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Tips for Mid-Career Job Hunters

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As federal workers and others fear losing long-secure positions, we asked an ILR human resources professor for insights

By Beth Saulnier

For many U.S. workers, these feel like increasingly perilous times. With federal layoffs in the headlines and trade wars heating up, some longtime employees may suddenly fear their jobs are less secure than they once were.

Cornellians tapped ILR’s JR Keller for insights on navigating a mid-career job hunt. In addition to a wealth of information, the associate professor of human resource studies offered some glad tidings: for candidates who are talented and prepared, he says, the outlook remains positive.

Given the current climate, is mid-career job searching a particularly relevant issue right now?

Yes. People are worried about what’s happening with the federal workforce, but also how policy and economic changes are going to trickle down to their organization. How could trade wars or tariffs affect my business?

There’s economic uncertainty—and when there’s uncertainty, the first cost to go is people.

When it comes to actual job-hunting, is this moment especially dire?

I don’t think so. You do see people who post on LinkedIn or social media, “I’ve sent out 5,000 résumés and haven’t gotten an interview!” That’s just not the norm. The torrent of negative news makes people feel like it’s worse than it is.

What are the special challenges of job hunting when you’re mid-career—say in your 30s, 40s, or 50s?

One of them is mental, which is less about finding a job and more about, “What am I going to do?” Because when we’re older and more established, we’re often rooted to a community. We have financial commitments: mortgages, college tuition, healthcare. So we’re not as flexible as we once were.

What practical advice might you have?

One of the biggest things is to talk about it with as many people as you can. You might not like telling people you lost your job. But psychologically, having an outlet is useful—and people can help you brainstorm alternatives. So it’s good to be open.

When we’re older and more established, we’re often rooted to a community. We have financial commitments. So we’re not as flexible as we once were.

Another thing is that, depending on where you are financially, this might be an opportunity to re-evaluate what you’re spending money on. What’s important, what’s less important, what could I shift around?

It can be easy to panic after a job loss—but is it OK to take time off to regroup?

It’s reasonable to take between a week and a month, depending on how urgent things feel. Take some time to get mentally correct, where you can engage in the search process. It can be hard to think of being laid off as an opportunity—but it’s a chance to reset and reassess what you want to do next.

If folks haven’t been on the job market for years, they may not be familiar with the current hiring system. Can you describe how it has changed?

There have been online job boards for decades, but so much recruiting is now done online, where companies collect applications through a tracking system. The great thing for employers is that it’s really easy to reach everybody.

It’s also great for candidates, because the universe of opportunities is much more visible. Almost all companies, even if they’re also recruiting through referrals and word of mouth, are posting jobs online, often for legal reasons.

The challenge for job seekers is that there are so many jobs out there. Places like LinkedIn and Indeed have made it easy to apply—but that also means lots of people submit their résumé even if they lack the basic qualifications. Companies get overwhelmed, so they use automatic filters.

So how does one navigate the system?

Part of it is setting expectations—knowing it’s very possible you’re going to send out 50, 100, 200 résumés and only hear back from a few places. That’s a function of these new applicant tracking systems and talent acquisition processes, not a reflection on you as a candidate.

Basically, these algorithms look for keywords: how well the language on your résumé or LinkedIn profile matches the job ad. Everybody could argue that’s not the best way, but that’s how the technology works.

It’s very possible you’re going to send out 50, 100, 200 résumés and only hear back from a few places. That’s a function of these new systems, not a reflection on you as a candidate.

So: have a standard résumé that has the key aspects of your experience and skills, and maybe a little intro about yourself. And when you find a job to apply for, spend 10 or 20 minutes editing it to match the language in the ad.

Most people don’t do that. They dust off an old résumé and send it out to everybody.

What about your cover letter?

People used to spend so much time writing them, but they’re basically dead. There’s no place for a cover letter in most job applications, anyway.

Is it worth it to hire a career counselor?

That’s one of the best bangs for your buck. They could cost between $100 and $300 an hour, but it’s an amazing investment; let’s say you meet with them for an hour once a week for a month, and then maybe once a month thereafter, for updates and strategies.

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What can they do for you?

Different industries may have different buzzwords, technologies, or recruiting processes. They’ll know that, and be able to explain it and how you can adjust your profile. The other thing that career counselors are really good at is looking at your résumé and having conversations about your experience, to help you tell your story in different ways.

