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WHAT IS THE CROWDSOURCED NEGATIVITY CLOUD OVER LINKEDIN?

Here’s what the cloud looks like:

• A growing segment of unemployed, underemployed, and aggrieved job seekers are writing and endorsing emotion-driven posts to rewrite the reality of the job market in their experience’s image.
• The same group is also blame-throwing and attacking those responsible for their joblessness, such as employers and recruiters on this platform, which lacks facts beyond negative experiences.

To quote Angie Stone’s song “No More Rain? (In This Cloud):

My sunshine has come, and I’m all cried out, and there’s no more rain in this cloud

Put bluntly, we must stop supporting adults on this platform, shouting that everything about the job market and employers is broken, except their job search strategy, and taking responsibility for their current state.

READERS, YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT IT IS

Social media is susceptible to humans being transparent, raw, and empathetic.

?However, recent posts indicate that negative crowdsources and supporters are becoming too comfortable playing the job search victims card instead of seeking solutions.

I’m observing the rampant, self-serving underside of sympathy coupled with a demand for job search support while throwing up their hands and lamenting that they don’t know what to do.

Every adult must unbung their lives and do more than anyone else in that pursuit, including not dumping on people struggling like them.

Yes, we are all struggling with something in this new economy, even if it’s keeping our mouths shut when something good happens for fear of backlash.

I remember LinkedIn was the exact opposite.

So, let’s get back to doing what we do on this platform: shining the fact light into dark places for discourse and upskilling all involved.?

LET’S UNBRAID FACTS FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IN THE JOB MARKET

KPMG wrote the following on its website bottom lining their findings titled, “Ratio of Job Openings to Job Seekers Is Flat: Job openings delined in good industries”:

Job openings, hirings, and quits continue to trend downward from peaks in 2021 and 2022. Though January readings for the PCE and CPI came in hotter than expected, the new JOLTS data points to a continued normalization of the labor market. Economic theory and empirics suggest a lagged effect of a rapid increase in the key interest rate on the real economy.

Though the US labor market defied expectations in 2023, job openings and wages cooled. We continue to be on that normalization trajectory. Progress may be slow, but it still is progress. This is good news for the Federal Reserve and its ability to engineer a soft landing, though risks on multiple fronts remain present for the rest of 2024.

SAY WHAT NOW?

We’ve all seen a massive uptick in posts demanding connections, compassion, kindness, and other support. After all, they are entitled, and it’s the right thing for everyone else to do, right?

Add a somewhat self-serving skewed view of how compassion works; we end up with individuals attempting to reshape reality, avoid sole accountability, and transfer welfare/well-being responsibility to others on this platform.

It’s time we deal with the elephant in the room that’s pooping all over our browsers – daily!?

#1 - THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM – STOP BLAME-THROWING

The illusion that everyone else is selfish, unkind, and short-sighted is victim thinking that serves no one.

Most people have a thousand and one problems, and some random person’s outcry for job support isn’t one of them.

If we think our unemployment or job search needs supersede everything and everyone else’s needs, we need a severe reality check.

And, wholesale and generalized attacks on the recruiter, employer, contingency staffing firm, hiring managers, and aligned parties, collectively the heart of all employment activity, MUST stop - now.

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#2 - BE NICE TO THE HIRING AUTHORITIES – THEY ARE PEOPLE WITH PROBLEMS TOO

Our colleagues and hiring authorities are people with problems, and they don’t need the negative press to force their hands to do what is WITHIN their control or take it on the chin for things outside their control.

Don’t forget that people in the hiring machine have also lost their jobs, businesses, and income.?

Forbes Business Council article, “Human Resources and Recruiters Are Getting Axed,” written in 2023.

According to the?Wall Street Journal, while other areas within tech companies saw headcount reduced by 10% to 20%, companies?downsized 50% of tech recruiters. Meaning fewer qualified headhunters are actively recruiting.?Protocol?reported, “Tech companies that have conducted layoffs this year?eliminated around half of their HR and recruiting staffers,” according to a?survey?from interviewing.io.

