2023 was a wild year for the job market, particularly in the tech world. It’s been fascinating to witness the cycle of power between employers and talent this year. While it’s been a ride since 2020 (mass job cuts and reorgs, the Great Resignation), 2023 has been a year of layoffs and extended job searches. I’m extremely optimistic about the future of the tech job market and job creation, but have paid close attention to the trends in 2023 that shaped where we are now.
I’ve heard whispers from friends at all levels, dug through both quantitative and anecdotal data, and tried to make sense of what will help people and organizations thrive in a volatile market.
Here’s my ~ wishlist ~ of things that need to go in 2024:
Forced Return to the Office
Replace with: Thoughtful, intentional employee and customer-driven decisions
We’re past the point of debating what’s better. In-person and remote work both have clear benefits based on the job’s needs and employee preferences. My advice to org leaders is to listen to your employees and be thoughtful about the functional design of your work environment. 2020 taught us to be adaptable, and we may see shorter lease periods for startups and NGOs until they discover what their culture requires. We’ll have conversations about how to best serve caregivers, parents, team members who are immunocompromised, and more. We’ll see co-working space innovation and specialized events for remote workers who want to network in person after their remote day job. Surveying your teams and being agile with your strategy will avoid unnecessary costs.
Talent won’t be attracted to commuting for the sake of it, but if they are incentivized with real benefits that build your team dynamics, they’ll appreciate it more than ever. Some jobs simply require in-person work and always will, but those organizations will have to consider what sets them apart as great places to work compared to more flexible options. With non-linear careers and lifelong learning becoming normalized, talent will have more leverage to be intentional with jobs that work for them.
On the flip side, candidates will have to be just as adaptable and open. Job functions like client-facing work might require in-person presence to beat out competitors, and that’s great. Many people thrive in these environments and benefit from the human interactions. We can also expect to see more attention focused on performance metrics on an individual level. With people flaunting their remote lifestyles on platforms like TikTok, companies will not be so forgiving to those logging off early and taking advantage. There are debates to be had about where that line is if you’re meeting your performance goals, and they’ll be had this year. I’m in the camp of clear output goals and responsiveness outweighing timestamps because we should trust our team members to exceed goals while managing their time efficiently.
Hunger Games Hiring
Candidates are exhausted and so are recruiting teams.
There are too many qualified, talented individuals in the tech job market right now, and they’ll remember what it was like to be on extended job searches. The jobs are out there, but one point of failure here is the actual recruitment process.
Here are some changes companies can make to hire great talent faster:
Revamp your job descriptions. Do proactive recruiting with real profiles and identify your ideal candidate persona, and match it to your JD. I’ve had too many hiring leaders tell me they disregard the “years of experience” piece (for junior roles), so let’s rethink that part. This sounds easy enough, but companies forget to match the salary part, too. You’re not going to find a top candidate by undercutting the salary and if you do, why would they stay once the next offer comes around? Candidates, this goes both ways: be flexible and well-researched when you share that number.
Invest in your recruiting teams. Recruiting is lean right now which reflects $$ struggles, but remember that recruiters are usually the front door to your organization. If they’re swamped (backlogged, not responding to candidates, clearly struggling in interviews), this reflects poorly on the organization from a talent attraction perspective.
Thoughtfully design and diversify your talent attraction structure. What jobs absolutely MUST require a 4 year degree? Which ones are skills-based, where you can funnel in junior talent and custom-train them to your needs? Do you need 20+ junior job postings when you can instead have a general application funnel? What succession planning operations do you have in place to get your mid-senior level teams out of the weeds so they can stop doing junior-level work? Apprenticeship programs absolutely crushed it last year and I can’t wait to see more this year.
Be real about cover letters. I understand the benefit of them and coach people to write concise ones, but can we agree to stop asking for them just for the sake of it? I HATE THEM. If our ideal candidate is on their 200th application, do we really need a letter from them or can we just check out their resume/portfolio? I begrudgingly still see the value in a cover letter (or paragraph), but let’s be thoughtful about what we’re asking for.
Candidates, I didn’t forget about you. One challenge I hear from hiring leaders is that some candidates want to start from the top, and this mismatch can prevent people from getting offers they’re qualified for. Employers WANT to hire you! Make sure you’re realistic and researched about your salary expectations for your experience level so that you don’t turn an employer away. Once you’re on the job, you have to get your hands dirty on an individual level before you’re set up to move into more tenured responsibilities.
Irresponsible Hiring
I remember exactly which companies were the first to make headlines in 2020 for the mass layoffs from March-June. I also remember one whose executive team took pay cuts before considering layoffs. Which one do you think inspired loyalty from their top talent?
I, like others, clocked which teams cut staff right before and after the holidays this year. Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter what the rationale was when future talent is doing their research before applying. The Great Resignation (which included companies struggling to lock in top talent) came right after the mass layoffs in 2020.
So, how does this relate to irresponsible hiring?
In 2021 & 2023, I cringed at all of the “~ Growth Mode ~ “, “#Hiring 10X”, “High-growth”, bragging that was happening in LinkedIn bios (VC bros, I’m looking at you). The cringe turned into disgust once those bios were quietly removed and replaced with layoff announcements.
Let’s stop “disrupting”… and start accounting. No more bragging about growth to compete with each other when it just means layoffs happen EOY. Irresponsible hiring is not only damaging to people’s livelihoods, but to the brands themselves who are guilty of it. I’m excited to see some innovation in this space this year. What could that look like? Services and consultancies that help startups and investors strategically map their org structure over time. More contract opportunities for my HR friends. More Glassdoors that provide transparency for candidates who want to be loyal to organizations long-term.
Slow down so your org can speed up. And candidates: slow hiring is OK! I have been so appreciative of the hiring partners I’ve worked with this year who have paused hiring efforts. We need to appreciate & celebrate caution in this area because it helps people KEEP the jobs they are hired for. I’ll take a hiring freeze over mass layoffs any day. Employers: Remember your teams appreciate being part of the problem-solving process for you. I’ve heard some great stories about teams stepping up and even becoming net-new revenue-generators during hard times. Cost-cutting is inevitable, but your people will remember how the org approached solving for that.
Lastly… CEO Celebs
All I’ll say is this. I know/love/admire many CEOs and think they personally should be famous, but it’s not part of the job. 2024 will bring some reckoning to how brands approach using their leaders as part of their marketing strategy due to the notoriety of some famously failed CEOs recently. Candidates tell me as far as talent attraction goes, they’re excited to work for organizations that market mission, impact, and employee experience.
Out with the old, in with the new…
My next post will feature the INs of 2024: Trends I’m excited to see and suggestions I have for talent and employers.
It’s important to call out the outs, the trends that need to go for our market to progress and bring about a better balance between organizations and talent. You need each other! We always see the demand/power dynamic swing back and forth, but by focusing on a great candidate/employee experience, we’ll see people thrive, land jobs, and create more opportunities this year.
Thank you for reading! & Please share this with someone who could benefit.
What am I missing? What trends do you think we’ll see in the market this year?