iLocatum

Timing is....everything, and 2025 graduates have terrible...timing. It's not their fault, but destiny doesn't care. Entering the worst job market in 15 years for new grads, what should they do? Persevere and adapt. Acknowledge the situation is rough, but don't despair. Keep applying, networking relentlessly on Linkedin, but with fresh eyes. It sounds cliche, but these are the moments that make a person. This is an opportunity; people who haven't gone through this will never be the person you can be. Also realize the market is changing. In the military, they say the problem is leaders are always preparing for the last war. Leaders in education are the same, but much worse and thus many young graduates feel betrayed for not having been properly prepared. AI is taking over entry level tasks in almost all fields, and mid level tasks in many others, at the same time the economy is going through an expected, albeit painful correction. What to do? I'd like to hear from others in the comments who've been through many cycles like this. One thing to realize, those in revenue generating positions will aways be in demand. A lot of turmoil we are seeing in the job market now is just a discovery period, and we are on the way toward finding out what the market really wants and demands. Consider sales. Look at strong industries (ideally connected to your background/degree), find well performing companies in those industries and apply for sales positions. If you have any talent and work hard, you can move the needle. Big needle movers get rich, but even moderate needle movers will always be in demand.

AVOID THIS MANAGEMENT MISTAKE: Everyone tells you to focus on the process to achieve the goal...they're WRONG. This was initially a surprise to me. Consultants, experts, the orthodoxy all push process. And who was I going to believe, them or my lying eyes??? When you're leading a team, the goal is paramount. The process should be solid, but the purpose must tower over it. Otherwise, you and your team will hide inside the process, with accountability, growth, and scale forever just out of reach.

Of all the headlines you always thought you'd NEVER see, in the NEW YORK TIMES of all places, it went up a few hours ago: "Trump is Winning His Trade War. What Will That Mean for the Economy?" Both Japan and Europe have accepted the 15% tariffs, it's looking like the predicted panic has been avoided. The Jolts jobs number come out later today, and are expected to be down a bit, so there is work to do. But the upside for the economy is that a sense of calm and normalcy may return to the market, so we can settle into the calm 'back to business mentality' usually seen when a new administration takes office. Other headwinds still exist. The everything bubble (stocks, real estate, crypto, etc) will likely need to correct at some point. But even this will be good for people without significant assets, i.e. the majority of Americans. But the big questions and worries touted by the 'economists,' over tariffs: that they are a relic, and can't work in today's economy (even though every other country uses them forcefully), are seeming to be proven unfounded as we move into this new paradigm.

When hiring (and unfortunately more so after hiring), you'll notice two kinds of people... Those who primarily spend their time working, doing, building... leaving it all on the field. And those who spend their time and energy creating plausible deniability for when things go wrong. Equal IQ, appearance, degrees, skills, but very different people. The extent to which you're better off surrounding yourself with the former than the latter is impossible to overstate. Thus, learning to distinguish between the two may be the most important skill of all.

If ‘Stay Calm And Trust The Process’ were a video… 

Fastest shrinking jobs due to AI, automation, and robotics...what patterns do you see? A lot of the roles are clerical, entry level; some others are more creative, customer facing jobs. You don't see positions in skilled labor, the trades, etc. AI will ultimately affect lower level white collar jobs the way outsourcing in the 90's affected manufacturing positions. So the bad news is obvious; lower level white collar positions face extreme headwinds. But the silver lining is this: AI is not truly reliable. And more importantly, it doesn't 'care.' For 100% percent reliability, you need a human at the end of the process, able to say YES or NO, and sign their name to it. It's always been that way, and that's not changing. So even in fields which are getting decimated, there will fewer people, but the ones who remain will have more important, lucrative positions. I'll link to the Visual Capitalist article in the comments.

NEVER TRUST SOMEONE WITH A CLEAN DESK... And remember that someone can be you. If things are perfect, you're not doing enough. Mistakes are proof that's your pushing the envelope. If you're playing basketball and go 12 for 12, you're only reaction should be 'why aren't I shooting more?' I'm not suggesting you need to work harder, just that you loosen up. You'll naturally get more done, and have more fun doing it.

One of the greatest minds in history, 200 IQ Sir Issac Newton went broke the old fashioned way: via greed, envy, etc. Your intelligence, degrees, and work experience are all important; but they won't help you if you're jealous of others. To remain solvent (and happy), stay humble, and don't count other people's money.

50/50 Decision HACK.... First, ask yourself is this truly 50/50? Some decisions are, in which case flip a coin. Other times you have your foot on the scale. Be honest with yourself to explore how much bias you have on this issue. If it's significant, it's now easy to go the other way. The key is to recognize your bias and factor it into the process, rather than imagining you have no bias.

MOST IMPORTANT BUSINESS SKILL: The ability and willingness to use this two letter word often... NO. That's it. You have to be comfortable saying NO. In order to grow and expand your business, you must be constantly exploring ideas, meeting with people, with your top of the funnel in every aspect on steroids. And in the vast majority of these exploratory meetings, you'll need to say NO. If you're not comfortable with that, you'll start practicing avoidance, and miss out on game changing opportunities. So explore more options, take more meetings and get comfortable saying NO.