy proven four-step formula.
I'm doing something a littledifferent for this episode.
Last week, I hosted a freewebinar titled Navigating the
(00:31):
2025 Job Market Tips to Stay inControl Amidst the Chaos.
I announced this webinar to myemail community first, which you
can join for free by going tomy website, https://johnneral.
com, and signing up for my emailcommunity newsletter, where,
each week, I share informationand resources related to
(00:51):
leadership and careers to helpyou build your mid-career GPS to
whatever is next.
I hosted this free webinarbecause, over the last few weeks
, practically everyone I'vespoken to, be it a client,
networking connection orpotential client, has shared one
common theme they are worriedabout this job market.
(01:13):
They are fearful about losingtheir jobs, and so I'm sharing
about 30 minutes from thiswebinar with you this week,
where I talk about the currentjob market, what trends we're
seeing in terms of job growthand job decline, as well as
helping you create an actionplan to stay in control amidst
the chaos, confusion andconstantly changing landscape in
(01:37):
this job market.
We're seeing right now.
This webinar and episode willend with one statement.
You do not have to go throughthis alone.
I'm here to help you figure outwhatever is next and I invite
you to join my free emailcommunity at johnnarrellcom.
Remember, you will build yourmid-career GPS one mile or one
(02:00):
step at a time and how you showup matters.
I hope you enjoyed this episode.
We got this, so here's ourobjectives.
So by the end of our time today, my goal for us is that you
will have a clearer pictureabout the current job market and
what it means for you in yourcareer.
We're going to talk about howyou can potentially handle
(02:23):
things like reorganizations,restructuring and layoffs Not
fun.
If you've been a victim of thator been part of that recently,
you and I both know not a funtime and I have been there at
different parts in my career aswell.
I'm also going to help youdecide what it means for you to
keep your finger on the pulse ofwhat's happening within your
(02:44):
job and your industry andexplore tips to figure out what
might be next.
So, as I help my clients buildtheir mid-career GPS, it's all
about helping them prepareposition and promote who they
are and what they do, so theycan show up to find a job they
love, or love the job they haveIn this job market.
(03:06):
You may be currently employedand staying in that job may
absolutely be the best move foryou, and you may also decide
that maybe it's the right timefor you to step out and leverage
your talents and expertiseelsewhere.
Or if you have unfortunatelybeen laid off or terminated for
whatever reason and you areactively looking for a new job.
(03:26):
Are you playing the short game?
Are you playing the long game?
Do you need to find the bridgejob?
Whatever that is, I want tooffer you that I know you'll
make the best decision for youwith the circumstances that you
have.
So part of today, if you canwalk away with a plan or some
ideas absolutely important.
(03:47):
So at some point in time in yourcareer, you've probably said to
yourself I got the best jobever, I love what I'm doing, I
love where I work, I love thepeople I work alongside and I'm
making good money.
And so when those things happen, we ride this roller coaster,
if you will, in our career,where everything's going great
(04:09):
and then usually somethinghappens and, for whatever reason
, we kind of put the brakes onthings and go all right.
I don't like this so much.
Maybe you got turned down foran opportunity, or you were laid
off from your company, or yourindustry is pivoting, or your
company was acquired by anotherorganization At some point.
(04:33):
That euphoria dissipates ofhaving the best job ever, and
now you have to realisticallytake a look at where you are at
and what might happen for yourjob and how that may impact your
career.
So right now, two months intothis job market at 2025, I'm
(04:54):
seeing two huge themes.
One is all about stopping anykind of chaos or downfall or
impact that may be happeningwithin your industry or
organization.
We're looking for a sense ofcalm and saying, okay, things
seem a little more stable rightnow.
(05:15):
That's great.
The other impact is how it'simpacting your work-life balance
.
Now there are people out therewho say that they don't believe
in work-life balance and otherpeople who strongly advocate for
it.
You are the one who owns whatyour work-life balance is, but
it is understandable that in avolatile job market where people
(05:40):
are worried or fearful they maylose their job.
They may do a little extra.
They may let go of someboundaries that they previously
had, such as I'm not going towork late more than one night a
week, or I'm not going to workon the weekends.
And, as I've reflected on myown career path and the
(06:04):
different organizations whereI've worked, and also in talking
with my clients and followingthe news and things like that,
when your work-life balance getsupset, when it's disjointed in
some way and let me offer thatif you've been laid off from
your position, your work-lifebalance is already offset that
(06:29):
we may start to operate or showup from a place of fear and
while it's understandable, itprobably is not the best move
for you.
So I was recently on a podcastcalled Smashing the Plateau.
Wonderful networking connectionof mine, david Schreiner Kahn,
and he brought me on to talkabout the power of storytelling
(06:51):
in our careers and I coach myclients on helping them tell a
story from a place of value andservice that gets hiring
managers and recruitersinterested in who they are and
what they do, as opposed tofinding them interesting.
We're all interesting people,right, but in a job interview or
in a networking conversation,if I can keep them interested
(07:14):
and engaged, it's a much level,much different level of
interaction.
Well, on this podcast, davidasked me.
He said what are the things,john, that you're seeing, that
job seekers and employees rightnow in 2025, want, and I shared
two things stability andconsistency.
When mid-career professionalsand professionals in general
(07:38):
know that they're secure intheir job and industry and they
have consistency in what they'redoing, every day, other things
fall into place, and right now,what we're seeing is a lot of
anything but right, and so wehave to acknowledge sometimes
that when we see what othercorporations are doing and
(08:01):
organizations, that it cantrickle down and impact and the
thing here and why I put thisslide together for us today over
the last three weeks, whetherit be clients I've spoken to
people who've reached out to meon LinkedIn potential clients
I've spoken with have all saidthe same thing to me I don't
(08:22):
want to lose my job.
