WeCruitr Podcast

The start of this year has ushered in a new and unpleasant job market trend. Throughout mid-2022 to 2023, major companies announced widespread layoffs, eliminating thousands of roles all at once. The workforce is now experiencing a shift from large-scale layoffs to a more gradual and ongoing process. Under the cloud of looming layoffs, employees will confront a work environment that almost feels like the psychological torture of waterboarding—the century-old practice in which water is poured on the face of a prisoner, slowly driving them mad as they experience feelings of drowning and uncertainty as to when it will end.

For decades, the goal of corporate workers was to rise through the ranks of their organizations. They’d want to quickly shed their individual contributor roles and take up management opportunities. This was perceived as the traditional way to climb the corporate ladder of success. However, times have changed. A recent survey revealed that fewer people are wanting to become managers, as support for managers is plummeting. According to research, middle managers are the most exhausted employees at any level of an organization. In this LinkedIn Live, I will be speaking to Lia Garvin, ex-Google, Microsoft, Apple, bestselling author, TEDx speaker and a Top LinkedIn Voice, to discuss why this is. We will delve into why there is so much animosity toward managers, what makes a good/bad supervisor and how they could be better set up for success.

In this episode, I will be joined by Tuck Hauptfuhrer, founder and CEO of EarnBetter. EarnBetter is a promising new startup, backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Abstract Ventures, that focuses on helping job seekers land their dream jobs. The platform is a free AI job search assistant that can write resumes, draft cover letters and find job matches in minutes. We'll learn what inspired him to found this startup and the journey to funding. Tuck will also discuss why you should be leveraging this fast-growing technology in your job search, and walk us through how it works.

One of the biggest complaints about human resources and employers is the cold and impersonal manner in which they lay off workers. How a company communicates and facilitates job cuts is essential for demonstrating empathy and providing immediate support to employees during a difficult and emotional time, as well as maintaining trust with its remaining staff and anyone looking to join the organization in the future. In this LinkedIn Live, Valerie Vadala, an experienced global talent acquisition leader who served in executive roles at Wells Fargo, Shutterstock, Invesco, OppenheimerFunds, Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers, will be giving her take on this insensitive layoff trend. We'll be discussing the viral Cloudflare firing video and how companies could conduct themselves better during these layoffs!

Instead of shotgunning your resume out to employers, in this LinkedIn Live, I offer a more strategic approach to your job search, as spraying and praying will almost always backfire. You must have a daily system in place to be successful in your search.

With the best of intentions, people have been doling out really bad interview and career advice for years. Family and friends mean well, but they tend to offer career counseling without having an actual clue about the specific circumstances and nuances of the recipient’s unique situation. In this LinkedIn Live, I will give examples of misguided career advice and explain why you should not follow it.

The majority of millionaires are self-made, and they have accumulated their wealth through a combination of hard work, education and investing. The sectors that produce America’s wealthiest people include finance and investments. Despite the recent economic challenges, the U.S. economy has been growing steadily for years, creating new jobs and opportunities for people to earn more. The stock market was on a bull run for several years, which helped millionaires increase their wealth. A surge in entrepreneurship, including building tech startups, helped mint new millionaires. More people are getting college degrees, which is leading to higher-paying jobs and more opportunities for wealth accumulation.

Americans are becoming increasingly unhappy at work. BambooHR’s recent report benchmarking employee happiness revealed that job satisfaction has declined at a rate 10 times faster than in the previous three years. Separately, Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2023 Report found that most of the world's employees are quiet quitting, exhibiting record-high stress levels, and more than half of employees are actively or passively job-seeking. The convergence of financial turbulence, outdated management expectations and a lack of flexibility at work all contribute to declining employee satisfaction. The pandemic gave way to a reimagining of new possibilities for workers. As companies wrestle to adapt, it spotlights larger fundamental issues that have been present all along.

The New Year is a time for fresh starts and new beginnings. It's the perfect opportunity to take stock of your career and make some bold moves to reach your full potential. Reaching for ambitious career growth often requires calculated risk taking. While risky endeavors may flame out, they build invaluable resilience, while carrying career- changing rewards, if harnessed diligently. If you're looking to make it big in 2024, consider taking one or more of these audacious risks...

On Monday, both Spotify and Twilio announced plans to slash headcount at their respective companies. Cutting jobs around the holiday season is widely perceived as cold, brutal and lacking basic compassion. Workers are left jobless and without a steady paycheck. Instead of looking forward to some time to relax and enjoy being with their family and friends, the downsized employees must now scramble to write a résumé and seek new employment in a challenging environment for white-collar professionals. For some, it may mean fewer presents under the Christmas tree or opting out of holiday travel to visit family because it is no longer financially viable. In this LinkedIn Live, I will share with you what to do if you find yourself in this predicament this holiday season and how you can get a job quickly in the new year.