If you interviewed for your job today, would you land it?

There was a time, just a few months ago, that every time I opened LinkedIn, it felt heavy.

Layoff posts. After layoff posts. After layoff posts.

People with solid résumés. Professionals who did everything right. Now writing public pleas for work. Reaching out to their networks. Commenting. Tagging. Reposting.

Hoping someone responds.

Q4 2025:

🚨 14,000 laid off from Amazon.

🚨 1,000 laid off from Target plus the elimination of 800 open roles.

🚨 1,000 from Paramount with the total expected to reach 2,000.

🚨 48,000 from UPS.

And those were just some of the headlines last year.

Should we go into Q1 of this year?

Another 16,000 for Amazon. Oracle is reportedly considering cutting 20,000 to 30,000 jobs globally. Citigroup is continuing a multi-year plan to reduce its total headcount by 20,000 employees by the end of 2026. Mastercard is cutting approximately 1,400 positions.

The list goes on.

Tech. Oil and gas. Healthcare. Retail. Manufacturing. Media. Finance.

It's everywhere. And it's relentless.

I've been recruiting for 20 years. I've seen downturns before. But this is different. It's all at once. Everywhere. And no one really talks about what happens after the layoff.

The rejection emails pile up. The callbacks don't come. Interviews stretch from two rounds to seven. Interviewers go cold. Robotic. Detached.

And slowly, your confidence starts to slip. Savings start to dwindle. Desperation comes through in interviews.

But here's something that will stop you in your tracks:

Most of the people who are employed right now wouldn't be able to get their own jobs if they interviewed for them today.

Think about that.

You, with your current experience, applying for the role you already have. You probably wouldn't make it through.

Can you imagine?

Meanwhile, someone within your six degrees of separation is waking up every day fighting for their sense of worth. Fighting doubt. Fighting shame. Fighting to remember that they're still capable. Still valuable. Still themselves.

That kind of rejection is exhausting.

And here's the part that really guts me:

Companies, systems, and some hiring managers are making it harder.

Upload your résumé. Now type it all in again. Wait weeks. Get ghosted. Turn two interviews into seven. Solve real business problems for free in an interview, and we’ll call it a "case study."

It starts to feel like a test. Not of skill, but of how much rejection you can tolerate before you break.

Keep showing up. Even when it feels pointless. Even when the silence is loud. Visibility compounds in ways you can't always see. Someone is paying attention. They're just not ready yet.

Stop waiting until everything feels right. It won't. Apply anyway. Reach out anyway. Go to the career fairs. Shake hands. Ask for introductions. Invite someone to lunch. Go to the association meetings. You don't need every box checked to make a move.

Be honest about your network. Not everyone will show up for you, and that's another conversation for another day. Nonetheless, focus your energy on the ones who do.

And this one is important. Stop measuring your worth by response rates. The market is broken right now. The silence is not a verdict on you. It's a reflection of a hiring process that lost its humanity somewhere between round four, the interview presentation, the process that ghosted you, or the recruiter that won't return your call.

And if you're employed right now?

This is your moment.

Respond to those posts. Make the introduction. Share the job lead. Offer the chat over coffee, virtual, or in person.

Because layoffs aren't slowing down, and the person posting today could be you next month.

Real people show up when it matters.

And right now? It matters.

Remember, you're not the layoff. You're not the silence. You're not invisible.

You're still here. Still capable. Still fighting.

And that means you're in the SHIfT.