Episode Transcript

Priya Rathod 0:00
If you are a parent who is trying to return to the workforce after a gap, I want you to embrace that gap, because there are so many transferable skills that you have when you are running an entire household that are extremely relevant for the workforce. So I want you to have the confidence to go and do that, and to embrace that, and to know that that time was extremely productive.

Chris Villanueva 0:25
Welcome to the Let’s Eat, Grandma Career Warrior Podcast, and welcome to the Let’s Eat, Grandma Career Warrior Podcast, where our goal is not only to help you land your dream job, but to help you live your best life. It seems like whenever you check the news, there’s mixed headlines, and for us workers, it’s causing uncertainty, confusion and anxiety. But what does this all mean for job security? Fortunately, we’ll address the news with logic, a calm mind and practical advice that will help you with your career, whether you’re applying for jobs now or a little more passive with your search.

Chris Villanueva 1:02
My next guest, Priya Rathod, has spent nine years at Indeed, and now acts as senior segment and product manager. She currently manages a team focused on growing specific segments at Indeed. She’s a speaker and advocate for women and parents, and she also encourages professionals to prioritize their health and well being, she’s been featured in Yahoo Finance, TV, NBC News and other sources as a trusted career expert, as one of indeed’s savvy career trends experts.Priya will break down what’s happening in the labor market in simple terms and offer clear, actionable advice to help people prepare and not to panic. Without further ado, this is the 363rd episode of the career warrior podcast. Priya, welcome to the show.

Priya Rathod 1:47
Thank you for having me, Chris. Three is my favorite number, so the fact that this is the 363rd podcast makes me feel like this is gonna go really well today for us.

Chris Villanueva 1:58
I feel the same thing. I’m glad we connected on that. And I was thinking, oh my gosh, in all of these episodes we’ve done, I’ve never had somebody from indeed, and this is a company I’ve been following for a long time. I greatly admire what indeed has done. I even have this is very geeky, but an indeed backpack behind me, because my best friend from high school worked for indeed, and I just never let go of that backpack. But I’m so excited, because I feel like you have a lot of insights to bring, and there’s a lot going on with the market surely, that we’ll discuss.

Chris Villanueva 2:28
So the first thing is talking about what’s going on in the job market right now. I felt like it would make sense to dive into theBLS employment situation. I know we had a release about five days ago, if you’re listening to this, you know, on a Monday, it’s been about a week, but there’s a lot that people do not understand about these reports, that they’re hard to really interpret. But I would just love to hear in your own words what you saw and what your thoughts are.

Priya Rathod 2:56
Yeah, absolutely, Chris, I think look, when we look at that report, we’re still waiting for the full impact of tariffs to hit the labor market, and it will likely do so through erosion versus falling off a cliff. So what we saw is overall job numbers are strong. US employers added 177,000 jobs in April, and there isn’t a smoking gun, but we do see some deterioration in the household survey, with long term unemployment rising. So what do I mean when I say that the share of workers who were long term unemployed, so out of work for 27 weeks or more, rose to 23.5% in April, which is the highest share in three years. So the impact of kind of this rapid upheaval in government, the stock market changes, the tariff situation. It’s generally not shown up in official data, but it will at some point, which is what we have to keep in mind.

Chris Villanueva 3:56
The other thing that I think it’s hard for people to grasp is like, so if I’m applying for a job, like, what industries should I be looking for? And we saw, you know, healthcare, that’s a consistent grower, as it has been, but there are some other industries that are definitely shaky. So, and I hate to even bring this up right away, but when you even when you Google, what’s going on with the job market, job market news, you see recession. That word comes up over and over again, like, are we headed to recession? You know that Forbes article, what should What should we do in order to prepare for recession? But what are your thoughts on that dreaded word and just where we’re headed right now?

