12/01/2024

Reflecting the Times: Effective Strategies for Advising Clients in a Tough Job Market, Providing Career Support with Both Hope and Transparency

By Kaila Kea-Lewis

The Art of Advising

Singer, songwriter, and activist Nina Simone once said, “An artist’s duty…is to reflect the times. I think that is true of painters, sculptors, poets, musicians. I choose to reflect the times and the situations in which I find myself (Simone, 2013). Nina Simone was saying that artists must accurately capture current events in their work. Her ideas can also extend to career advisors providing support in a volatile job market characterized by unprecedented challenges. Employee satisfaction is continually declining (BambooHR, 2024), September 2024 layoffs surpassed those of the previous year (Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 2024), and—despite reports that job growth has increased (The Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024)—job seekers are feeling the financial (and emotional) weight of scarce job opportunities. 

Still, most people find career practitioners helpful—85% of U.S. adults feel that career practitioners provide useful services, and 65% believe that talking to a career practitioner will help them in the future (The Harris Poll, 2021). As instrumental parts of career development, career practitioners must be evenly forthcoming and encouraging to ensure clients can overcome career and job search challenges

By using the three strategies shared here, career practitioners can openly discuss the bleak reality of the job market without discouraging clients from confidently taking the next step in their careers.

Curb the Optimism

According to health and wellness resource, Verywell Mind (Cherry, 2024), toxic positivity is expecting someone to be optimistic no matter how hard their situation is. Here are examples of statements that sound positive but are toxic: 

Even though you haven’t found a job, you should stay positive.

Being unemployed is hard, but it’s probably given you more time to stay home with your family.

Maybe losing your job is a blessing in disguise.

Toxic positivity can minimize a client's feelings, making them feel unheard. Actively listening to clients and validating their experiences is more effective than forcing positivity. It may be more helpful for career practitioners to respond like this: 

I understand that finding a job can be difficult. What would you like your next step to be?

Being unemployed can bring up some tough feelings; thank you for sharing that with me.

I hear you saying that you’re not successful. How do you define success?

Practice Anticipation over Assumption

Many job seekers are facing the same issues, making it easy for the career practitioner to assume that they already know what the client needs. However, making assumptions can create a distorted perception of the client’s needs and lead to misunderstandings. Anticipating client needs, on the other hand, speaks to preparedness, proactivity, and an authentic desire to position job seekers for success. Career practitioners can anticipate a client’s needs by providing a preliminary assessment with open-ended questions and identifying common themes in the client’s responses. Here is an example of how a practitioner might address those themes with the client: 

You mentioned in your assessment that your previous employer wasn’t understanding about your childcare needs. I’ve also heard you mention work-life balance a few times during our call. I have a list of family-friendly companies with flexible scheduling and childcare benefits in case you would find that helpful.

In addition, regularly exploring the job application process firsthand, upskilling, and using reputable career and workforce resources like the National Career Development Association and the Bureau of Labor Statistics ensures that career practitioners can accurately depict workforce challenges while helping clients thrive.

Balance Challenges with Opportunities

Although there are challenges in this job market, there are also opportunities. Creating balance is about presenting the information—regardless of how unpleasant it may be—helping clients process it, and then partnering with them to devise strategies that work.

If a client wants to transition into a new field, for example, explain the obstacles they might face as well as how they can use transferable skills to switch careers. This approach empowers them to manage their expectations without giving up on their goals.

Guiding with Truth and Hope

The job market has changed considerably over the last five years and will continue to evolve. Many job seekers are trying to stay afloat while enduring multiple rounds of interviews with no offer and applying for hundreds of jobs with no closure. The support of career practitioners is crucial. Career practitioners can be the “painters, sculptors, poets, musicians” (Simone, 2013) that Nina Simone once spoke of by offering the truth about where we are and hope for where we are headed.

References

2021 Harris Poll. (2021). Perceptions of career development from working America. National Career Development Association. https://www.ncda.org/aws/NCDA/pt/sp/statements_harris_2021 

BambooHR. (2024). The great gloom’s grip: Employee happiness plummets in Q2. https://www.bamboohr.com/resources/data-at-work/employee-happiness-index/q2-2024-employee-happiness-plummets

Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. (2024). The challenger report: September 2024. https://omscgcinc.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/The-Challenger-Report-Sept-2024.pdf

Cherry, K. (2024, May 14). Why toxic positivity can be harmful. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-toxic-positivity-5093958

Simone, N. (2013, February 22). Nina Simone: An artist’s duty [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99V0mMNf5fo

The Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2024). The employment situation — September 2024. Retrieved October 11, 2024, from https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

Kaila Kea-Lewis, CCSP, CMCS, is a career consultant who brings more than 10 years of experience to every coaching session. She has published more than 100 online articles exploring issues around workplace culture,  employee incentives, and flexibility. Kaila specializes in working with professionals who are navigating work transitions, such as switching careers and job searching after a layoff. Connect with Kaila via her website, https://coachedbykaila.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaila-kea-lewis/