I think you have it right John, and the solution is to teach young people a different operating model.
The broken move is telling them to keep firing resumes into Fortune 500 portals where the filters are built to reject ambiguity. Early-career people are, by definition, ambiguous. They have potential, but not much proof yet.
So the playbook has to change:
Pick a lane: sales support, customer success, operations, marketing ops, research, implementation, product support - something specific enough to be understood.
Find growing companies with visible pain.
Build a one-page proof note: “Here is what I noticed. Here is what I would improve. Here is why I think it matters.”
Send it directly to founders, operators, department heads, and investors connected to the company.
Ask for a 15-minute problem conversation, not a job.
That is how young people bypass the résumé pile. They stop asking, “Do you have a job for me?” and start asking, “Do you have a problem I can help solve?”
That is where the market still rewards initiative.
It's back to the future. This is exactly how a young person in 1980 explored the 'hidden job market'. The difference is that the hidden job market has found new places to hide.
So your post encouraged me to talk about this on the podcast I do every Tuesday evening in Dallas. I recorded it transcribed it and was looking for a moment to share it on one of my sites. Haven’t yet, but I can send it to you if you have any interest. Your feedback could help me tighten it up before I offered it up on LinkedIn. Let me know. Please say hi to Heather - I still view the two of you as The Power Couple.
Love the viewpoint. I agree that it is likely the most interesting long term pathway that hasn't been given enough weight. Employers may also be getting over their 2025 reluctance to hire for roles they were being told were 'vulnerable.' And some of the colleges and universities have begun to transform their approaches to education- so much so that the next cohort to graduate may become more of a catalyst to the future of work than an anchor to the past.
Thanks, Gerry. My view is that we are seeing the rise of a new generation of enterprises that will eventually supplant the old. Remember newspapers. An interesting conversation might be whether Recruiting software is the reason that substantial employers want three to five years of experience. There are no matching algorithms for potential. Entry level hiring is all about discovering and maturing potential.
Great summary of what’s happening in the market.
I think you have it right John, and the solution is to teach young people a different operating model.
The broken move is telling them to keep firing resumes into Fortune 500 portals where the filters are built to reject ambiguity. Early-career people are, by definition, ambiguous. They have potential, but not much proof yet.
So the playbook has to change:
Pick a lane: sales support, customer success, operations, marketing ops, research, implementation, product support - something specific enough to be understood.
Find growing companies with visible pain.
Build a one-page proof note: “Here is what I noticed. Here is what I would improve. Here is why I think it matters.”
Send it directly to founders, operators, department heads, and investors connected to the company.
Ask for a 15-minute problem conversation, not a job.
That is how young people bypass the résumé pile. They stop asking, “Do you have a job for me?” and start asking, “Do you have a problem I can help solve?”
That is where the market still rewards initiative.
It's back to the future. This is exactly how a young person in 1980 explored the 'hidden job market'. The difference is that the hidden job market has found new places to hide.
So your post encouraged me to talk about this on the podcast I do every Tuesday evening in Dallas. I recorded it transcribed it and was looking for a moment to share it on one of my sites. Haven’t yet, but I can send it to you if you have any interest. Your feedback could help me tighten it up before I offered it up on LinkedIn. Let me know. Please say hi to Heather - I still view the two of you as The Power Couple.
-David
please send it.
Love the viewpoint. I agree that it is likely the most interesting long term pathway that hasn't been given enough weight. Employers may also be getting over their 2025 reluctance to hire for roles they were being told were 'vulnerable.' And some of the colleges and universities have begun to transform their approaches to education- so much so that the next cohort to graduate may become more of a catalyst to the future of work than an anchor to the past.
Thanks, Gerry. My view is that we are seeing the rise of a new generation of enterprises that will eventually supplant the old. Remember newspapers. An interesting conversation might be whether Recruiting software is the reason that substantial employers want three to five years of experience. There are no matching algorithms for potential. Entry level hiring is all about discovering and maturing potential.
TY. Good thoughts.