You may think of yourself as, say, an analyst—but maybe you’re actually good at project planning. A career counselor can say, “Here are types of opportunities you might want to look at, and how you can phrase your experience.”

How does somebody find a good career counselor?

You Google it, along with the terms that apply to what you’re looking for, like academia, industry, technology, or investment banking. A lot of counselors will offer a discounted 30-minute consultation, so you can see if you vibe with them and ask for success stories.

People used to spend so much time writing cover letters, but they’re basically dead. There’s no place for a cover letter in most job applications, anyway.

There are also some newer technologies that are essentially AI career coaches. A Cornell grad [Vrijen Attawar, MBA ’22] started Careerspan—that’s just one example; there are a couple of others. You have conversations with an AI chatbot about your experience and what kind of jobs you’re looking for.

With remote work being increasingly discouraged, how will that impact job seekers?

There does seem to be a push from the C-suite of larger organizations; we keep seeing on the front page of the Wall Street Journal some big employer telling everybody they’re coming back to the office.

But we hear from lots of people that it’s not happening as seamlessly or as fast as organizations say it will, because there are logistics that companies haven’t thought about. Like, they downsized office space to save money during the pandemic, and now when they want people to come in, there’s no space for them.

So I don’t think we’re going to see a return to full in-person work. We’re going to end up at some equilibrium, where there’s way more flexibility than there ever was before.

So job hunters shouldn’t shy away from applying to positions outside their geographic area?

If you find a job that’s perfect for you, and you want to be remote but it’s several hours away, yes—I would apply. You’re going to get through that initial screening, and they’ll interview you, and there’s a non-zero chance they’re going to say, “You’re awesome, so we’ll figure out something to bring you on board.”

Is it true that finding a job is a full-time job in itself?

Not necessarily; lots of people search when they’re already employed.

The most successful searches are systematic. Put together an Excel spreadsheet with the jobs you’ve applied to. Dedicate a certain number of hours per week; set a target for the number of applications. You might spend two hours identifying 20 good opportunities, and then over the next few days, spend 10 minutes on each.

What other tips might you have?

Part of crafting your résumé, reaching out to people, and interviewing is selling yourself as a candidate. And that’s really about storytelling and being able to answer the question, “Why this company, and why this job?”

That’s where it’s useful to talk to people, to practice that pitch—why you’re a good fit for the role, even if it may not seem obvious on paper.

If you’re laid off in your mid-50s or beyond, how do you decide if it’s time to retire?

There’s the obvious question of whether you could do it financially. If you’re at that point, you have to think about: what do you get out of work besides a paycheck?

I don’t think we’re going to see a return to full in-person work. We’re going to end up at some equilibrium, where there’s way more flexibility than there ever was before.

We often get a real sense of purpose, the feeling that we’re doing good. People anticipate retirement as having all this free time to do things, but we don’t realize how much social interaction and intellectual stimulation we get from work.

Can you offer some perspective about how the job-hunting process looks from the other side—the people doing the hiring?

When I do executive education, I talk about two approaches. One is exclusive: trying to weed out the people who can’t do the job. This is how most job seekers think about hiring managers and recruiters—that they can’t wait to wad up résumés and throw them in the bin.

But the vast majority of recruiters and hiring managers have an inclusive approach; they’re desperate to find really good candidates. They’re weeding out the not-great fits, but only in service of finding good people.

If you’re talking to a career coach, reaching out to recruiters, customizing your résumé—then you’re doing more than 95% of job seekers. That other 5% is a much smaller pool of people you’re competing against, and you’re the type of person that recruiters are trying to find.

(Top: Illustration by Ashley Osburn / Cornell University. Keller photo provided.)

Published March 14, 2025

Comments

Lee Dyer, Emeritus Professor, Class of 2016
19 Mar, 2025

This is excellent. A perfect example of the way in which the deep knowledge of a scholar who really knows his stuff can be in service to the broader public. J.R. spans this breach. He is an informed and impeccable researcher who cares about improving the world of work. He is a credit to the ILR School and to Cornell.

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Nick Murray, Class of 2011
25 Mar, 2025

Very helpful pieces of advice, although as a job seeker in the government/climate/external affairs space I can say that the cover letter is very much alive and well, much to my chagrin.

As Mark Twain once wrote, “reports of the death of cover letter are greatly exaggerated,” or something like that…

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Tips for Mid-Career Job Hunters

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