And if they did lose their job,what they're saying is how
quickly will it take me to finda new one?
So if that's you, you're notalone.
They see you.
We're all here for this similarreason, and so being worried or
(08:42):
scared is absolutelyunderstandable reason, and so
being worried or scared isabsolutely understandable, and
I've been the person who's hadto walk out of an office with
box in hand because I got let gofrom a job, and if you're
following social media, ifyou're reading the news or
following things, you might beseeing a lot more of this and,
(09:04):
in part, that is some of what'sgoing on right now.
Okay, so let's talk about what'scausing layoffs or job cuts.
First thing is budget.
When the head of anorganization is talking about
cutting costs and budget, weshould all be paying attention
to that, because if they'retalking about cutting costs,
(09:29):
they have to look at theoperational side and they have
to look at the staffing side.
Additionally, if there's ashift in leadership when new
leaders come into anorganization, they have an
agenda and in that agenda thereare things that are important to
them that they want to executeon.
(09:49):
When we look at organizationsthat have boards, let's say,
oftentimes a shift in leadershipis because that new leader is
aligning more closely with whatthe board wants or needs to
happen within that organization.
If you're seeing impact oncertain programs or a change in
(10:10):
direction with how a company ismoving, you should be paying
attention to that, and let'sacknowledge that larger
organizations can set the tonefor how other businesses and
organizations follow.
That's why it's important tostay informed and connected.
If we think back to the middleof 2024, amazon released a
(10:33):
statement saying that they weregoing to require all of their
office employees back to thework site five days a week, and
that sent shockwaves and ripplesthrough social media and
conversations being like well, Ilike working from home, I don't
want to have to do that commuteanymore.
(10:53):
And Amazon was very simplysaying look, this is what it's
going to be.
If you don't like it, go find ajob elsewhere.
No-transcript.
(11:16):
And in some cases I've hadconversations with people where
they say I'm really productiveworking remotely, I don't want
to be back in the office, but mycompany is forcing me to go
back into the office.
You then have to decide ifthat's the right fit for you.
So, according to BusinessInsider, several prominent
companies have announcedsignificant workforce reductions
(11:37):
Blue Origin's cutting 10% oftheir staff.
Chevron, in the oil and gasindustry, plans to eliminate 15%
to 20% of its jobs by 2026.
Kohl's, in the retail industry,is reducing 10% of its
corporate roles, and othercompanies like Meta, microsoft
and Starbucks have alsodisclosed plans for layoffs.
(11:58):
Early this morning I saw areport on the TV about a half
dozen other companies that havealready announced, and I did not
have time to put that in there.
Obviously, you can search forit, but this is the conversation
.
Conversation is we're cuttingcosts, we're cutting staff, and
so with that, the World EconomicForum has recently released a
(12:23):
report saying that AI androbotics will displace 85
million jobs by 2025, but theyalso projected to create 97
million new roles in areas likeAI development, data science and
human-AI collaboration.
Here are the jobs that AI willtypically replace by 2030.
(12:47):
This comes from Gaperio.
Look at the list here.
These are jobs or tasks thatcould potentially be automated,
and so that can cause fear inthis job market, because if you
fear that your job can beeliminated because of technology
or a machine, what do you do?
(13:09):
How do you pivot?
Where do you move to?
Right?
And so, as we dig in this alittle bit further, what we are
seeing is the most vulnerablejobs because of AI are those
repetitive and rule-basedfunctions Data entry, customer
service.
How many years have we beendealing with calling up an
(13:32):
organization and having to gothrough an automated menu?
Or now we go on websites and wehave to navigate through a chat
bot before we can actually talkto somebody.
As frustrating as it may be attimes, it does serve a
particular purpose, right, andso the last two bullets here pay
(13:52):
attention to Jobs with minimalneed for emotional intelligence
are most vulnerable.
So, for people whom I typicallyhelp, they're mid-level,
mid-career professionals,typically between the ages of 35
and 50, holding titles such asmanager to senior director.
(14:14):
The other thing that they allhave in common they have really
big hearts.
They care deeply about people,but when we're working together
and we start talking about wherethey're most valuable, I have
to get them to shift theconversation toward their
results.
Where can they measure theireffectiveness, and in doing so,
(14:38):
that can be a hard conversation.
Effectiveness, and in doing so,that can be a hard conversation
.
If you're looking at your resumeor your LinkedIn and you don't
have enough data metrics tohighlight where you've improved,
where you've saved, whereyou've impacted, or your resume
or LinkedIn simply reads like ajob description, you will be
(15:00):
left behind.
I hate to say it that way, butright now in this job market,
companies want to know whatyou're going to do for them.
They hold more cards than everin this job market right now,
and they want to know whatyou're going to do for them.
Yes, they care about you onsome level because they're going
(15:22):
to offer you a job at somepoint.
But they need to know whyyou're effective, why you're
impactful, where you're going tochange things, what results
you're going to do for them and,lastly, why should they care.
Why should they care about whatit is that you've done?
(15:44):
And if you're having theseconversations, say at a regular
check-in meeting or during yourperformance review, one of the
things you want to be payingattention to are some potential
warning signs, right?
So if your supervisor istalking about, I think we might
be going through a restructuringor reorganization, what's the
(16:04):
first question you want to knowIs this going to impact me?
Are there budget cuts?
Are you in a hiring freeze?
Right now, we know the federalgovernment's in a hiring freeze,
and what that means is, if youwere looking for a career right
now in civil service and youneed to find a job, you are not
going to find it directly in thefederal government because of
(16:27):
the hiring freeze.
Other companies are goingthrough that as well.
