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Navigating the 2026 U.S. Labor Market: Low Layoffs Meet a Cooling Economy

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Navigating the 2026 U.S. Labor Market: Low Layoffs Meet a Cooling Economy

HR Spotlight News Desk

As the United States enters the first full week of 2026, the economic landscape presents a curious paradox. According to the latest data from the Labor Department, applications for jobless benefits have fallen to levels not seen in months, dipping below the 200,000 threshold. On the surface, this suggests a robust labor market where jobs are secure. However, a deeper dive into recent economic shifts—including federal workforce purges, tariff uncertainties, and the rise of artificial intelligence—reveals a more complex “no hire, no fire” environment that is keeping both employers and employees on edge.

For the week ending December 27, 2025, initial jobless claims—a reliable proxy for layoffs—fell by 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 199,000. This figure came in significantly lower than the 208,000 predicted by Wall Street analysts and marked one of the lowest levels of the year.

While the sub-200,000 headline is impressive, economists urge caution. The final week of the year is notoriously volatile due to holiday-shortened schedules. Many individuals who lose their jobs during this period often delay filing claims because unemployment offices are closed or they are waiting until the New Year, which can skew the data.

Furthermore, the four-week moving average, which provides a clearer picture by smoothing out weekly fluctuations, actually rose by 1,750 to 218,750. This suggests that while sudden mass layoffs are currently being avoided, the baseline of unemployment activity is gradually trending upward.

The Numbers: A Seasonal Dip or Lasting Stability?

The current state of the U.S. economy has been described by labor observers as a “no hire, no fire” landscape. For much of 2025, companies across various sectors—from retail to manufacturing—found themselves in a holding pattern.

On one hand, layoffs remain historically low because businesses are hesitant to let go of trained staff, remembering the labor shortages of previous years. On the other hand, hiring has lost significant momentum. Since March 2025, job creation has slowed to an average of just 35,000 per month, a sharp decline from the 71,000 monthly average recorded in the previous year.

This stagnation is reflected in the national unemployment rate, which recently climbed to 4.6%, its highest point since 2021. This rise isn’t necessarily fueled by a surge in pink slips, but rather by the fact that those entering the workforce or searching for new roles are finding it increasingly difficult to secure a position.

The “No Hire, No Fire” Phenomenon

The labor market’s cooling can be traced back to several significant policy shifts and geopolitical uncertainties that dominated the latter half of 2025.

The Federal Workforce Purge: A major contributor to recent volatility was the massive reduction in the federal workforce. In October 2025 alone, the U.S. lost 105,000 jobs, largely driven by a 162,000-person drop in federal employees. Many of these workers resigned or were let go following the “purge” directed by the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk.

The Impact of Tariffs: Uncertainty over trade policy has forced many companies to freeze expansion. New tariffs have created a significant cost burden for businesses that rely on imported goods, with estimated static tariff rates reaching 16.5%. This has led to a cautious “wait and see” approach regarding new headcount.

The Federal Reserve’s Pivot: In response to the cooling market, the Federal Reserve trimmed interest rates three times in late 2025. Fed Chair Jerome Powell expressed concern that the job market might be “even weaker than it appears,” suggesting that recent job figures could be revised lower by as much as 60,000, which would imply that employers have actually been shedding jobs since the spring.

Political and Policy Headwinds

While the headline jobless claims are low, specific industries are feeling the heat. High-profile companies like UPS, Amazon, General Motors, and Verizon have all announced targeted workforce reductions in recent months.

Perhaps the most transformative force of 2026 is the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence. In 2025, AI began moving beyond a buzzword into a legitimate driver of corporate restructuring. White-collar roles—particularly in entry-level tech, accounting, and administrative services—are seeing a slowdown in demand. This has contributed to a tighter job market for younger workers; the unemployment rate for 16-to-19-year-olds climbed to 16.3% in late 2025.

Sector-Specific Challenges and the AI Factor

As we move further into January, market watchers are bracing for the first “true” data of the year. The upcoming January 9 employment report will be a critical indicator of whether the sub-200,000 jobless claims were a holiday fluke or a sign of unexpected resilience.

