6/ If you are in the market

Learn how to position your story.

Get hands on experience with AI tools.

Prepare for slower hiring cycles and tougher competition.

5/ The hiring playbook has changed

Companies aren’t just focusing on qualified candidates. They want qualified candidates that are safe bets.

They’re also looking for some familiarity with AI tools even if it’s not related to the actual requirements.

4/ US job growth surprised in June with 147000 new positions

Tech hiring is uneven.

If you ask 10 different people what the market is like, you’ll get 10 different answers.

My biggest enterprise client is *steadily* hiring.

My 2nd has been dead in the water.

3/ AI is both the problem and the solution

It is eliminating 500 jobs per day.

But it is also driving demand for other roles AI engineers cybersecurity experts and data analysts according to Grok.

This is exactly what I’m seeing from my seat as well (minus the data analysts).

2/ Layoffs have slowed since Q1 but remain strategic

We all know Microsoft cut 9000 roles in July.

I’m seeing more and more folks “open to work” when I’m sourcing on LinkedIn recruiter.

More people reporting instability, restructuring, contracts not being extended etc to me.