But what you also want to becareful of right now, especially
if you are currently employedand on a promotion track if you
are currently employed and on apromotion track, is there a
promotion freeze?
If you are positioned to getthat promotion within your
(16:47):
organization and you are beingtold.
Now is, quote, unquote, not thetime.
The question I'd offer to askis is there a promotion freeze
and you get the information youneed and decide what's gonna be
next?
Is your company losing money?
Are they losing clients?
Are people leaving, and are youable to find out through them
(17:10):
directly?
Are they leaving because theygot a better opportunity?
Are they leaving becausesomething happened, or are they
leaving because they were toldtheir job's in jeopardy and they
might be riffed reduction inforce, so they might think it
might be better to go out on myown right and go find that next
(17:33):
job.
Is there a change in leadershipRight?
Is that impacting some of thosedecisions?
This was another interestingdata point I want to share with
you, because LinkedIn Newsshared last week about I think
it was last week about this jobconfidence report, and so the
important parts here to pull outis that they rank job
(17:56):
confidence on a scale fromnegative 100 to positive 100.
And right now it is at plus 15.
It is near the lowest it hasbeen since they started this
survey, beginning with thepandemic, so almost five years
ago, in April of 2020,confidence among active job
(18:18):
seekers was at a low of plusnine.
Now, this is not rocket science.
We know that job confidenceusually spikes at the beginning
of the year.
People are out of the holidays,where, most of the time, we're
at the beginning of a newcalendar year, which is also the
fiscal year for some companies,and people are optimistic about
finding a new job.
(18:38):
But look at what this slidesays.
Okay, last month, the jobconfidence they determined was
at plus 20, already down 11points from where it was the
previous year, and thesefindings further reinforce that
(19:00):
job hunters are taking longer tosecure their next role.
I want to call this out becausethis is one where this can freak
a lot of people out, and Idon't want to catastrophize this
, but I want to look at thisvery realistically with you.
The survey also found that overhalf of job searchers have been
(19:22):
hunting for six months or more.
Hubspot came out with a reporta couple years ago that said, on
average, it was taking amid-career professional five
months to find a new job.
What that report also talkedabout what I have seen firsthand
with my own clients and I talkabout this with colleagues of
(19:44):
mine as well who are in the samespace.
The determining factor is howaggressive and proactive you are
in terms of finding that newjob.
That can dramatically shortenthe timeframe, given your
efforts and the industries andcompanies you are looking at.
(20:05):
So while this might be a littledaunting and say six months,
that doesn't mean that is yourstory either.
Depending on how well younetwork, how you are applying,
you are handling all thelogistics of the job search, a
lot can happen and it can changethat timeframe.
(20:28):
So when you're thinking aboutputting this plan together, it
is a shift between are you in areactive mindset or are you in a
proactive mindset?
Both can serve you verypositively here.
Both can help you withoutquestion.
But then we look at, okay, whatmight be next.
(20:50):
So in terms of mindset, I wantto offer you that circumstances
are neutral.
So what I mean by that is ifyou've been laid off, let go
terminated.
That's neutral.
So what I mean by that is ifyou've been laid off, let go
terminated.
That's neutral.
Until it is neutral, until youhave a thought about it.
(21:10):
Our brains are extremelydynamic tools and it's one of
the things I help my clientswith when we're in a coaching
relationship is that when welook at these circumstances,
they're neutral until you have athought about it.
Okay, you have a thought aboutit.
That thought creates a feeling.
That feeling creates an action.
That action creates a result.
There's a typo there.
(21:32):
I just noticed that.
But that's the.
I have to call that out becausethat's.
You know, I have an assessmentbackground and you proofread all
these kind of things, so I'llmake sure I go back and correct
that at some point.
But anyway, right.
The thing here is that Untilyou have that thought, no action
(21:53):
can happen.
Until you acknowledge thatthought, the feeling that comes
with it, you decide what actionyou want to take and that action
produces a result.
It's like navigating thislabyrinth or maze in this job
market right now, trying tofigure out where you're going to
(22:15):
land.
So when you think about thisaction plan, you may want to
take a screenshot here there's acouple more bullets coming up.
But assess your current careersituation.
Are you in the right role orwere you in the right role?
Are you with the right company?
Are you in the right industryand are you indispensable?
(22:38):
Are there conversations aboutyour value and performance?
Where people go?
Yeah, I don't want to lose them.
You think about what's next.
You may want to take thescreenshot here, right?
So what's next?
You're going to look at jobopportunities.
You're going to leveragerecruiters, job boards,
professional groups, yournetwork.
You're going to look at jobopportunities.
You're going to leveragerecruiters, job boards,
professional groups, yournetwork.
(22:59):
You're going to stay informedokay, track the industry's
trends and the companyperformance, at the same time
working on your mindset andconfidence, one of the things
that can we all do it right?
Like we can lie to ourselvesfirst.
Okay, like I'd love to thinkthat the bowl of ice cream I had
(23:21):
last night didn't have anycalories in it, but it did.
Okay, we have to take a veryrealistic look at what's
happening right now and what'shappening for you specifically,
and what's happening for you andyour industry.
So, as we continue to navigatethis uncertainty, I want to
(23:41):
offer you this Know thedifference between truth with
capital letters and truth withlowercase letters.
The truth with capital lettersare the truth that is
evidence-based and is factual.
We're not being skeptical.
We're not spec factual.
We're not being skeptical.
We're not speculating.
We're not catastrophizing.
Okay, we're looking at this jobmarket very objectively and
(24:07):
we're making plans to stayfocused.
You may take some time to workon skill development, while
continuing to focus on theevidence-based results you
continue to drive or have drivenin your previous role.
A lot of times when people arejob-seeking in markets such as
this, they'll default tothinking they have to close a
(24:30):
particular skill gap.
