Good news and bad news on hiring today

The Elevator Pitch:

An opening thought on the state of job searching right now

Oh hello. What do you answer when asked, “do you want the good news first or the bad news?”

I always start with the bad news, saving the good news for dessert while eating a big pile of crap for dinner. That’s the format I’ll follow in this newsletter—we’ll feed you the bad news up front, then wash it down with some advice and pro tips that should make the job market a little more palatable.

It's a little frosty out there

2024 has had a rough start to the year for workers in tech and finance. In 12 short days Google has laid off nearly 1,000 employees, Amazon a few hundred, Citigroup 20 thousand, Discord 17% of their staff. Not even Pixar was spared! To infinity & a new job.

During a zero interest rate environment, companies borrowed money at little cost and over-hired assuming that Covid-level consumer demand would be the new baseline. Of course, the people who paid the price for those decisions are not the ones who made those decisions.

It’s a tough job market. There is no question about it. But it’s been way worse as recently as a year ago. Over 400,000 layoffs happened in tech in 2022 and 2023, and 4,500 jobs have been lost since the start of the new year. Not all rainbows and sunshine, but not unprecedented. You got this.

I realize “It’s been worse before” is zero consolation when you’re going through a job search. You have to internalize that applying to jobs is a numbers game. You have to consistently apply for 2-3 months using the right tools. Just keep knocking out job applications and messages for networking calls.

If you got laid off: Know that this is not an indication of your quality or worth, it’s an indication of mismanagement. It feels really bad, there is no way around that. But it happens, and your career will grow and evolve despite it happening. Try to focus on the things you can control. 

Seasons, they are a changing

Is there a best time of year to look for a job? It turns out, the answer is yes.

It all comes down to budgeting. You want to apply for a job at a company when they're spending their allocated budget on hiring (hard to believe, I know). Most companies finalize their annual budgets in September or October. It turns out that companies act like I do, and don't work over the holidays. Looking at the trend over time in Google searches related to "post job", April & May get ~200% more searches than during the holidays!

In the post-holiday fog, January can be slow on the job market, but then, job openings ramp up rapidly in March through May as companies start trying to hit their hiring goals. Of course, there are two sides to every coin. It can benefit you to zig when everyone else zags. While there are fewer job openings in the summer, there can also be less competition.

Ultimately, don't let something out of your control determine your career. While there might be marginally better odds of landing your dream job at different times of the year, if you see a role you want, go for it and apply! Don't let your dreams stay dreams. 

Practical tip: ChatGPT Interview prep

A motto I live by: make yourself look foolish in private so you don't look foolish in public. This was a hard lesson learned only after many bad interviews.

Luckily, with ChatGPT, we can make ourselves look foolish in private to our heart's content!

The video above breaks down our process for interview prep step by step, but in short:

1. Prompt ChatGPT with your background. For example, "I'm a digital marketer with 6 years of experience in B2B SaaS".

2. Prompt it to give you a sample interview question one at a time. You're going to record your answer on your phone. Don't think about it, just start answering as soon as you see the question.

3. Review the tape. Now the painful part, review your answers and put yourself in the mind of the hiring manager. Give an honest accounting of how you can improve that given answer.

4. Keep practicing. After 1-2 hours of this exercise you'll realize your answers are getting better and you don't really get stumped anymore.

With interview prep, your goal is to build your confidence knowing you can get through just about any question. The more questions you practic and the fewer "unknowns" on the day of the interview, the less stress you'll have and the better you'll perform. You got this!

Wall of shame: The worst interview questions

We’ve heard our fair share of interview horror stories over the years. It’s wild what some employers think they can ask, or think they want to know.

Ending this newsletter with something a little lighter, here’s a collection of bad interview questions submitted by our readers:

 "If you were a kitchen appliance, which kitchen appliance would you be?"
- Justin G., NYC

 "Why in the world do you think you're qualified for this job?"
- Taisha M., Toronto

 "Do you believe in God?"
- Gerard M., Houston

 "What are the top 10 reasons you want to work here?"
- Rahul T., Miami

 "Would you take 50% less money than you're making now for this role?"
- Karla D., London

At BeamJobs, we’re building tools that make applying for jobs the right way easier than ever. Have you tried the Pro plan yet? It has everything you need to land interviews, from actionable AI-powered resume suggestions to unlimited AI-generated cover letters. Try it for just $2.99 for two weeks.