J.P. Morgan’s 2026 forecast remains cautious, with economists watching closely to see if potential tax cuts and interest rate reductions (like those proposed in the “One Big Beautiful Bill”) begin to stimulate growth in the second half of the year. Currently, the risk of a recession in 2026 remains at approximately one-in-three, according to analysts.

Looking Ahead: What to Expect in 2026

Conclusion

The drop in jobless claims to 199,000 provides a momentary sigh of relief, but it does not tell the whole story. The U.S. labor market is currently navigating a delicate transition—a market where “fire” has been replaced by a “freeze.” For workers, the message is clear: while the risk of losing a job is statistically low, the ease of finding a new one has significantly diminished. As 2026 unfolds, the true health of the economy will depend on whether the private sector can overcome policy uncertainties and technological shifts to resume meaningful hiring.

Do you wish to contribute to the next HR Spotlight article? Or is there an insight or idea you’d like to share with readers across the globe?

Write to us at stan@brandworx.digital, and our team will help you share your insights.

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Beyond the Job Description: Why Verified Company Profiles Are Your Secret Weapon for Career Happiness

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Beyond the Job Description: Why Verified Company Profiles Are Your Secret Weapon for Career Happiness

By Jim Coughlin 
Founder, Remotivated

Most job seekers make career decisions based on incomplete information—and pay the price with years of professional frustration. Here’s how verified company profiles are changing the game for smart job seekers who want to find roles where they’ll actually thrive.

 

Traditional job hunting relies on three main information sources, all of which have fatal flaws:

Company websites and job descriptions tell you what organizations want you to believe, not how they actually operate. Even well-intentioned companies often have a significant gap between their aspirational culture and their daily reality.

Interview conversations are performative by nature. You’re meeting people who are specifically selected and trained to represent the company positively. You’re seeing their best behavior during a brief, artificial interaction.

Generic review sites like Glassdoor provide some employee perspectives, but they’re often polarized (very happy or very angry employees), lack context about remote work specifically, and don’t provide the systematic analysis needed to understand cultural patterns.

This information gap forces job seekers to make decisions based on incomplete data—and then discover the reality only after they’ve already committed months or years of their career.

This is where curated, verified company profiles provided by Remotivated become a career game-changer. Unlike marketing materials or scattered reviews, verified profiles provide systematic analysis of the elements that actually determine your day-to-day work experience.

Let’s examine what comprehensive company profiles uncover that you’d never learn from a job description:

The Verified Profile Advantage: Information That Actually Matters

Cultural Values in Practice 

Rather than aspirational statements, verified profiles show how companies actually implement their values. For example, a company might claim to value “work-life balance,” but their profile reveals whether employees actually take vacation days, work reasonable hours, and feel supported when personal life requires attention.

Leadership Accessibility and Communication Style

Profiles reveal whether leadership is accessible to remote employees, how they communicate company updates, and whether they demonstrate genuine understanding of distributed work challenges. This isn’t about whether they’re “nice”—it’s about operational competence in managing remote organizations.

Investment in Remote Employee Success

The specifics matter here. A $500 home office stipend signals something very different from a $4,000 equipment allowance plus annual refreshes. Comprehensive health benefits, professional development budgets, and retreat policies all indicate how seriously a company takes remote employee investment.

Actual Flexibility Policies

Verified profiles distinguish between “flexible hours” (which often means you can start at 8am or 9am) and genuine schedule autonomy. They reveal core collaboration hours, time zone requirements, and how the company actually handles scheduling conflicts.

Career Growth Track Record

Rather than promises about advancement, profiles examine actual promotion patterns, mentorship availability, and whether remote employees advance at the same rate as office-based colleagues.

Employee Retention and Satisfaction Metrics

Verified profiles often include data about tenure, internal mobility, and systematic employee feedback rather than cherry-picked testimonials.

Smart job seekers are developing new research methodologies that prioritize verified information over marketing materials:

Start with verified remote company databases that provide systematic analysis rather than self-reported information. These platforms often include employee satisfaction data, operational assessments, and third-party verification of cultural claims.

Look for companies that undergo external culture certification or participate in systematic workplace evaluation programs. Organizations willing to submit to external review demonstrate confidence in their actual practices, not just their marketing.