Priya Rathod 4:34
Yeah, the dreaded R word, right? Chris, well, look, predicting a recession is more difficult than you would think, or maybe you do know that it’s difficult to predict. You know, there’s so many factors at play right now, and no two recessions are the same, but most economists agree, including the ones that we have in house at Indeed, that recession risks are higher right now. You know, we have economic uncertainty and we have the expected impact of new tariffs. So uncertainty alone, without things like tariffs, can make people hesitant to change jobs, but if tariffs drive up prices, that can reduce consumer demand, which in turn affects the labor market. But you kind of touched on this yourself, Chris, it’s important to note that your outlook is going to vary by the industry you’re in, so in in person, industries like healthcare, childcare, dentistry, you know, those have remained strong and will likely continue to remain strong, because regardless of what’s going on in the economy, demand for those sectors isn’t going to decrease.

Priya Rathod 5:39
But industries like retail, tech, banking, those have all slowed. Indeed, data shows that software development jobs are down 33% from pre pandemic levels. So again, it’s less about a broad based recession narrative and more about what’s going on in your industry and planning accordingly. And I know we’re going to talk a little bit more about this, but you’re going to have to plan based on where you’re working today.

Chris Villanueva 6:06
So why are those software positions so shaky? Is it because of and again, another, another dreaded war, but the AI all the stuff that’s going on with the technology like technology changes, but why are we seeing such changes in the technology sector?

Priya Rathod 6:21
Yeah, I think that, look, I think that a lot of technologies companies went through a period in which they hired, hired, hired, hired, hired, right and now they’re realizing that maybe they didn’t need as many people as they needed before. And so we’re seeing a lot of right sizing going on in companies. I also want to address what you talked about with AI. What we’re learning through indeed, is that AI isn’t going to replace your jobs, but people who know how to use AI will so as we continue to talk about what to do during these uncertain times, and upskilling becomes a major part of that learning AI, both inside and outside your industry, is going to be key to staying relevant in the workforce today.

Chris Villanueva 7:08
That makes so much sense. I try to learn something every single day with AI myself, even though I do not have an AI job whatsoever, but I think it’s so fascinating, and there’s so many changes to how we are going to be working and communicating together. I even have a little skepticism. Whenever I get an email, I’m like, is this an AI email? I’m not sure if it is or not, but I think that it’s incredibly important to stay up to date with what’s going on in the news, like listen to podcasts like this, and keep up to date. So what other insights are coming from indeed research, if you have anything else to share.

Priya Rathod 7:44
Well, I want to dive deeper into indeed AI research, because I know that’s something that your listeners likely want to hear more about. So you know what’s really great? I just want to back up and kind of toot our own horn for a minute, because I’ve been at Indeed for a long time, for many, many reasons. But what’s really great about being at Indeed, is that while we have government data, which is extremely helpful, there’s a lag with government data, whereas our job postings tracker is updated weekly. So what that does is it gives us an early view into shifts, by sector, by geography.

Priya Rathod 8:20
We can look at Job Seeker behavior, and so we can commission bespoke research projects, like right now, how federal employees are searching for jobs, what benefits are most advertised, and then AI, which is what we’re talking about. So our hiring Lab, which is made up of a team of economists, recently analyzed more than 55 million job postings on Indeed, and I know Right exactly. It’s just tons and tons of data. And while they did that, they identified more than 2800 individual work skills, right?

Priya Rathod 8:56
So we’re looking at a variety of postings, and the skills cover everything from academic advising to Zendesk and so the results are clear. I want your listeners to hear this, because I know this is the this has been making a lot of people anxious generative. AI won’t be replacing human workers anytime soon, so there were zero skills that were found very likely to be replaced by AI, the majority of skills. So let’s talk. Let’s say around 68.7% of the skills assessed were very unlikely to be replaced by AI, and then roughly a quarter, a little over a quarter, so 28.5% of skills may possibly be replaced by generative AI as the tools improve. So again, this is, this is the kind of data we’re pulling. But also, again, we have to note that it’s not going to replace workers, but you need to know how to use it.

Chris Villanueva 9:53
Couldn’t want to make an argument. I understand that somebody couldn’t be replaced by AI, but the I think people do fear that it’s caused. Shifts and changes that people aren’t used to. For example, maybe you can’t replace an entire job, but you can make it more efficient, therefore two people can become one person and things like that. So are there those kind of worries that people should watch out for or be considering when it comes to downsizing or things like that.

