Whatever headlines you may be reading, the reality of the current job market is more balanced than the more alarming stories tend to suggest. 

Some of us have certainly been more directly impacted than others, but recruiting is still genuinely happening, hiring is still genuinely happening, and the highly sought after skills of a couple of months ago remain in strong demand across most sectors.

New opportunities continue to open every single day, even when broader public sentiment feels overwhelmingly negative. As candidates, we understandably want to hear back as promptly as possible after sending an application, and recruiters and hiring managers do have plenty of tools available to keep candidates informed and engaged quickly throughout the process. 

But it is worth remembering that behind those tools are real people, and internal talent teams have often been reduced in size themselves, meaning proportionally they may be managing an even heavier volume of applications and communication than before.

As a job applicant, it is worth being your own toughest critic when honestly assessing your suitability for a role. The person reviewing your resume or application is fundamentally asking whether you are the best person they can find for the role, whereas candidates often only ask themselves whether they could technically do the job.

Making sure we assess our own applications critically, rather than playing a volume game and applying broadly, helps avoid unnecessary and avoidable rejections.

Finally, it is worth remembering that the strongest candidates almost always have more than one offer to consider, regardless of what the broader economic climate looks like at any given time. Make sure you, as an employer or hiring manager, do not miss out on great candidates simply because your own evaluation process takes a little too long to run its course.

Speed and thoroughness are not mutually exclusive, and getting that balance right matters more in a competitive market than in a quiet one.