Analyze consistency across multiple information sources. When company claims align with employee reviews, leadership communication, and operational evidence, you’re seeing authentic culture rather than aspirational marketing.

Prioritize specific operational details over general culture statements. “We value work-life balance” means nothing. “Our team has core collaboration hours from 10am-2pm EST, with async handoffs for other time zones” gives you actionable information about daily reality.

The Research Process That Changes Everything

We’re moving toward a world where information asymmetry between employers and job seekers is disappearing. Companies can no longer rely on marketing copy to attract talent—their actual employee experiences are becoming transparent through systematic review and verification processes.

For job seekers, this represents an unprecedented opportunity to make genuinely informed career decisions. The challenge isn’t finding jobs—it’s finding the right jobs where you can build sustainable, satisfying careers.

The professionals who master this research-driven approach to job searching won’t just find employment—they’ll build careers characterized by consistent growth, genuine satisfaction, and long-term professional happiness.

Your next career move shouldn’t be a gamble based on limited information. It should be a strategic decision based on a comprehensive understanding of how companies actually operate and whether their reality aligns with your professional needs.

The tools exist. The information is available. The question is whether you’ll use them to your advantage. Check out Remotivated’s verified company profiles to find career opportunities with top remote employers.

The Future of Career Decision-Making

About the Author

Jim Coughlin is the founder of Remotivated, where he helps identify and celebrate authentic remote-first cultures. After leading a fully distributed fintech implementation team through a successful $500 million exit, he now focuses on helping job seekers and organizations understand what separates genuine remote culture from remote-work theater.

Do you wish to contribute to the next HR Spotlight article? Or is there an insight or idea you’d like to share with readers across the globe?

Write to us at connect@HRSpotlight.com, and our team will help you share your insights.

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When Leadership Talent Is Scarce: Key HR Strategies in a Tight Market

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When Leadership Talent Is Scarce: Key HR Strategies in a Tight Market

By Eric Walczykowski, CEO, Bespoke Partners

Talent is a market like any other, with buyers and sellers.

Buyers are companies; sellers are prospective employees.

The law of supply and demand applies: when willing sellers are scarce, the market tightens, competition among buyers increases, and price (compensation) rises. That determines how easily you can find the talent you need at a compensation level that fits your budget.

So what do you do when the talent market gets tight?

A case study is playing out right now in private equity (PE). It offers lessons for HR leaders on finding the right executives when competition is fierce.

PE firms buy companies, improve them over a few years, and sell for a profit if all goes well.

The sector is huge. In the US, PE-backed companies directly employ about 13.3 million workers and support roughly 31–33 million jobs when you include supplier and consumer-spending effects. Nearly one in five US workers gets a paycheck linked to PE’s investments in our economy.

Leadership talent is essential to a profitable exit, so PE firms focus heavily on finding leaders who can execute growth and value-creation plans. Increasing scarcity of qualified leadership makes this much harder.

A bottleneck has developed because exits have been extremely low for an extended period. When an exit happens, senior executives typically become available for new assignments.

But US PE exits fell 25% in Q2 this year, according to PitchBook, amid economic uncertainty and tariff concerns. PitchBook analysts estimate PE firms hold an all-time-high inventory of more than 12,000 unsold US portfolio companies—a logjam caused by poor exit opportunities.

The exit problem means leadership churn isn’t happening. The most experienced executives are staying put, pursuing elusive exits, and are not available to lead the many companies now crowding PE portfolios.

The PE Leadership Bottleneck

As supply tightens, HR teams recruiting for PE face scarcity of qualified leadership.

It’s harder to find candidates with PE portfolio experience. Searches are longer and harder to close. When leaders are willing to consider new roles, compensation demands are much higher. Our latest data shows C-suite salary and bonus for software and SaaS executives is now consistently in the mid-$500,000 range—up about 25% for some roles over just a couple of years. That’s exactly what supply-and-demand dynamics predict: the “price” for a scarce resource rises.

Competition is fierce. Experienced leaders often field multiple offers simultaneously, especially seasoned CEOs and go-to-market executives in sales and marketing.