Priya Rathod 10:22
Well, I think you, you made a good point there, Chris, is that it can make someone more efficient, right? And in the economy that we’re living in right now, and all the uncertainty you want to show as a worker that you’re as flexible and efficient as possible, so instead of maybe AI replacing your job, AI, is going to allow you to be a more efficient worker, which may allow you to cover more work, and then makes you more valuable to your company. So again, it all comes back to that being able to be agile and resilient and flexible and learning these skills so that you can do your job even better.

Chris Villanueva 10:59
Love it. I’ll be delving into some of the more advice related questions here. But please, if you have more insights like that, sprinkle those like I just, I want to hear more.

Priya Rathod 11:09
So absolutely, absolutely!

Chris Villanueva 11:11
That’s awesome. So Okay, folks who are employed right now and want to stay ready right now in the answer in job market, because I want to delve into folks who, okay, I don’t have a job right now. I need a job so badly, and I’m worried about what’s going on. But first, let’s talk about folks who maybe their job search isn’t so urgent, it’s not so active, and folks who are just looking to keep their career going strong. What advice would you have for those types of professionals in this uncertain market.

Priya Rathod 11:41
A lot of the things we talked about, I think, are extremely relevant for employed workers, right? So one of the things is, you’re going to want to show at your company, no matter what role you’re in, Chris, that you can identify ways to save money and ways to make money. So I think no matter what role you’re in, you maybe there’s a vendor that you all are using that you can get for a more reasonable price. I think you’re going to want to show your value in this type of environment. So again, how can you save your company money? How can you make your company money? These are things that are really important right now. Upskilling, upskilling, upskilling, we talked about it earlier, but figure out how you can be an even more efficient and productive employee, and that includes up skilling. And so it, you know, there’s a lot of companies like at Indeed we have access to, and I know I’m going to say this wrong, Udemy. And so, through Udemy, there’s 1000s of courses that you can take to make yourself more skilled in certain areas.

Priya Rathod 12:48
So when you’re in a company and you have access upscale, there’s no reason for you not to this is the time to do it, and then you’ve got to continue to network. Networking is important in any type of economy, but right now, it’s even more important. And when I say network, I networking, I mean internal networking and external networking. So don’t just make sure your boss knows what you’re doing. Make sure your team knows what you’re doing. Leadership knows what you’re doing, the wins that you’re having. I think we’re less likely to want to promote them. Now’s the time to promote them. You know, what are you doing that’s great for your company? Promote that and then external networking right on outside your organization. If you’re part of different organizations that relate to your sector, relate to your role, those are the people that are going to talk to you about opportunities that you didn’t know about they’re gonna mention your name in rooms that you’re not in. They’re going to mentor you and help you and so again, staying connected with people is going to be key. Chris,

Chris Villanueva 13:53
So I know you’re also on LinkedIn. Do you have any LinkedIn advice or tips for folks? I do think it’s a great tool for folks who are looking to network, you know, either with the people they already know, or be new people.

Priya Rathod 14:04
Yeah, and I think, look, LinkedIn isn’t just about sharing successes. I think it’s about showing that you can be a source of information, you know.

Chris Villanueva 14:14
Thank you for that. There’s too many. But yeah, yes!

Priya Rathod 14:19
I think we’ve it. Some people want to turn it into that, but what?

Chris Villanueva 14:23
Only that? Right?

Priya Rathod 14:24
Yes, only that, which can be exhausting, right? Chris, to keep looking at, I think you want to show that you have a unique take on you’re not just going to share an article or share information. What’s your take on that? Right? Like, how can you look at it differently? What is it that if you’ve taken a course to upskill, let’s not just share that we took that course. Let’s talk about how we’re using that course in our current role. So I think being a source of information is key, and I think also not making it just about what you’re posting, but contributing to other people’s posts, using it to. Join other organizations that may be interesting. You know, going to their virtual events, these are all things that are going to make you more relevant in today’s job seeker world,

Chris Villanueva 15:10
I think commenting in other people’s posts, not just posting your own, is so valuable. And I was surprised by how many connections I have made and followers, whatever. But just like genuine connections, through commenting and adding value that way. So don’t just comment to comment. Don’t just post to post. I think it’s about really leading with the intention of having wanting to add value and share information, like you said, so.

