Doom. Gloom. A baseball bat. A broom. What is happening? Why is it so hard to land a job right now?
Is it you? Is it your lack of skills?
Phew.
Take a deep breath and relax. Life is a bit wonky right now and we are in the middle of a major transition in the design and researcher industries right now.
Now, you may have heard a lot about over hiring. Not true. You may also hear that during the pandemic our industry was saturated. Also not true.
The reality is that this is a cycle and no amount of speculation is going to reveal the truth of why it is happening. A better question is, do you even need to know why? I feel what you really want to get to the bottom of is, when will I get a job? You might also want to know, when will things get back to normal for me?
We will get to all that. Let’s talk about cycles first.
Cycles
Economic cycles happen. These have happened before. These have happened in tech before. Before you get bored and dismiss me, there’s a silver lining here. This one is almost over. Things slump. It’s okay. Industries tank. Think of these as some sort of metaphorical hurricane that wipes out your city but luckily, doesn’t last forever. Telling you this does not make your life easier. I know. I do, however, hope to open your eyes and help you see that this is a temporary blip on your radar.
When will this cycle end?
We are in an election year. You should plan to hold hard until February or March of 2025.
A Normal Life Again
When will your life get back to normal? Don’t plan on that. You need to engage in any type of constant cash flow that you can. This is life’s way of cueing you in to change everything. Here’s a great starter pack plan for your future:
Add additional income sources
Live below your means
Create assets
Accumulate assets
Invest in an asset like rental homes or a candy store
If you have military benefits activate them now
Build a strong network
Invest in your network
Invest in your local community
Move money to secure places
Make a will
Invest in your health
Life should not be normal again. When the next one hits, you’ll need to be ready and the list above is a great way to start.
What do I do?
Hold! Hold like no tomorrow. Find the nearest palm tree and do not let go. STAY IN YOUR FIELD. Do not pivot. No matter how much you really want to. You cannot quit. This is a trap. If you give up, you’ll take all the years of knowledge you have and dump it down the drain. The reality is some of you will pivot and quit. That’s okay. What is not okay is for you more senior folks to quit. You must hold.
During the Storm
While you are holding you need to do many things to stay in the game.
Here’s a list:
Write articles
Write a book
Read books
Create podcasts
Create videos
Teach classes
Study
Go back to school
Create your own company
Take on contract work or freelance jobs
Work on projects with friends
work on passion projects
During the storm the craziest — but best —- thing to do is act like nothing’s wrong. This distraction method is extremely healthy and highly beneficial. The reason is, you need to continue to be active and practice your craft. You don’t have time to be sad or cry. Trust me. You should be extremely busy every day.
Networking
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know, you need a network. But, that’s not really my message. Networking is great but if you found yourself in a slump, that means your current network is weak. Aim higher. Talk to people of authority. In this time, talking to people who can’t help you is not a smart use of your time. For example, building a strong relationship with a director of design is a lot better than building a strong relationship with an intern at a company. This sounds obvious but when you network, only network for jobs. This means you only deal with check writers and decision makers. If you think it will help start building a new network that is strong and can move mountains.
Applying for Work
This is going to sound crazy but stop applying to online applications. Unless you have a tight resume and stellar set of case studies, you are not going to have a breakthrough moment with applications. Even still, your chances are so low, there is no longer any point in spraying and praying.
Applications are the most dehumanizing thing to ever happen to us. So, a better approach is dealing directly with hiring managers and skipping the line. This is easier said than done but the key here is shifting your focus to effective measures to land a job. Focus on landing the interview first as opposed to landing a hope that you may get a screening call back. This is the cycle that kills your morale and will most certainly make you want to pivot.
But, I am Required to Apply to Jobs
Okay. You may be required to apply because you’re on unemployment. Sure. Do it but take a different approach. Be extremely selective and go for jobs you really want. This way, if you breakthrough and land the job, it’s one you can pour your whole heart into.
But I have a family
Welcome to the club. I also have a family and I am telling you all this from experience. The most important thing you can do for your family is preserve your career and not go crazy. These tips may sound absolutely bonkers but they come from a place of wisdom. You have to HOLD! Be patient. Unless this is a gilded age, we should be coming out of this soon. Besides, your family will support you in this rough time.
Supply and Demand
The truth is there are no jobs. Right now, society has curbed user experience because they are terrified of losing money and equate our work to a luxury. This is good. After the results come in, they’ll see that this was a grave mistake. UX and research are not luxuries. They are must haves. A lot of companies tried to forgo design and ended up having to pay, big time, in the end.
Support Each Other
Now is not the time to horde information, jobs, work, or love. Help each other and build communities to have even stronger resources for the next slump.
Be a Giver
If you find yourself at a food bank handing out food, good! If you end up giving your last 100 dollars to a designer who needs to buy a software good. If you give all of your statistics books to a fellow researcher, out of the kindness of your heart, to help them level up; awesome! This is your time to shine! Help people become better. This is the time to be supportive.
In Conclusion
I’m old. Really fluffing old. My first rodeo was in 1999, when I saw people leaving offices in droves and saw the magnitude and cataclysmic destruction of the dot com bust. It was absolutely horrible. This is not my first rodeo. My messages comes from a place of love, faith, hope, and trust. I want you to know that you can get through this. Remember who you are.
You guys built Uber from the ground up. You guys built AirBnB from a silly powerpoint deck. You guys created Waze, Apple Maps, Dropbox, and Discord. You are a dynamo. Right now, you’re a humble dynamo. Tomorrow, you’ll be back in the saddle. So, be patient and keep your eyes on the prize.
Jonathan Bowman is a San Francisco based Product Design Leader, and accomplished author, with over 20 years of UX experience. He has worked with companies like, AT&T, Verizon, Amazon, Spotify, Arlo, TiVo, NETGEAR, and Virgin. He is currently listening to 🎧 this song, on repeat. He swims every morning, religiously, and plays sitar.
Follow Jonathan on Twitter or feel free to drop him a line. You can also find him on Dribbble or LinkedIn.