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Compensation is a trainwreck right now. Let’s review the last few years:
👉Post-financial crisis until 2020.
A decade of good times where people got accustomed to salaries inching higher every year. Companies just baked it into the cost of doing business.
👉The COVID crash.
People either:
For companies, it was the first chance in years to cut costs and gain negotiating power with new hires.
👉The 2021-2022 hiring boom aka the Great Resignation (still hate that moniker).
👉The 2023-2024 Free-Money-Is-Over Era
Workers fell into two groups:
(Side note: Group 1 = today’s real estate market. Anyone who got a ~3% mortgage rate isn’t moving.)
Meanwhile, companies cut costs and headcount.
Where does that leave us now?
👉 Two worker groups: those who need a ton of money to move, and those who don’t.
👉 Companies miss the nuance. They talk to the latter group or look at aggregate salary data (which combines them) and don’t understand why ‘market’ rates don’t entice happily employed people.
👉 The real ‘disruptor’ isn’t AI or H1B visas as the media would like you to believe. It’s offshoring to Latin America, Eastern Europe, and India. Companies are more comfortable with it now. And those workers are really good, too.
In short:
Just my opinion. Don’t shoot the messenger.
Partner at Hirewell. #3 Ranked Sarcastic Commenter on LinkedIn.
The 2025 job market has everyone scratching their heads. One minute, we’re seeing strong job numbers. The next? Layoffs. Some companies are scaling fast, others are stuck in hiring freezes. It’s a mixed bag—and it’s creating uncertainty across the board.
In this episode, Ryan & Emily break it all down:
🔹 The rise of temp-to-perm and extended interview processes
🔹 How hesitation is impacting hiring
🔹Advice for both employers and candidates navigating the confusion
“The market isn’t broken—it’s just cautious.”
That nuance is key. And how you respond to it—whether you’re hiring or job searching—makes all the difference.
Episode 31