Priya Rathod 15:33
Exactly, exactly, and that’s what makes you unique.

Chris Villanueva 15:37
So let’s talk about the person who needs a job right now. Maybe they know that they’re going to get laid off or they’ve been unemployed. What advice would you have for folks who are job seeking right now during this time?

Priya Rathod 15:51
Yeah, it’s a tough time right now. And I think the first thing I want to stress to these people is what I talked about with my first answer to your first question, Chris, which is that long term unemployment is at an all time high. It’s the highest it’s been in three years. So if you’re struggling, please note that you’re not alone. There are a lot of people who have been out of work for a long time. So first, take a deep breathand know that you’re not alone. Then I think it’s a combination of using AI and real in person tools, right? So I think there’s so many AI tools right now that can help you enhance your resume, help you match it to what’s on a job description right now. But some things are not going to replace in person contact.

Priya Rathod 16:36
So I’m just going to give you an example. Indeed, offers a range of career services, right? They have resume review, they have interview coaching, they have personalized career advice. So while AI may able, may be able to prepare you for an interview with questions, they’re not going to be as effective if you’re not saying them out loud, practicing with someone doing mock interviews like this is the time you need to kind of level up your game. We also have the indeed Career Guide, which is going to show you all types of data on how you can write an application, letter, side hustles, making money from home. So that’s really important. And then you’ve got to stay flexible right now, Chris, I know that everyone wants their kind of full time dream job, but in the case that that’s not happening, consider, you know, project work or contract work, or something that’s going to just get you back in the game right now, because you you just need to get your foot in the door somewhere to start feeling productive again and getting the right experience.

Chris Villanueva 17:39
I’m thinking about my wife right now, who she had her own job search,you know, half a year ago, you know, we met, we made the decision that, you know, she wanted to go back to work. And so, hey, let’s get you back in the market right now. And it was a, it was a different time. She was noting, this isn’t what it used to be, you know, several years ago. And it really, I wouldn’t say it was a major struggle, but it was, it was harder. It really was a lot harder. And we felt it, and we were surprised. You know, I never saw her or, I mean, she never imagined working within the healthcare industry. She’s been in sales for a long time, but that’s eventually the job that she ended up getting was a, you know, larger healthcare Corporation, and she’s happy now, but there were a lot of things that she had to learn, I think, the hard way. And Celeste, if you’re listening to this right now, I hope you don’t mind me kind of sharing this.

Chris Villanueva 18:26
I know we’ve talked about it. There’s, there’s so many resources out there for professionals who need that position right now. And I would encourage people also to just be open to what’s going on in the job market. You know, say you’re, you’re truly passionate about your position and what you’re doing right now, but maybe now might be the time to pivot to a different type of company or even industry altogether. So I would encourage people, as I’m sure you’ve been doing the same, to look at the data and see what’s out there.

Priya Rathod 18:56
And Chris, you just keep coming with the best examples and setting me up to give more tips. So thank you and congratulations, Celeste, because I know it’s not easy to go through that, but you talked about something that’s really important to consider right now, which is that these industries that continue to need people, like healthcare and dentistry and childcare and all these in person industries, you might need to pivot to those industries.

Priya Rathod 19:21
It doesn’t mean you’re going to change your role, like she’s still in sales, but you’re going to want to look at the industries that are growing and consider them. And so I think that’s really important. And then something else you talked about, which may or may not have been Celeste experience, but it’s important for job seekers right now, is that it’s okay to address your employment gap on your resume or in person. I think a lot of people think it’s going to make them look less than but I think addressing that gap and talking about it shows that you have nothing to hide. You want to talk about it, and there may be a very good reason why there’s an employment. Employment gap. And so I think being open with employers is also really important.

