Jaspreet Singh: Why the Job Market Is Bad Right Now — 5 Ways to Still Land a Job

Despite low unemployment rates, the reality is that we’re in an extremely tough job market. One reason is that there are simply fewer jobs available than in the recent past. As money expert Jaspreet Singh explains in a recent YouTube video, there are now 1.25 job openings for every person and while that may sound like a lot, in March 2022, there were two job openings for every person.

In addition, while the unemployment rate is low, many people are underemployed. This is particularly true for college graduates.

“According to The Wall Street Journal, more than half of college grads in America today are underemployed,” Singh said. “That is, they’re working jobs that don’t typically require a college degree.”

Even among those who graduated from college 10 years ago, 45% are underemployed, according to a Strada Institute study.

“What that means is that finding a good job in 2024 is a lot more difficult than it was back in 2022 when there were more jobs out there,” Singh said. “And it’s also more difficult than back in 2019. Not to mention the fact that many ‘entry-level jobs’ require three to five years of experience.”

Despite this tough job market, Singh said that with these tactics, you can “land your dream job and make a lot of money.”

Also here are ways to secure a job during this tough time.

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Demonstrate Your Specific Skills

Singh said that it’s essential to show that your skills match the specific role you’re applying for.

“If I’m advertising a job opening for a writer or a social media manager or project manager, and [I] get [an] application with very general skills — sociology, psychology, philosophy — that application goes right into the trash,” he said.

If you know the job you want, the better approach is to “reverse engineer” your skills to meet the qualifications, Singh said.

“Now you might say, ‘I just don’t have the skills to be a data scientist. I don’t want to go back to college,’” Singh said. “You don’t have to go back to college. There are ways for you to get these real skills.”

“There are a lot of platforms on the internet that can help you do something to get that skill for an affordable price. […] Yes, it’s going to take some time,” he said. “Yeah, it might take some money. But this can completely change the trajectory, if you can demonstrate a straight line of, this is the career I want to do and these are the skills that I want to do and they aligned.”

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It’s a mistake to tell an employer that you don’t have a certain skill, but that you can learn on the job.

“Employers don’t want to pay you to learn on the job,” Singh said. “They want you to know how to do the job before you get there. They want you to have the skills. And if you’re competing against somebody who already has the skills, who do you think is going to get the job?”

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Show Your Experience

In a competitive job market, it’s important to bring relevant job experience to any role you apply for.

“When the company puts out a job, they’re probably going to get dozens, if not hundreds of applications,” Singh said. “What they’re going to be looking for is someone who can come in and be an A player and take this position to the next level.”

If you don’t have relevant experience, go out and get it before applying to your dream role.

“There are a few ways you can do this,” Singh said. “You could consider going out and getting a free internship for a little while. The other thing that you can do is you can do it yourself. Maybe it’s doing data analytics or some sort of project management for something that you can get involved with or for something that you can create, just so you can demonstrate your passion and your experience.”

While this may seem like a lot of work to do before actually applying for the job, it can pay off.

“This is where you have to demonstrate your hustle,” Singh said. “I know this is a lot of work leading up to this, but if you put in the work for a few months, you’re going to change the trajectory of your entire career for the rest of your life.”

Cater Your Application to the Specific Job

Singh emphasizes the importance of submitting a “real application.”

“This is probably the easiest thing that you can do, but it pulls me apart when I see people don’t do this, because most people do not do this — they don’t submit a real application,” Singh said. “I have gotten applications from people that graduated from Ivy League schools that do not know how to submit a basic application.”

Instead of applying to every job out there, take the time to apply for jobs that your skills and experience are actually a match for and make sure this is reflected in your application.

“You’re going to apply to [fewer] positions, but they’re going to be much more quality positions and much more quality applications,” Singh said. “Read the job postings, see what they want you to do and do it with care. When you submit your resume, make sure your resume is aligned with what this position is. If you’re submitting a cover letter, make sure it is aligned with what you’re applying for.”

Do Your Research Before a Job Interview

If you make it to the job interview phase, your work isn’t over.

“Once you get an interview, research the company — look it up, spend some time on their website, read about it on Google, look at the social media, look at their LinkedIn, look at the people that are going to be interviewing you,” Singh said. “It has happened multiple times where somebody from my team has gotten on an interview with somebody else and they don’t even know the name of the company.”

Follow Up After the Interview

After every job interview, email the person you interviewed with.

“Thank them for their time, talk about what happened in the interview and why you’re excited for that position,” Singh said. “Very few people are actually doing this. And so when you’re comparing two strong applicants, what are you going to have to push somebody over the edge? It is that culture of somebody who actually cares.”

If you’re going through multiple rounds of interviews, send an email to every interviewer every round, Singh said. “That will show your passion.”

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