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If you feel like you’ve been job searching for longer than you expected, or longer than you have in the past, the data backs up your experience.

The April labor market numbers came out, and yes there is some “good news”:

📊 The US economy added 177k jobs to the market in April, which was slightly above the anticipated 133k anticipated by the Dow Jones
👩‍⚕️ Most of these jobs were in healthcare (51k), followed by transportation and warehousing (29k)
➡️ Unemployment rate stayed at 4.2%, suggesting the labor market is currently fair stable

But it’s still not great...

💰 Average hourly earnings increased 0.17% for the month, lower than the expected 0.3%
😵‍💫 The share of unemployed people out of work for at least 27 weeks has returned to peak pandemic highs of 23.5%
⏳ Same with the median unemployment duration, which has reached 10.4 weeks

As Cory Stahle of Indeed Hiring Lab said, "both [of those last two figures] suggest that it is taking longer for unemployed workers to find new opportunities, and reinforce a growing divide in the market between those out of work and those who are employed."

I don’t have any great wisdom to share today, but I want to validate that you aren’t imagining this!

Tired of the ghosting and doom scrolling on LinkedIn, Handshake, and Indeed?

Same here. My team and I have been building Forward, a job-matching platform to help Gen Z get hired. How? With human-driven matches that are skills-based and values-based.

We are THRILLED to announce that we are launching our live pilot this summer! Between the end of May to July, pilot job seekers will receive (all for free):

Spots are filling up for our private pilot! We would love to invite you since you’ve been following our journey as early as day one.

I’m having conversations with recruiters, hiring managers, and other talent decision-makers weekly, and want to share tidbits of what I’m learning with y’all here too! 

It turns out that early-career talent isn’t expected to know how to do every Excel formula, be an industry expert, or perfect presenter on day one. But what can make a big difference in their ability to get up to speed quickly has to do with “soft skills.”

Soft skills, also known as your people skills, could mean your ability to project manage, communicate with your manager, participate in a meeting, etc.

If you have:

You HAVE soft skills! The kind that companies are craving right now. Don’t shy away from those experiences that don’t feel “relevant.” Use your application to demonstrate how your soft skills powered your ability to make things happen!

Job searching is hard work. You deserve a break. Here’s how I took time to rest and recharge this week!

My friends have an amazing tradition of throwing “Cafecito” parties, where everyone contributes a baked good and we make custom coffee drinks! This month, I made these savory dutch babies (substituted the proscuitto for mushrooms). HIGHLY recommend!

📢 Chronically online and looking for an early-career online community for support and accountability?

As part of Forward’s Discord, you get first access to co-working sessions, career workshops, job postings, and more. All for free, always.

Thanks for showing up this week! We appreciate you. See y’all same time next week!