Advice on LinkedIn - Good, Bad, or...?

LinkedIn, you are a great social media platform. It's members too are (most of the time) mature, caring, responsible, and give good advice. But that last point, giving advice, sometimes can be a double edge sword. Let me tell you about my recent experience. I was recently restructured out of a job with a great company due to COVID-19, and safe to say it was difficult, not only financially but also emotionally. I really thought I would make it my long term home, alas, I remained hopeful in pursuing new opportunities.

While I was making connections on LinkedIn, I've also see a plethora of inspirational messages and posts. And that's when I saw it, two back-to-back posts that had conflicting messages. Post #1 really said the following:

"Never settle for any job! There is a perfect job out there for you, just keep looking. Know your worth and don't get low-balled by employers who are taking advantage of job seekers."

Okay, this post really gave me hope that the right job is just around the corner and I simply have to keep looking. Well the warm, fuzzy feeling remained for about a second as Post #2 poured a bucket of ice water over me. It went something like this:

"People should learn to take what's given and be thankful! Unemployed candidates are so ungrateful when approached with a job opportunity that doesn't fit all their criteria! Do they not know how competitive the market is right now? "

Hold up! This is getting confusing now, I'm savvy enough to take these advice with a grain of salt, but polar opposite ends of the spectrum? Which way do I lean?

On one end, I know I should be entertaining job opportunities that really excites me and I should ask for fair compensation. However, reality proves that it is a very competitive landscape especially in the recruitment profession. So does that mean I should entertain jobs that are outside my profession and take a pay cut just to work? There has to be a middle ground with all the advice and being the voice of reason, here is my two cent on the matter.

It all comes down to scarcity, or Supply and Demand. It was present before COVID and it only became more pronounced during COVID. In the Toronto region where I reside, the job market was booming. As a recruiter, I saw first-hand how the talent pool was drying up. We were connecting with candidates and had 2-4 job opportunity to 1 candidate, often enough, the candidate themselves would have another 2-4 job opportunities through other recruitment firms as well as directly from companies. There was such a scarcity of talent, that lesser qualified candidates were getting jobs one or two levels above their last employment. Of course, compensation also skyrocketed. It was crazy! So what now? Although I no longer can feel the pulse of the market, I have experienced the shift in scarcity as a job seeker. Fewer postings, recruitment firms that are scraping by, and very picky hiring managers. The pendulum has gone too far one way and now it swung to the opposite end.

So what does this have anything to do with finding a middle ground advice? It has everything to do with it.

As a candidate, you must understand how scarce your skill set is in the current market, in other words supply, as well as the abundance of the jobs in your capacity, or demand. Using myself as an example, HR and third-recruitment firms are probably not very in-demand right now due to hiring freezes, and knowing that many other agencies had also laid off staff, it doesn't give a lot of bargaining power to the candidate. Conversely, if you are a candidate that is one of a small group of people with a particular skill or background that is in demand, then you are probably not too worried about losing bargaining power in this job market.

So does this mean job seekers with lower bargaining power should settle for something short of their ideal job? Perhaps, the key determinant, in my opinion, is the individual's financial situation. If you are running out of funds to meet basic needs, then the situation is dire enough to take any job. Beggars can't be choosers. Even if you are well and good with your finances, I would still recommend keeping an open-mind and be flexible with your job search criteria.

This means:

1. Location: Unless you have obligations that absolutely prevent you from going farther for work, at least take the time to listen

2. Compensation: Taking a job that is slightly lower in salary doesn't have as much of an impact as you may think, after taxes and deductions it's small enough to be negated by lifestyle adjustments. It goes without saying, don't take a job that pays minimum wage when you were making $150k. Just have a bottom line that suits your needs and don't get hung up on a specific number

3. Job title: Job titles is a measure of seniority but also a gauge for the scope of job function. Companies differ in the way titles are assigned so don't get too rigid about having the title you had before. That being said, you probably shouldn't entertain a analyst role if you were at VP or director level.

4. Job function: This area gets a bit tricky, although it is ideal to find a similar role to what you did before, you would be overlooking some good opportunities if you are too narrow minded. A job that requires similar skill set or experience applied to a different field may be a good alternative. As an example, Talent Acquisition specialists performs many of the similar job functions as agency recruiters.

Despite everything that's said, here and all over LinkedIn, take all advice with a grain of salt. Everything is well in moderation, know your own situation and figure out what is best for you.

That's all folks!