#3 - HIRING AUTHORITIES MAY NOT BE OUT TO LUNCH – THE MAY BE OUT OF WORK

When organizations have layoffs, talent acquisitions team members get laid off, which puts these colleagues in the same boat as others:

• Unemployed and looking for new opportunities
• Watching their peers pull double duty filling vacancies
• Wondering if AI implementations might make returning to radically different
• Dealing with economic loss
• Unable to follow up with applicants or candidates because they no longer work for an employer
• Priorities have shifted with their former employer, making the former recruiter look like a jerk or ghost.
• Dealing with their personal and professional hang-ups after losing their jobs?

We’ve all been there: the unemployed, underemployed, and unfortunately caught between greener pastures. We decided it’s better to put our energy into finding work instead of lamenting the lack thereof online.?

#4 - YOUR JOB, YOUR RESPONSIBILITY

If our job search strategy isn’t working, we must fix it, not fixate on why it’s not working.

It is called our “Job Search” because we own it no matter how it shapes up.

Want someone to blame for your job situation?

Please look in the mirror and tell that person you expect more from them, not the folks on LinkedIn, recruiters, or employers.?

#5 - STOP, START, AND CONTINUE WHEN WORKING THE PROBLEM!”

I watched a TV series called Seal Team 6. The leader of Special Operations Team Six sometimes had team members who would ruminate on the problem.

Pinned down, bullets whizzing overhead, and no clear way out, the leader reminds subordinates to “Work the problem” and not focus on it.

Many colleagues’ economic and job lives or deaths hinge on successfully working the problem, which IS everyone’s obligation:

1. STOP participating in the rampant, generalized, and emotionally charged diatribes of the ever-growing, emotion-driven, crowdsourced, and wildly misinformed talent taking the easy way out of their job situation.
2. START getting the facts instead of siding with the search strategy. Aggressive persons are looking for sympathy instead of strategies that work.
3. CONTINUE promoting positivity on this platform. We must shut down crowdsourced negativity and call upon our fellow adults to return to working on the problem and creating solutions everyone can use.?

Now, there are many naysayers out there who will try to justify their position on others doing for them what they are unwilling to do themselves, which is the hard work of internal change and external strategic job-finding work.

We must arm ourselves with facts and figures supporting the reality that a workable solution and job opportunities exist, with the rare exception of those facing medical or psychological barriers requiring aggressive interventions to find jobs supporting independent work.

FACTS# 1 - I JUST WANT TO GET THE FACTS MA’AM (Dragnet, 1967-1970)

Reuters shares job market intel in their article, “US labor market steadily easing as job openings, resignations decline,” and it’s a ray of sunshine worth taking in:

• 1.45 jobs for every unemployed person in January.
• Medium-sized and large businesses saw decreases in overall job openings.
• Small businesses with one to 49 employees had a large number of vacancies.
• Job openings dipped everywhere except the Northeast, with openings on the rise.
• Hiring decreased by 100,000 as transportation, warehousing and utilities, healthcare, and the public sector declined.

Okay, let’s move on.?

FACTS# 2 - THE REAL PROBLEMS FACING JOB SEEKERS

Hiring Lab – Economic Research by Indeed provides a balanced approach to the overall health of the job market.?

The Hiring Lab gives you up-to-date, blow-by-blow intel worth building a positive mindset and strategy for breakout JOB search success.

Work the problem – see the graph on the right for problems worth working on.

Is that coffee I smell?

Yes, please take a long, deep whiff of JOB search reality brew.

So much job market misinformation permeates our posts, comments, and groups, sparking widespread distrust, disgust, angst, and outright mean-spirited comments against connections, recruiting colleagues, and employers mismanaging our job opportunities.

Please see the natural barriers facing job seekers as the starting point for overcoming barriers to employment.You cannot build a solid job map with lousy intel about the job landscape.

