What got us here won’t get us there

Mindset

Many of us are feeling the current inflection point in our professional careers. 

Things in the workplace are changing, in part due to AI, but also due to the rapidly evolving global landscape and economy. This is being felt now at an individual (and family) level as many in corporate America (and I’m seeing it heavily in the tech industry) are out of work due to layoffs and org restructures. 

Meanwhile, there’s a bit of a misnomer in my opinion that the unemployment rate appears to be good, however, many of us in the U.S. are having a real hard time landing work even with 5, 10, 15, and 20+ years of professional skills and experience, and at every salary level. 

This may be in part because there are more skilled people looking for fewer available roles, but the U.S. employment numbers appear good overall.

Why are there fewer roles available?  

AI likely has something to do with that, however, I think what’s more realistic is that many corporations are subject to inflation, like the rest of us, forcing prices to go up and buying to slow down, which means it takes organizations longer to realize profits. Cash flow becomes an issue, so to remain profitable organizations reduce their largest expense – full-time employees (and they’re heavily investing in AI to be competitive, which is expensive) 

Then those corporations do what they can to get by without certain roles in their org anymore, or on outsourced agencies and freelancers to still get the core work done that their former full-time employees were previously doing, but at less expense to them because they’re not paying for overall employee benefits (health insurance among other things).

That leaves all of us with fewer open full-time employee roles than there are professionals vying for those roles.  (Here’s a recent report from Dice on the whole tech job landscape you can review — I recommend it.)

I’m in a similar boat looking for my next role too, so I’m with you, and what I’m learning is that what got me here won’t get me there. Meaning, my approach to past successes may not be sufficient for the challenges ahead. However, the challenges ahead seem to be shifting under everyone’s feet as we all are forced to leap forward.

Things are changing. We all need to learn additional skills to adapt. Much of our current level of knowledge and experience is necessary as a foundation for our forward movement, so it’s definitely not wasted time or effort. It’s just that what will come next is forcing us to re-examine what we’ve known and unfortunately it’s making us question ourselves. That leads to insecurity – enter:  imposter syndrome. 

The truth is though, this inflection point is not isolated to you or me. We’re all going through it. Not that it makes you necessarily feel any better about your own imposter syndrome, but you should know everyone is dealing with their own version of imposter syndrome due to similar circumstances. 

In that way, you’re not alone, and in fact, I think that’s how we move forward differently, better, more effectively, and more human(e)...by coming together to more authentically help one another however we can. 

We’re all moving from this point forward on a playing field that has been leveled by technology and the economic forces in our world. Let’s not be overcome by those forces, but together overcome them.

Marketing

LinkedIn posts to check out:

• How Customer Marketing roles are overlapping with Customer Success Manager roles.

• A bit about this newsletters for marketers to embrace and share with colleagues

• If you’re into recognition to aid your professional career then nominate yourself or others for the Customer Marketing Alliance Ones to Watch Awards.

On the Market — marketing-related people, places, things to discover

• A Customer Marketing and Advocacy pro to follow on LinkedIn, a great strategist and builder of successful programs, Kevin Lau.

Music/Creative

The next Songwriters Round Town event is on Thurs. Jan. 16, 2025 at the Imaginary Tea Shop in Waunakee, WI, 7-9pm.

There’s no cover charge, or cover songs. This is all about a curated group of invited songwriters getting together and sharing what they’re working on, the songs they’ve written, the stories behind the songs, and their passion for the craft of songwriting.

Outro

Stay positive, stay healthy, be kind.

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Be well,
-Nick

Nick Venturella Endeavors LLC
NickVenturella.com

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