I want to offer you that.
That's an opportunity toobjectively look at it.
But leveraging your strengthsand why they are most valuable
to an organization is in yourwheelhouse.
It lets you network andinterview very differently
because of it, and so focus onyour strengths as you continue
(24:52):
to play the long game right.
The long game is what does thisjob get me and how does it set
me up for the next few down theroad?
But additionally, keep in mind,the focus here needs to be why
are you indispensable at work?
How are you having thoseconversations with your
management and leadership?
Your clients okay, stay aheadof changes.
(25:17):
The way you can do that arethings like continuing to build
your clients okay, stay ahead ofchanges.
The way you can do that arethings like continuing to build
your network.
And if you're saying toyourself I'm too busy to network
, do a calendar audit, look andsee if there isn't a way for you
to build in some time.
To do that, right now more thanever, developing a career
insurance strategy is important,right?
(25:41):
If, for any reason, you were tolose your job, how quickly
might you be able to pivot intosomething else?
Know what your brand is,maintain a very strong personal
and professional brand, and alsowork on building a personal
board of directors.
A personal board of directorsare those closest connections
(26:04):
and colleagues of yours who arethere to be the critical friend,
the advocate, the cheerleader,the champion, the advisor, to
help you navigate towardwhatever's going to be next.
And that's where support comesin.
Right, because, as you'rebuilding this action plan, if
you're not using Google Alertsright now, give it a try, okay,
(26:27):
you can obviously just searchfor it, but you're going to
input certain keywords that willgive you a daily update on
what's happening.
So, if you're looking forthings, say, within the tech
industry, the finance industryor like I, have one set up just
specifically for mid-career andI'll get a notification in my
(26:50):
inbox every night here's acouple things that Google has
pulled.
The reason why you want to dothat is it keeps you more
informed and may give you thingsto talk about, especially at
your next job interview.
When you go to build thatpersonal board of directors, ask
yourself who needs to be inyour circle, why do they belong
(27:10):
there, how will they help youand, lastly, how will you help
them?
Think of your personal board ofdirectors as the most intimate
or closest group ofprofessionals that are there for
you and you're there for them.
And, as you're building yournetwork, go beyond those first
(27:32):
level connections.
It's fair to say, a lot ofpeople are stressed right now,
but when you're networking andyou're connecting, always
remember that if people can helpyou, they will.
And as you go beyond thosefirst-level connections, it
might be something as simple asasking who do you know I should
(27:52):
be speaking with.
If you need to find a new jobright now, create the job search
strategy that is best for you,all right, and thinking about
who or what do you need.
So, when it comes to support,you might want a mentor.
A mentor is someone whotypically is internal to your
(28:15):
organization or within yourindustry and they're there to
provide support, guidance anddirection.
Mentorship is usually free ofcharge right, the mentor does
not charge, but I know somecases where people are like I
take my mentor to lunch once amonth as a thank you.
Okay, you might want to needsupport or seek support from a
(28:36):
recruiter.
You might want to need supportor seek support from a recruiter
.
Now, recruiters are typicallytasked with finding high-quality
talent for an organization ormultiple organizations.
They are paid by theorganization to secure that
talent.
Pay attention to that lastbullet point.
They are typically overloadedand overworked.
So the recruiting industry hasdramatically changed over the
(28:59):
last 10 years and in doing so,what happens is they're juggling
all these positions and it'svery easy to think well, I've
already talked to them, they'llkeep me in mind.
I want to offer you that, ifyou're working with building a
relationship with a recruiter,ask them if it would be okay for
(29:21):
you to shoot them an email oncea month, give them an update on
what's going on and check inwith them to see if they have
any positions you might be agreat fit for.
If they say, yes, you have theagreement and now you can play
without feeling like you got towalk on eggshells or be
trepidatious about I don't wantto bother them.
Make the agreements to buildthat relationship.
(29:42):
Who is typically looking forthose executive and senior level
positions?
And they are compensated by youas the individual.
So that is a service you payfor upfront, or you are paying
(30:06):
them a fee from your overallcompensation package once you
are in that job.
The last option here is a coach.
I know this very well.
Right Me as a coach.
As a career transition coach, Ihelp my clients navigate the
job search process.
I don't find jobs for myclients, I don't.
I mean, I do have people in mynetwork who I sometimes connect
(30:28):
them with, but for me as thecoach, it's about establishing
that ownership or accountabilitystructures to help them with
their job search and theirleadership development.
It's why my process of helpingbuild a mid-career GPS is what
I've seen work time and timeagain, of helping people
navigate toward whatever is next.
(30:48):
Now in a coaching relationship,there's a fee for that.
Typically, clients will doself-pay and in some cases they
are sponsored by theirorganization and their
organization pays for theircoaching.
Sometimes organizations havetheir own coach, and so you may
want to look at them first.
It might be a benefit as partof your overall compensation
(31:09):
package, but coaching, as I knowfirsthand, can certainly be
very, very helpful in thatregard.
What I want you to know here isthat you don't have to navigate
your career alone.
Thank you for listening to theMid-Career GPS Podcast.
Make sure to follow on yourfavorite listening platform and,
(31:32):
if you have a moment, I'd loveto hear your comments on Apple
Podcasts.
Visit johnnerrellcom for moreinformation about how I can help
you build your mid-career GPSor how I can help you and your
organization with your nextworkshop or public speaking
event.
Don't forget to connect with meon LinkedIn and follow me on
social at John Nerrell Coaching.
(31:53):
I look forward to being backwith you next week.
Until then, take care andremember how we show up matters.
Thank you.
Hello, my friends, this is the Mid-Career GPS
Podcast and I'm your host, JohnNeral.