Chris Villanueva 20:05
And it’s nothing to be ashamed of or worried about if you do have, like, a resume or an employment gap, I think a lot of people get anxious about it, like, how is it going to be perceived? And it might slow them down, but it’s it’s something to address, but that’s nothing to fret or worry about over and over.

Priya Rathod 20:21
Exactly, exactly. And I think a lot of people for various reasons, coming right from, if we talk about the pandemic, till now, there’s a lot of people who have employment gaps, and so you’re not alone, and just address it and move on.

Chris Villanueva 20:37
So in a second, I want to ask you about your advice on taking care of yourself. I know you’re an advocate for self care and and, well, I think just that gets me excited. But on the folks who are struggling front you know, I’ve been receiving a lot of resume review quests for folks who may have been, you know, part of the federal firings, or they might have been laid off. It just, it’s a tough time right now. Do you have advice for folks who are, say, coming from federal government and wanting to make a transition, either, let’s say, to like the private sector, or maybe like a nonprofit position that is not government related.

Priya Rathod 21:14
Right? No, that’s a really good question. I think it’s really important to do a couple of things, and so I feel like I I’m repeating myself, but I want your job See, your job seekers, yes, your job seekers and your listeners to know that this is this is relevant. I think trying to find certain certifications that you can do that are relevant to that industry before you apply can be invaluable, right? So you’re showing like, hey, I want to enter this industry, and I’ve taken the time to find out what I need to do to bridge that gap, right? And then the other thing is, there are so many transferable skills. When you’re coming from, say, a government job to a nonprofit job, there’s a lot of skills that you’ve used in your previous role, it’s really important to highlight those in your resume front and center.

Chris Villanueva 22:05
Yes!

Priya Rathod 22:05
Right? Like tailor your resume to each role. I know it can be frustrating and annoying and time consuming, but I promise you it will pay off if you tailor it to that specific role. So your resume should not be the same resume for every job you’re applying to. And again, things like AI, things like Career Services, they’re going to help you do that, but make sure that every cover letter, every resume, is tailored to the company and the role.

Chris Villanueva 22:36
I love that, and I mean, so if you’re applying, you know, say, to a for profit position, it’s like talk their speak their language. You know, you might have to remove some of that federal jargon. You probably will have to, but it’s so important to tailor speak to the language. And I think it’s, it’s so important hearing that from you, who has been indeed for nine years.

Priya Rathod 22:56
Yes, I mean, I’ve had to do that internally, Chris. I’ve been in three different orgs within indeed, and I’ve had to do that every time I’ve applied to a new job at Indeed. And I work at the company.

Chris Villanueva 23:07
Awesome, awesome. So you were an advocate for self care, for folks to really make sure that they take care of themselves. Because I think really being a job seeker or someone who is looking to level up their career, it’s a stressful time. It can be financially stressful. It’s the uncertainty that creates anxiety. It’s taxing because it adds time to your schedule. But what tips and strategies do you have for folks to make sure they’re taking care of themselves?

Priya Rathod 23:37
Yeah, I love this question, because it is a lifelong journey for me, as you know, Chris, every time you go through a different phase of life, there are different things that come up for you. So first and foremost, I think job searching can be extremely stressful. If you look at the some of the most stressful things in your life, job search is one of them. So one of the things I want your listeners to do is to get outside or create some kind of movement in their body every day. You know, I think if it’s just a five minute walk, if you’re getting outside, if you’re taking an exercise class, if you’re moving your body, you’re going to feel better carve out some time for that, because I think when you’re in job search mode, you’re just like all I need to do right now is look for a job. So I want your listeners to get outside.

Priya Rathod 24:25
I also want them to I find that when I have been in between, jobs, structure can be extremely valuable for me, and it is a way of taking care of yourself. If it means in the morning, you go out for a walk, then you spend two hours on the job search, then you do something else, then you come back to the job search. I think you know, studies show that taking certain breaks and creating structure in your day is going to help you be more productive. So really do that and spend time with people that lift you up. I know this. Sounds a little cheesy, but those are the people when I’m feeling down and when I can’t do it. They’re the ones who tell me, No, you can do it. You know, you can keep going. And so I want your listeners to know that just because you don’t have a job right now doesn’t mean that you’re not allowed to spend time with people you love do things that bring you joy. Those are the things that are going to make you more productive in your job search.

