As layoffs rise, hiring slows, and economic conditions continue to shift, the U.S. job market is becoming increasingly unstable and leaving job seekers uncertain about their futures. Despite the challenges of navigating a stressful and unpredictable job market, job seekers can still use effective strategies to improve their chances of landing a position in these unsettling times.
At the heart of every job search lies the goal of securing a position in one’s desired field, ideally with a salary that can handle today’s high cost of living. However, with the U.S. job-finding rate at its lowest point since 2019, job seekers may need to adjust their expectations. In a market with limited opportunities, maintaining flexibility and openness to temporary pivots could be crucial to securing your next role, particularly in sectors that continue to perform well despite broader industry shifts and economic challenges, according to industry experts.
“We’ve seen a lot of industries under a squeeze right now because the population that normally
were working in those industries, like agriculture, production, sometimes manufacturing and automotive, because they’ve had a reduced talent pool because of some of the things that’s happening now, it’s created an open door of opportunity for people from untraditional pipelines to find opportunity,” Khalilah Olokunola, Senior Director at Jobs for the Future told BLACK ENTERPRISE during the Clover x Shark Tank Summit.In the agriculture sector, the market is currently divided, with different subsectors experiencing vastly different outcomes. Growers of row crops like corn, soybeans, and wheat have been struck by falling prices, rising input costs, and geopolitical tensions such as the U.S.–China trade war. In contrast, the livestock industry has shown greater resilience, with higher prices boosting profits for cattle, eggs, and dairy producers.
The automotive industry tells a similar story of contrasts. While the broader sector faces challenges from slowing sales, reduced production, and rising costs, the aftermarket segment, which supplies parts and services for vehicle maintenance and repair, continues to demonstrate its recession-resistant nature
. Consumers tend to keep their cars longer during economic downturns.Meanwhile, the manufacturing industry, though currently strained, shows promise for long-term recovery. Trends like reshoring and increased federal investments in technology and infrastructure make way for industry-shifting innovation. These are the evolving industry shifts Olokunola is seeing through her work in helping populations overcome barriers to economic advancement.
“I would tell them to get hopeful because industries are under a squeeze and they’re going to be looking to fill roles that are necessary for the production of those businesses,” Olokunola told job seekers.
Alongside exploring industry pivots, job seekers should also recognize and leverage the soft skills they use in everyday life, as these skills can play a vital role in driving a business’s success, Olokunola added. Once you’ve identified these soft skills, highlight them on your resume to ensure they stand out to hiring managers.
“You have to begin to look at different ways of working when it comes to
positioning yourself for a job and not be afraid to translate skills that we often keep secret,” she explained. “A lot of times, like moms returning to the workplace, can operationalize the household. And so when you think about some of the skills you have that you don’t put on your resume, there’s a data stat that says 93% of organizations know that their company will succeed based on the soft skills that their team members have. And so we have to be able to share those things because while you may not have as much experience or a degree as someone, that lived experience that you have can work in the workplace in a really intentional and thoughtful way to make the impact that that employee is looking for.”Speaking at the summit alongside Sole Play CEO TJ Bennett, Olokunola and Lands shared insights on how small business owners can build a strong A-Team. While hiring during an economic downturn may seem daunting or even futile, Lands emphasized that the current climate shouldn’t shake an employer’s confidence in the kind of workplace environment they have the power to create.
“At this moment, when you have kind of uncertainty, economic, socio-political turmoil, I think employers often make a false trade-off or a false dichotomy about their ability to create quality jobs, and they sort of equate this with needing to make some kind of large financial investment,” Lands said. But during the three-day Clover x Shark Tank Summit, “We actually surfaced a lot of different low-cost or no-cost ways, no-regret moves that employers can make to really invest in their workforce and both attract and retain really strong candidates.”
RELATED CONTENT: Elevating Your Excellence: COO Teri Williams Is Closing America’s Racial Wealth Gap Through Banking