I help mid-career professionalslike you find a job they love,
or love the job they have, usingmy proven four-step formula.
I'm doing something a littledifferent for this episode.
Last week, I hosted a freewebinar titled Navigating the
(00:31):
2025 Job Market Tips to Stay inControl Amidst the Chaos.
I announced this webinar to myemail community first, which you
can join for free by going tomy website, https://johnneral.
com, and signing up for my emailcommunity newsletter, where,
each week, I share informationand resources related to
(00:51):
leadership and careers to helpyou build your mid-career GPS to
whatever is next.
I hosted this free webinarbecause, over the last few weeks
, practically everyone I'vespoken to, be it a client,
networking connection orpotential client, has shared one
common theme they are worriedabout this job market.
(01:13):
They are fearful about losingtheir jobs, and so I'm sharing
about 30 minutes from thiswebinar with you this week,
where I talk about the currentjob market, what trends we're
seeing in terms of job growthand job decline, as well as
helping you create an actionplan to stay in control amidst
the chaos, confusion andconstantly changing landscape in
(01:37):
this job market.
We're seeing right now.
This webinar and episode willend with one statement.
You do not have to go throughthis alone.
I'm here to help you figure outwhatever is next and I invite
you to join my free emailcommunity at johnnarrellcom.
Remember, you will build yourmid-career GPS one mile or one
(02:00):
step at a time and how you showup matters.
I hope you enjoyed this episode.
We got this, so here's ourobjectives.
So by the end of our time today, my goal for us is that you
will have a clearer pictureabout the current job market and
what it means for you in yourcareer.
We're going to talk about howyou can potentially handle
(02:23):
things like reorganizations,restructuring and layoffs Not
fun.
If you've been a victim of thator been part of that recently,
you and I both know not a funtime and I have been there at
different parts in my career aswell.
I'm also going to help youdecide what it means for you to
keep your finger on the pulse ofwhat's happening within your
(02:44):
job and your industry andexplore tips to figure out what
might be next.
So, as I help my clients buildtheir mid-career GPS, it's all
about helping them prepareposition and promote who they
are and what they do, so theycan show up to find a job they
love, or love the job they haveIn this job market.
(03:06):
You may be currently employedand staying in that job may
absolutely be the best move foryou, and you may also decide
that maybe it's the right timefor you to step out and leverage
your talents and expertiseelsewhere.
Or if you have unfortunatelybeen laid off or terminated for
whatever reason and you areactively looking for a new job.
(03:26):
Are you playing the short game?
Are you playing the long game?
Do you need to find the bridgejob?
Whatever that is, I want tooffer you that I know you'll
make the best decision for youwith the circumstances that you
have.
So part of today, if you canwalk away with a plan or some
ideas absolutely important.
(03:47):
So at some point in time in yourcareer, you've probably said to
yourself I got the best jobever, I love what I'm doing, I
love where I work, I love thepeople I work alongside and I'm
making good money.
And so when those things happen, we ride this roller coaster,
if you will, in our career,where everything's going great
(04:09):
and then usually somethinghappens and, for whatever reason
, we kind of put the brakes onthings and go all right.
I don't like this so much.
Maybe you got turned down foran opportunity, or you were laid
off from your company, or yourindustry is pivoting, or your
company was acquired by anotherorganization At some point.
(04:33):
That euphoria dissipates ofhaving the best job ever, and
now you have to realisticallytake a look at where you are at
and what might happen for yourjob and how that may impact your
career.
So right now, two months intothis job market at 2025, I'm
(04:54):
seeing two huge themes.
One is all about stopping anykind of chaos or downfall or
impact that may be happeningwithin your industry or
organization.
We're looking for a sense ofcalm and saying, okay, things
seem a little more stable rightnow.
(05:15):
That's great.
The other impact is how it'simpacting your work-life balance
.
Now there are people out therewho say that they don't believe
in work-life balance and otherpeople who strongly advocate for
it.
You are the one who owns whatyour work-life balance is, but
it is understandable that in avolatile job market where people
(05:40):
are worried or fearful they maylose their job.
They may do a little extra.
They may let go of someboundaries that they previously
had, such as I'm not going towork late more than one night a
week, or I'm not going to workon the weekends.
And, as I've reflected on myown career path and the
(06:04):
different organizations whereI've worked, and also in talking
with my clients and followingthe news and things like that,
when your work-life balance getsupset, when it's disjointed in
some way and let me offer thatif you've been laid off from
your position, your work-lifebalance is already offset that
(06:29):
we may start to operate or showup from a place of fear and
while it's understandable, itprobably is not the best move
for you.
So I was recently on a podcastcalled Smashing the Plateau.
Wonderful networking connectionof mine, david Schreiner Kahn,
and he brought me on to talkabout the power of storytelling
(06:51):
in our careers and I coach myclients on helping them tell a
story from a place of value andservice that gets hiring
managers and recruitersinterested in who they are and
what they do, as opposed tofinding them interesting.
We're all interesting people,right, but in a job interview or
in a networking conversation,if I can keep them interested
(07:14):
and engaged, it's a much level,much different level of
interaction.
Well, on this podcast, davidasked me.
He said what are the things,john, that you're seeing, that
job seekers and employees rightnow in 2025, want, and I shared
two things stability andconsistency.
When mid-career professionalsand professionals in general
(07:38):
know that they're secure intheir job and industry and they
have consistency in what they'redoing, every day, other things
fall into place, and right now,what we're seeing is a lot of
anything but right, and so wehave to acknowledge sometimes
that when we see what othercorporations are doing and
(08:01):
organizations, that it cantrickle down and impact and the
thing here and why I put thisslide together for us today over
the last three weeks, whetherit be clients I've spoken to
people who've reached out to meon LinkedIn potential clients
I've spoken with have all saidthe same thing to me I don't
(08:22):
want to lose my job.