Chris Villanueva 25:23
I cannot emphasize for me how important that’s been, and I’ve been through times even in developing my business to where, like, I don’t know if I can do this. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done professionally, and I don’t like I’m really failing right now at this, but hearing from other people who’ve gone through it before has helped me a ton, even being able to vent to close family members or friends, and I’m not a share my feelings type, so I’m probably preaching to that same person here listening right now, but it has been so helpful, and it’s it’s been a game changer in that it’s allowed me to get over whatever hump or struggle, or, you know, spinning hamster wheel that I’ve been a part of, and just move forward and then see the results eventually. But I think it’s so important to do what you’ve said, and that may be the one tip that someone needs to hear from this episode. So I appreciate that.

Priya Rathod 26:13
So yeah, and Chris, you you mentioned something that I think is important is that it’s gonna come from when we talked about networking early, earlier, it’s going to come from people like close family and friends, but it’s also going to come from people who are going through the exact same thing you’re going through, like, to your point when you’re a founder, when you’re starting something new, like someone else who’s in that place can help you more than you you would ever know.

Chris Villanueva 26:15
And I know, indeed, I remember, indeed, had a it was a famous forum or something, because I was on that forum, like, a long time ago, way back in the day. But do you have resources for folks to engage in some sort of community or just to connect?

Priya Rathod 26:51
Yeah, I think that’s a good question. Chris, I know that we are taping this, so I’m trying to figure out this is probably the one question that I may need to look something up on I mean, the the way that there are a couple of things in which job seekers can find out what’s going on within a company, right? So we have company pages that show reviews and that have questions and answers. So indeed, has the job search Academy, and that goes live on LinkedIn every month, and I will confirm that it’s monthly for you Chris, and I will confirm that for your listeners, but every month, we cover a new topic about the job search, and you can ask live questions. You can connect with people via the chat, and it helps job seekers, because a lot of them are going through the same thing. And so it gives you a forum to not only learn about tips and tricks, like we’re doing today, but to also connect with other people via that chat and add them on LinkedIn and talk to them during your free time. And so that’s a way that we’re trying to build community for job seekers today.

Chris Villanueva 28:00
I love that. I’ve never heard of that before. And if you find a link, or I’ll find the link, I’ll drop that in the description. Listeners, that’s that’s really helpful. Priya, you’ve advocated and fought for women and parents in the workforce. I know it’s something that you’re very passionate about, so I would love to hear any words of advice you have for folks who are women or maybe they’re moms out there who are in the job search. But what? What strategies and words of advice do you have?

Priya Rathod 28:27
Yeah, this is one of my favorite topics, Chris, so thank you for asking me about this. I want to talk about this in a couple of ways. I think if you are a parent who is trying to return to the workforce after a gap, a lot of the things we talked about in this podcast are going to be relevant for you. I want you to embrace that gap, because there are so many transferable skills that you have when you are running an entire household that are extremely relevant for the workforce. So I want you to have the confidence to go and do that, and to embrace that, and to know that that time was extremely productive while you’re in the workforce, I want you to advocate for the things that you need to be successful in your role. A lot of that includes hybrid work, remote work, and if you don’t have access to that, maybe asking for some of that. Because I think that’s extremely relevant. I think when you’re looking at companies taking advantage of the benefits that help you be, become and be a better parent when you’re in the workforce.

Priya Rathod 29:28
So for example, at Indeed, we have access to Maven, which is an incredible resource, which is video calls with doctors or professionals that can help you and your families. I think that’s really important, and I think continuing to normalize being a parent is going to be extremely important. So I am going to give you an example of something that I do. My calendar is public, and when I have certain things that I need to do for my children, because we all know the work day the school day ends at 330 Day, and the work day does not end there, and so we’re constantly trying to juggle everything. I will put things publicly on my calendar, school pickup, Asher’s end of year, school party, right? As long as it’s not every day and taking up every minute of my time. But I think it’s important to normalize that we are parents and we are also workers.