职业教练Emily Warden指出，2025年的就业市场是她十年来见过的最糟糕的情况。人工智能、外包和裁员加剧了竞争，影响了求职者的成功率。Warden强调，申请工作应该是求职过程的最后一步。她建议求职者在开始申请前，应首先明确目标公司和职位，并在简历和LinkedIn等平台上保持信息一致性。此外，积极通过人脉网络寻求推荐比盲目投递简历更为有效。她还建议充分利用LinkedIn平台，通过分享知识和参与互动来建立个人品牌。同时，在求职过程中适时休息，保持积极心态也至关重要。

🎯 明确求职目标与精准定位：在2025年竞争激烈的就业市场中，求职者应首先清晰地定义自己的职业目标，包括目标公司和职位。通过仔细研究心仪职位的描述，提取关键的技能和要求，并将这些关键词自然地融入到简历和LinkedIn的个人资料中，以确保信息的高度相关性和一致性，增加被雇主注意到的机会。

🤝 拓展人脉网络，寻求内推机会：相比于大量投递简历，Warden更推崇通过人脉网络进行拓展。在申请工作前，积极与行业内的专业人士建立联系，争取内推机会。她建议在进行冷接触时，寻找与对方的共同点，并提出具体的问题，以此为切入点建立联系，并最终寻求内推。同时，不要忽视那些在生活中拥有广泛人脉的“连接者”，他们也能提供意想不到的帮助。

🌐 善用LinkedIn平台，打造个人品牌：LinkedIn是求职者不可或缺的工具。除了发布原创内容以巩固个人品牌外，积极参与评论互动也同样重要。通过评论，可以增加个人曝光度，吸引算法关注。Warden建议关注行业内的意见领袖，参与他们的讨论，并与回复你评论的人建立联系，进一步扩大社交圈。

🧘‍♀️ 保持积极心态，适时调整节奏：面对严峻的市场环境，求职过程可能会令人感到沮丧。Warden强调，求职者的失败并非个人能力问题，而是市场竞争加剧所致。她鼓励求职者在求职过程中适时安排休息，进行能让自己感到愉悦的活动，以保持积极的心态和充沛的精力，更好地应对挑战。

Career coach Emily Warden said the 2025 job market is the worst she's seen in 10 years.AI, offshoring, and layoffs have intensified competition, affecting job seekers' success.Warden said applying for jobs should be the last step in the job hunt process.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Emily Worden, a 44-year-old career coach based in Boston. It's been edited for length and clarity.

A decade ago, most of my clients requested résumé writing support, and I'd take them through a pretty simple, plug-and-play process for a very straightforward market. Now, the market is a dumpster fire.

In recent years, AI has replaced jobs, companies are offshoring or going leaner, and mass layoffs in the public sector are sending thousands into the private sector. There are simply more people competing for even fewer jobs.

Many people who would've gotten scooped up in a second a few years ago are getting completely passed up. Here's my advice to people navigating the 2025 job market.

Applying for jobs should be the last step in the job hunt process

The people I see struggling are the "jack of all trades" people who aren't clear on what they want and try to fit themselves and their résumé into any job. It's important to get crystal clear on your target companies and job titles, and tell a consistent story across your résumé and LinkedIn.

Before building your résumé, gather a few interesting job descriptions that match your desired job title, pull out the keywords and phrases used to describe the ideal candidate, and speak directly to those points. You can even plop those keywords directly into your LinkedIn headline, skills list, and within the bullet points on your résumé.

For example, if "cross-functional collaboration" is an important skill a company is seeking, write a bullet point that clearly states how you've utilized cross-functional collaboration in a past role.

Network before you apply to a job to improve your chances

I'd rather job seekers send out 100 networking messages than 100 job applications.

While applicant pools have gotten larger, recruiter teams have gotten smaller, meaning many recruiters are absolutely overwhelmed. The people I see getting through the application phase are those with a referral, those working with a recruiter, or those who apply within the first few hours of the job being posted.

Networking is particularly important for people who are pivoting careers or are newer to the workforce.

Tips on how to build connections that can lead to landing a job

If you're doing a cold reach out, find people with whom you have something in common — whether they live in your area, went to the same college, or volunteer for the same organization. You can use filters on LinkedIn to locate people by location, school, organizations, etc.

Rather than reaching out with a vague request for a 15-minute chat, which is easy to ignore or pass on, ask a specific question like "I see you got your PMP certification. I'm thinking of that. Would you recommend it?" From there, you can work on building a connection and, depending on the person, ask for a referral.

I see a lot of people just reaching out to colleagues or folks in their industry. Don't forget the people in your life who are natural-born connectors or know a lot of people. This could be real estate agents, hairdressers, fundraisers, and community leaders. This is where I see the good stuff happening.

LinkedIn needs to become your new best friend

LinkedIn rewards two primary activities: sharing knowledge and engaging. Posting original content can be great for solidifying your personal brand, but don't forget about commenting.

Commenting is a low-stakes way to become more active on the platform, get your name out there, and get the algorithm warmed up.

I recommend making a spreadsheet of VIPs in your personal field, checking out their activity, and commenting where they comment. Or, if someone replies to your comment, connect with them and send a message saying "thanks for that thoughtful comment. I'm looking to expand my network."

Taking time off from job searching can be helpful

I see so many people sad, defeated, and fearful that they'll never work again. I want people to know that it's not them, it's this competitive market.

I know the job search can be soul-crushing, so I'm a huge advocate for taking time off. Whether that's the weekend or just an afternoon to do something that makes you feel good, I think it's important to find time for yourself.

The market is always swinging on a pendulum, so I'm hopeful that it will recover soon.

Are you a professional with career advice to share? Contact this editor, Manseen Logan, at mlogan@businessinsider.com.