And if they did lose their job,what they're saying is how
quickly will it take me to finda new one?
So if that's you, you're notalone.
They see you.
We're all here for this similarreason, and so being worried or
(08:42):
scared is absolutelyunderstandable reason, and so
being worried or scared isabsolutely understandable, and
I've been the person who's hadto walk out of an office with
box in hand because I got let gofrom a job, and if you're
following social media, ifyou're reading the news or
following things, you might beseeing a lot more of this and,
(09:04):
in part, that is some of what'sgoing on right now.
Okay, so let's talk about what'scausing layoffs or job cuts.
First thing is budget.
When the head of anorganization is talking about
cutting costs and budget, weshould all be paying attention
to that, because if they'retalking about cutting costs,
(09:29):
they have to look at theoperational side and they have
to look at the staffing side.
Additionally, if there's ashift in leadership when new
leaders come into anorganization, they have an
agenda and in that agenda thereare things that are important to
them that they want to executeon.
(09:49):
When we look at organizationsthat have boards, let's say,
oftentimes a shift in leadershipis because that new leader is
aligning more closely with whatthe board wants or needs to
happen within that organization.
If you're seeing impact oncertain programs or a change in
(10:10):
direction with how a company ismoving, you should be paying
attention to that, and let'sacknowledge that larger
organizations can set the tonefor how other businesses and
organizations follow.
That's why it's important tostay informed and connected.
If we think back to the middleof 2024, amazon released a
(10:33):
statement saying that they weregoing to require all of their
office employees back to thework site five days a week, and
that sent shockwaves and ripplesthrough social media and
conversations being like well, Ilike working from home, I don't
want to have to do that commuteanymore.
(10:53):
And Amazon was very simplysaying look, this is what it's
going to be.
If you don't like it, go find ajob elsewhere.
No-transcript.
(11:16):
And in some cases I've hadconversations with people where
they say I'm really productiveworking remotely, I don't want
to be back in the office, but mycompany is forcing me to go
back into the office.
You then have to decide ifthat's the right fit for you.
So, according to BusinessInsider, several prominent
companies have announcedsignificant workforce reductions
(11:37):
Blue Origin's cutting 10% oftheir staff.
Chevron, in the oil and gasindustry, plans to eliminate 15%
to 20% of its jobs by 2026.
Kohl's, in the retail industry,is reducing 10% of its
corporate roles, and othercompanies like Meta, microsoft
and Starbucks have alsodisclosed plans for layoffs.
(11:58):
Early this morning I saw areport on the TV about a half
dozen other companies that havealready announced, and I did not
have time to put that in there.
Obviously, you can search forit, but this is the conversation
.
Conversation is we're cuttingcosts, we're cutting staff, and
so with that, the World EconomicForum has recently released a
(12:23):
report saying that AI androbotics will displace 85
million jobs by 2025, but theyalso projected to create 97
million new roles in areas likeAI development, data science and
human-AI collaboration.
Here are the jobs that AI willtypically replace by 2030.
(12:47):
This comes from Gaperio.
Look at the list here.
These are jobs or tasks thatcould potentially be automated,
and so that can cause fear inthis job market, because if you
fear that your job can beeliminated because of technology
or a machine, what do you do?
(13:09):
How do you pivot?
Where do you move to?
Right?
And so, as we dig in this alittle bit further, what we are
seeing is the most vulnerablejobs because of AI are those
repetitive and rule-basedfunctions Data entry, customer
service.
How many years have we beendealing with calling up an
(13:32):
organization and having to gothrough an automated menu?
Or now we go on websites and wehave to navigate through a chat
bot before we can actually talkto somebody.
As frustrating as it may be attimes, it does serve a
particular purpose, right, andso the last two bullets here pay
(13:52):
attention to Jobs with minimalneed for emotional intelligence
are most vulnerable.
So, for people whom I typicallyhelp, they're mid-level,
mid-career professionals,typically between the ages of 35
and 50, holding titles such asmanager to senior director.
(14:14):
The other thing that they allhave in common they have really
big hearts.
They care deeply about people,but when we're working together
and we start talking about wherethey're most valuable, I have
to get them to shift theconversation toward their
results.
Where can they measure theireffectiveness, and in doing so,
(14:38):
that can be a hard conversation.
Effectiveness, and in doing so,that can be a hard conversation
.
If you're looking at your resumeor your LinkedIn and you don't
have enough data metrics tohighlight where you've improved,
where you've saved, whereyou've impacted, or your resume
or LinkedIn simply reads like ajob description, you will be
(15:00):
left behind.
I hate to say it that way, butright now in this job market,
companies want to know whatyou're going to do for them.
They hold more cards than everin this job market right now,
and they want to know whatyou're going to do for them.
Yes, they care about you onsome level because they're going
(15:22):
to offer you a job at somepoint.
But they need to know whyyou're effective, why you're
impactful, where you're going tochange things, what results
you're going to do for them and,lastly, why should they care.
Why should they care about whatit is that you've done?
(15:44):
And if you're having theseconversations, say at a regular
check-in meeting or during yourperformance review, one of the
things you want to be payingattention to are some potential
warning signs, right?
So if your supervisor istalking about, I think we might
be going through a restructuringor reorganization, what's the
(16:04):
first question you want to knowIs this going to impact me?
Are there budget cuts?
Are you in a hiring freeze?
Right now, we know the federalgovernment's in a hiring freeze,
and what that means is, if youwere looking for a career right
now in civil service and youneed to find a job, you are not
going to find it directly in thefederal government because of
(16:27):
the hiring freeze.
