Now’s the time to rethink your career

Much of the Western Hemisphere has been coping with the “Great Resignation” in the past 18 months. Recently, I heard someone jokingly remark: “The War for Talent is over. Talent won!”

Just not in China.

In the past few years, job seekers have piled into white hot sectors of China’s economy, like peer-to-peer fintech, the internet and ecommerce, and of course, real estate and the stock market.

Right now, though, these sectors are correcting, crumbling, or even collapsing. Companies are reaping the consequences of placing people into roles that were too much for their capabilities, without regard to cost or how they fit into the organization. To lure and retain talent, they doled out inflated titles to people whose background and qualifications didn’t match the job descriptions.

This era is over. The demand-supply balance for talent has been upended, with resumes flooding the market from people who job-hopped and quickly jumped ship for that next big role or irresistible pay bump. Layoffs and salary readjustments are sweeping across the country, from top executives to young graduates.

According to the Chinese Ministry of Education, a record 10.76 million college students are set to graduate in China this year.

Quoting a survey by the online jobs website Zhaopin, the South China Morning Post reported that in the first quarter of 2022, as the pandemic expanded and the economy slowed, more than 60 percent of China’s graduating class said they were “experiencing intense competition,” while about 55 percent had lowered their job expectations. There are even stories of companies rescinding offers from fresh graduates before their start dates.

For experienced hires, recruiting managers are now scrutinizing resumes like never before. Track record counts. Experience is essential. Loyalty matters. Power has shifted from job-seekers to employers.?

For those of you caught up in this maelstrom, now’s the time to focus on fundamentals. Are you building real expertise, enduring capabilities, and a demonstrable track record? ?Or are you just shopping around looking for the next big title at the next hot company?

Resumes come across my desk from people who’ve skipped from Kuaishou to Ant Financial and then Douyin within just a few years. ??Sure, when the market is hot and offers are flooding in, a role change can give you a bump up in compensation and make you feel pretty good about yourself.

But now, with COVID-19 putting the squeeze on growth and economic challenges on the rise, taking a more deliberate approach to setting and pursuing career goals is becoming a priority. For people playing roles they are unqualified for, or whose jobs have changed shape and scope altogether due to rapidly changing business priorities, they are having to rethink their careers.

If this speaks to you, I’d recommend using extra time you might have ??now to think hard about where you are in your career, and what you should be doing to bring you closer to achieving your goals. Are you building the fundamental skills ?you’ll need to grow professionally and prove your value to employers?

What’s essential? Number one is core capabilities. A lot of people found themselves jumping around in various marketing or sales positions, but never built a deep level of expertise in any one particular domain. Take digital marketing - everyone seems to know something about it, but no one seems to know it well. Now is the time to build deep domain expertise.

Developing transferable functional skills can help you land your next role, and to a certain extent, “industry-proof” your resume.

At the same time, take a closer look at your resume. Jumping around every 18 months and taking on inflated titles is no longer in vogue. Having a “hot company” on your resume used to be attractive. But employers today are looking for loyalty, perseverance, and a demonstrable ability to see a project through to completion. They are more likely to pass over candidates who get distracted by the next big thing.

Finally, use this time to rethink your career, not only in terms of what you want to do for the next 18 months, but also where you want to be in the next 5 years. Get crystal-clear about the type of career you want to build, identify ways to broaden your professional network, and acquire the skills you need to become more versatile and resilient.

This may not only help you get through this challenging bout with COVID-19, but also raise your chances of success if, and when, the next crisis hits.

I'm the Managing Partner of McKinsey & Company’s Greater China Practice. Please follow my newsletter or reach out and connect with me.