Some of you realize this right now, and pundits without any idea about the forces you face should mind their own business and let you get back to working on the problem.

My friend Jeff Dunn gave me some great perspectives on a historical figure working on his problem.

Jeff reminded me of how Abraham Lincoln didn’t quit when the world around him was in flames. He did not blame the world and give up. He tried different things and did not give up. He became President and did a few good things.

?FACTS# 3 - ABOUT THE US JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER (NOT BAD AT ALL)

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics – Economic News Release, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (3/6/2024) give us a data-driven picture of our labor market, and it’s far from doom and gloom, as many have led us to believe across many posts and groups on LinkedIn

Hires

In January 2024, ?little changed at 5.7 million and 3.6 percent, respectively.

?Separations

Here’s the huge disconnect with many posts on Linkedin about people being separated, in whatever form that takes.?

?Total separations include quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations.

• Total separations in January changed a little at 5.3 million.
• 3.4 percent for the third month in a row.
• Over the month, the total health care and social assistance separations decreased.
• Total quits changed a little at 3.4 million or 2.1 percent, respectively.
• Layoffs and discharges changed little at 1.6 million.

THE TRUTH HURTS, BUT NOW YOU KNOW WHERE TO PUT THE BANDAGE

It’s painful when separations finds you. ?

The pain found me 5-7 times, but I couldn’t focus on the loss when I needed my energy focused on my successive great win and holding fast to my faith, guaranteeing me hope and a bright future (Jeremiah 29:11).?

Yes, that’s a nod toward the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit that sustained me as I learned to find meaningful work and help others do the same.

While on your job journey, equip yourself with knowledge so you can make informed decisions on your next step.

Put the knowledge band-aid where it hurts.

?FACT #4 - THIS IS THE WORST IT’S BEEN, AND THE JOB MARKET IS BROKEN (NOPE)

Layoffs have been much worse with or without the pandemic spike, resulting in a double-edged sword of layoffs and a rise in remote work.

Again, the job search landscape is a sweet and sour soup, but hasn’t it always been?

Check out organizations like Zippia, which offer great information and statistics about the job market.

Zippia shared an eye-opening layoff graphic illustrating a downward trend in layoffs.

FACTS# 5 - More Positivity on the Horizon

Job Hunt 2024: 69% of Job Seekers are Optimistic, wrote Indeed

1.????? Employers have recently added 353,000 jobs

2.????? The job market is diversifying

3.????? Several significant union strikes have ended

4.????? Remote and hybrid work are on the rebound

5.????? Unemployment remains below 4% for the last two years

CONCLUSION?

We can end crowdsourced Job search negativity and dispel that noxious cloud above our heads.?

We can begin working on the problem, which begins with those in need taking the first step and realizing LinkedIn is unlike other social media vending machines.?

We must put a professional coin in before getting professional candy out.?

LinkedIn does not give something for nothing.?

Our professional community is driven by shared giving and taking based on fair value exchanged.

?Please like, share, post, and repost. ?

Most importantly, please share your solutions, positivity, and comments that advance a meaningful dialog.?

ABOUT ME

My profile headline says, “LinkedIn Top 12% for JOB Development Coaching Contributors | Job Search | Job Transition | Performance Coaching | I help Project Professionals Thrive in Their Jobs!” So, I’m going to run with that for now.

?I have led large-scale Human Resources Operations, Software Implementations, and Talent Projects for over 25 years. In this time frame, I’ve coached Fortune 50 - 500 professionals up to the C-Suite. I’ve coached and trained thousands of the same. I love what I do, especially for my project peeps.

?I’m also a volunteer Blogger for the PMI-Central Illinois Chapter on topics benefiting Project People’s work/life success.

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WHAT’S NEXT?

• Book a Free Career Development Coaching Session: https://calendly.com/mypmladder
• Watch and Learn: https://www.youtube.com/@coachjohnstjohn
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