Other companies are goingthrough that as well.
But what you also want to becareful of right now, especially
if you are currently employedand on a promotion track if you
are currently employed and on apromotion track, is there a
promotion freeze?
If you are positioned to getthat promotion within your
(16:47):
organization and you are beingtold.
Now is, quote, unquote, not thetime.
The question I'd offer to askis is there a promotion freeze
and you get the information youneed and decide what's gonna be
next?
Is your company losing money?
Are they losing clients?
Are people leaving, and are youable to find out through them
(17:10):
directly?
Are they leaving because theygot a better opportunity?
Are they leaving becausesomething happened, or are they
leaving because they were toldtheir job's in jeopardy and they
might be riffed reduction inforce, so they might think it
might be better to go out on myown right and go find that next
(17:33):
job.
Is there a change in leadershipRight?
Is that impacting some of thosedecisions?
This was another interestingdata point I want to share with
you, because LinkedIn Newsshared last week about I think
it was last week about this jobconfidence report, and so the
important parts here to pull outis that they rank job
(17:56):
confidence on a scale fromnegative 100 to positive 100.
And right now it is at plus 15.
It is near the lowest it hasbeen since they started this
survey, beginning with thepandemic, so almost five years
ago, in April of 2020,confidence among active job
(18:18):
seekers was at a low of plusnine.
Now, this is not rocket science.
We know that job confidenceusually spikes at the beginning
of the year.
People are out of the holidays,where, most of the time, we're
at the beginning of a newcalendar year, which is also the
fiscal year for some companies,and people are optimistic about
finding a new job.
(18:38):
But look at what this slidesays.
Okay, last month, the jobconfidence they determined was
at plus 20, already down 11points from where it was the
previous year, and thesefindings further reinforce that
(19:00):
job hunters are taking longer tosecure their next role.
I want to call this out becausethis is one where this can freak
a lot of people out, and Idon't want to catastrophize this
, but I want to look at thisvery realistically with you.
The survey also found that overhalf of job searchers have been
(19:22):
hunting for six months or more.
Hubspot came out with a reporta couple years ago that said, on
average, it was taking amid-career professional five
months to find a new job.
What that report also talkedabout what I have seen firsthand
with my own clients and I talkabout this with colleagues of
(19:44):
mine as well who are in the samespace.
The determining factor is howaggressive and proactive you are
in terms of finding that newjob.
That can dramatically shortenthe timeframe, given your
efforts and the industries andcompanies you are looking at.
(20:05):
So while this might be a littledaunting and say six months,
that doesn't mean that is yourstory either.
Depending on how well younetwork, how you are applying,
you are handling all thelogistics of the job search, a
lot can happen and it can changethat timeframe.
(20:28):
So when you're thinking aboutputting this plan together, it
is a shift between are you in areactive mindset or are you in a
proactive mindset?
Both can serve you verypositively here.
Both can help you withoutquestion.
But then we look at, okay, whatmight be next.
(20:50):
So in terms of mindset, I wantto offer you that circumstances
are neutral.
So what I mean by that is ifyou've been laid off, let go
terminated.
That's neutral.
So what I mean by that is ifyou've been laid off, let go
terminated.
That's neutral.
Until it is neutral, until youhave a thought about it.
(21:10):
Our brains are extremelydynamic tools and it's one of
the things I help my clientswith when we're in a coaching
relationship is that when welook at these circumstances,
they're neutral until you have athought about it.
Okay, you have a thought aboutit.
That thought creates a feeling.
That feeling creates an action.
That action creates a result.
There's a typo there.
(21:32):
I just noticed that.
But that's the.
I have to call that out becausethat's.
You know, I have an assessmentbackground and you proofread all
these kind of things, so I'llmake sure I go back and correct
that at some point.
But anyway, right.
The thing here is that Untilyou have that thought, no action
(21:53):
can happen.
Until you acknowledge thatthought, the feeling that comes
with it, you decide what actionyou want to take and that action
produces a result.
It's like navigating thislabyrinth or maze in this job
market right now, trying tofigure out where you're going to
(22:15):
land.
So when you think about thisaction plan, you may want to
take a screenshot here there's acouple more bullets coming up.
But assess your current careersituation.
Are you in the right role orwere you in the right role?
Are you with the right company?
Are you in the right industryand are you indispensable?
(22:38):
Are there conversations aboutyour value and performance?
Where people go?
Yeah, I don't want to lose them.
You think about what's next.
You may want to take thescreenshot here, right?
So what's next?
You're going to look at jobopportunities.
You're going to leveragerecruiters, job boards,
professional groups, yournetwork.
You're going to look at jobopportunities.
You're going to leveragerecruiters, job boards,
professional groups, yournetwork.
(22:59):
You're going to stay informedokay, track the industry's
trends and the companyperformance, at the same time
working on your mindset andconfidence, one of the things
that can we all do it right?
Like we can lie to ourselvesfirst.
Okay, like I'd love to thinkthat the bowl of ice cream I had
(23:21):
last night didn't have anycalories in it, but it did.
Okay, we have to take a veryrealistic look at what's
happening right now and what'shappening for you specifically,
and what's happening for you andyour industry.
So, as we continue to navigatethis uncertainty, I want to
(23:41):
offer you this Know thedifference between truth with
capital letters and truth withlowercase letters.
The truth with capital lettersare the truth that is
evidence-based and is factual.
We're not being skeptical.
We're not spec factual.
We're not being skeptical.
We're not speculating.
We're not catastrophizing.
Okay, we're looking at this jobmarket very objectively and
(24:07):
we're making plans to stayfocused.
You may take some time to workon skill development, while
continuing to focus on theevidence-based results you
continue to drive or have drivenin your previous role.
