‘It’s brutal out there’: Tech worker reveals truth about job market

KIRO Newsradio host John Curley explored Seattle’s competitive job market with Alan, a 47-year-old tech professional who recently landed a promising job lead, thanks to Curley’s help.

Alan submitted his resume for review after an eight-month job hunt. During the segment, Curley asked Alan to share what he’s been seeing in the current job market.

“It’s brutal out there—extremely challenging,” Alan said. “And it’s not just here in the Northwest. I’m seeing people across YouTube and TikTok saying the same thing all over the country.”

Alan’s job hunt experiences

Alan shared his experience searching for a job in tech sales amid reports of Microsoft laying off 3% of its workforce.

“I’m sure when you go and apply, you know 1000 other people are applying for the same job,” Curley said, “you read Microsoft cutting back 3%, they’re all tightening up, so what is it like? Are you getting any response from these applications?”

Alan said the response rates were low. Due to the layoffs increasing the competition, his search for work has been difficult.

“I have not had many responses from applications,” Alan said. “And to your point, it seems like every week you’re hearing about so many 1000s more being laid off, and all that does is increase the competition for what I’m already up against.”

John Curley lends a helping hand

Curley reached out to a friend in tech to help set up a job opportunity for Alan.

“I called a friend of mine (Julie) who was with Microsoft for 35 years. She was a general manager in sales, and I told her about your resume,” Curley said, “I’m going to put you in touch with her, and she wants to meet you and talk about your résumé.”

“Something good is going to come from this, alright? Hang in there,” Curley said.

Listen to the full conversation below.

Listen to John Curley weekday afternoons from 3 – 7 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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