If you're confused about the direction of the current job market, there's a reason for that given the weekly changes on tariffs and immigration, the unanswered questions raised by the recent legislation and the unknowns of the wars in Israel and Ukraine.  All issues with serious consequences, which, of course, leads to business uncertainties which directly results in delays on hiring decisions. Underlying any discussion on today's job market is the fact that while the overall unemployment rate is little changed since May, the number of unemployed has risen each month since February, the longest streak since 2009.  

My own view on this broad topic is not particularly important given that our customer base is less than 500 companies plus what we do is centered on strategy and business planning with a sharp focus on improving sales and marketing productivity. Having said that, the overall health of our own customers is generally very positive although we also are seeing a fair amount of caution in any hiring.  

Where the impact is definitely being felt is with recent college graduates.  

• The unemployment rate for degree-holders in the age bracket from 22-27 is 5.8% and well above the national level for the past four years.
• At Goldman Sachs, just as one example for those recent graduates wanting to break into the financial services market, the acceptance rate for 2024 graduates is 0.9%. I expect that the 2025 numbers will be much worse based on the 100+ calls I have had with my 2025 graduates since January.
• Why this is most critical is that at age 22, someone who experiences six months of unemployment can expect to earn about $22,000 less over the next 10 years.

You and I cannot change any of this macro environment except to continue to run our businesses profitably. 
That being said, what all of us can do is to provide active guidance and direct connections for today's college juniors and seniors as to how they can market themselves in today's business environment where the practice of relying on resumes is as antiquated as having the daily newspaper delivered to your front door.  

Which is why I wrote this free guide titled "The Marketing of Me" for my students, which you might find useful for your own college kids or for those 40ish year old friends who have not been in the job market for a long time and may have been recently laid off or are just considering a change.  

Have a superb day selling today!  Enjoy the weekend!

Think about Taking time out in August to update your Sales playbook!

Think about taking a day out of August to work with us to tune up...or maybe actually create your first sales playbook. 

Our free how-to ebooks for general ideas: 

"Writing the Winning Sales Plan"
"Writing the Winning Business Plan"
"Writing the Winning Marketing Plan"

We facilitate ideas on structure, models, process funnels, productivity tools and how to recruit, hire and onboard the best people.  We're real salesguys who continue to play and coach the game every day.  

Connect with me any time at jack@derbymanagement.com and let's discuss.