A lot of times when people arejob-seeking in markets such as
this, they'll default tothinking they have to close a
(24:30):
particular skill gap.
I want to offer you that.
That's an opportunity toobjectively look at it.
But leveraging your strengthsand why they are most valuable
to an organization is in yourwheelhouse.
It lets you network andinterview very differently
because of it, and so focus onyour strengths as you continue
(24:52):
to play the long game right.
The long game is what does thisjob get me and how does it set
me up for the next few down theroad?
But additionally, keep in mind,the focus here needs to be why
are you indispensable at work?
How are you having thoseconversations with your
management and leadership?
Your clients okay, stay aheadof changes.
(25:17):
The way you can do that arethings like continuing to build
your clients okay, stay ahead ofchanges.
The way you can do that arethings like continuing to build
your network.
And if you're saying toyourself I'm too busy to network
, do a calendar audit, look andsee if there isn't a way for you
to build in some time.
To do that, right now more thanever, developing a career
insurance strategy is important,right?
(25:41):
If, for any reason, you were tolose your job, how quickly
might you be able to pivot intosomething else?
Know what your brand is,maintain a very strong personal
and professional brand, and alsowork on building a personal
board of directors.
A personal board of directorsare those closest connections
(26:04):
and colleagues of yours who arethere to be the critical friend,
the advocate, the cheerleader,the champion, the advisor, to
help you navigate towardwhatever's going to be next.
And that's where support comesin.
Right, because, as you'rebuilding this action plan, if
you're not using Google Alertsright now, give it a try, okay,
(26:27):
you can obviously just searchfor it, but you're going to
input certain keywords that willgive you a daily update on
what's happening.
So, if you're looking forthings, say, within the tech
industry, the finance industryor like I, have one set up just
specifically for mid-career andI'll get a notification in my
(26:50):
inbox every night here's acouple things that Google has
pulled.
The reason why you want to dothat is it keeps you more
informed and may give you thingsto talk about, especially at
your next job interview.
When you go to build thatpersonal board of directors, ask
yourself who needs to be inyour circle, why do they belong
(27:10):
there, how will they help youand, lastly, how will you help
them?
Think of your personal board ofdirectors as the most intimate
or closest group ofprofessionals that are there for
you and you're there for them.
And, as you're building yournetwork, go beyond those first
(27:32):
level connections.
It's fair to say, a lot ofpeople are stressed right now,
but when you're networking andyou're connecting, always
remember that if people can helpyou, they will.
And as you go beyond thosefirst-level connections, it
might be something as simple asasking who do you know I should
(27:52):
be speaking with.
If you need to find a new jobright now, create the job search
strategy that is best for you,all right, and thinking about
who or what do you need.
So, when it comes to support,you might want a mentor.
A mentor is someone whotypically is internal to your
(28:15):
organization or within yourindustry and they're there to
provide support, guidance anddirection.
Mentorship is usually free ofcharge right, the mentor does
not charge, but I know somecases where people are like I
take my mentor to lunch once amonth as a thank you.
Okay, you might want to needsupport or seek support from a
(28:36):
recruiter.
You might want to need supportor seek support from a recruiter
.
Now, recruiters are typicallytasked with finding high-quality
talent for an organization ormultiple organizations.
They are paid by theorganization to secure that
talent.
Pay attention to that lastbullet point.
They are typically overloadedand overworked.
So the recruiting industry hasdramatically changed over the
(28:59):
last 10 years and in doing so,what happens is they're juggling
all these positions and it'svery easy to think well, I've
already talked to them, they'llkeep me in mind.
I want to offer you that, ifyou're working with building a
relationship with a recruiter,ask them if it would be okay for
(29:21):
you to shoot them an email oncea month, give them an update on
what's going on and check inwith them to see if they have
any positions you might be agreat fit for.
If they say, yes, you have theagreement and now you can play
without feeling like you got towalk on eggshells or be
trepidatious about I don't wantto bother them.
Make the agreements to buildthat relationship.
(29:42):
Who is typically looking forthose executive and senior level
positions?
And they are compensated by youas the individual.
So that is a service you payfor upfront, or you are paying
(30:06):
them a fee from your overallcompensation package once you
are in that job.
The last option here is a coach.
I know this very well.
Right Me as a coach.
As a career transition coach, Ihelp my clients navigate the
job search process.
I don't find jobs for myclients, I don't.
I mean, I do have people in mynetwork who I sometimes connect
(30:28):
them with, but for me as thecoach, it's about establishing
that ownership or accountabilitystructures to help them with
their job search and theirleadership development.
It's why my process of helpingbuild a mid-career GPS is what
I've seen work time and timeagain, of helping people
navigate toward whatever is next.
(30:48):
Now in a coaching relationship,there's a fee for that.
Typically, clients will doself-pay and in some cases they
are sponsored by theirorganization and their
organization pays for theircoaching.
Sometimes organizations havetheir own coach, and so you may
want to look at them first.
It might be a benefit as partof your overall compensation
(31:09):
package, but coaching, as I knowfirsthand, can certainly be
very, very helpful in thatregard.
What I want you to know here isthat you don't have to navigate
your career alone.
Thank you for listening to theMid-Career GPS Podcast.
Make sure to follow on yourfavorite listening platform and,
(31:32):
if you have a moment, I'd loveto hear your comments on Apple
Podcasts.
Visit johnnerrellcom for moreinformation about how I can help
you build your mid-career GPSor how I can help you and your
organization with your nextworkshop or public speaking
event.
Don't forget to connect with meon LinkedIn and follow me on
social at John Nerrell Coaching.
(31:53):
I look forward to being backwith you next week.
Until then, take care andremember how we show up matters.
Thank you.
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