Fortunately, the same market rules suggest ways to mitigate tightness. Many of our clients use six recruiting strategies to ease constraints and improve their odds of hiring the leaders they need.

These apply well beyond the PE sector, and can be used by any HR professional hiring senior executives when those executives are scarce.

Impact on Leadership Recruiting

1) Make succession continuous, not episodic

Waiting until an immediate need arises locks you into that moment’s market conditions. Like all markets, the leadership market changes frequently. The most effective HR leaders run year-round succession programs that map and track potential needs and potential availability.

2) Expand the funnel with “step-ups”—and de-risk them

Hunting for C-suite “unicorns” with the exact resume narrows the pool and elongates searches. Consider VP-level “step-ups” who are ready for the C-suite. This can double or triple the candidate pool and reduce tight-market pressure. Our data shows step-ups achieve exits in PE-backed companies as often as seasoned C-suite counterparts as long as the new C-suite executives are vetted and supported properly with onboarding and mentorship or other support. The step-ups are hungry to prove themselves and will put in outsized effort.

3) Elevate HR as a strategic function

Traditional HR handles operations like payroll, benefits, and onboarding. But the most effective HR leaders elevate the function to be a true strategic partner. Because talent is mission-critical, HR and leadership needs belong in enterprise-level planning and decision-making. In PE, firms are adding full-time talent in operational advisory roles who help portfolio companies find and maximize impact from talent.

4) Get creative on compensation

As “market price” rises, recruiting qualified executives gets expensive. But talent isn’t a commodity with a single price. Use multiple levers—equity and options, milestone payouts, incentives tied to strategic success, and even remote work flexibility—to attract top leaders, sometimes at lower cash levels.

5) Streamline decision-making

When competition is intense, slow movers lose—both because candidates field other offers and because a slow process signals bureaucracy and a less-than-nimble culture. Top companies treat recruiting as a priority. Before engaging candidates, they align internally on the scorecard, references, compensation, interview cadence, and interview focus.

6) Work with external specialists

There’s a temptation to run searches in-house. But external search firms usually deliver better outcomes. They continually network with prospective candidates, giving you wider visibility. They track careers, know which roles will appeal and how to pitch them, and have real-time compensation data to guide negotiations and benchmark offers.

Six Strategies for a Tight Talent Market

Even in tight markets, some companies still land the best executives and set themselves up for success. The six strategies above are the tools they use to beat the competition for PE executive talent. You can apply them in any sector. The overarching strategy: run an efficient process, get creative, and broaden your market visibility to counteract scarcity of qualified talent.

Winning in the Tight Market

About Eric Walczykowski

Eric is the Chief Executive Officer of Bespoke Partners, a leading executive search firm for private equity portfolio companies.

Bespoke Partners delivers a scientific approach to search by leveraging proprietary tools and methodologies that lead to high impact executive teams that stay through the investment thesis 99% of the time.

Do you wish to contribute to the next HR Spotlight article? Or is there an insight or idea you’d like to share with readers across the globe?

Write to us at connect@HRSpotlight.com, and our team will help you share your insights.

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Leading the Async Revolution: An HR Leader’s Guide to Cultural Transformation

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Leading the Async Revolution

An HR Leader’s Guide to Cultural Transformation

By

Jim Coughlin

Founder at Remotivated

How forward-thinking HR professionals are spearheading the shift to asynchronous work cultures and why your organization can’t afford to wait

HR leaders are often the unsung heroes of workplace transformation. While executives debate strategy and managers focus on execution, we’re the ones tasked with the delicate art of cultural evolution. Today, one of the most critical transformations facing our profession is guiding organizations toward asynchronous-first cultures – and the window for competitive advantage is rapidly closing.

At Remotivated, we help organizations navigating this transition, and we’ve found that the most successful transformations aren’t driven by technology adoptions or policy mandates. Rather, they’re led by HR professionals who understand that async-first culture is fundamentally about reimagining how humans collaborate at their best.

The HR Leader's Dilemma: When "Always On" Becomes Always Wrong

Here’s a scenario that probably sounds familiar: Your CEO proudly announces the company’s commitment to “flexible work,” which sounds great on the surface. However, your employee engagement scores are plummeting. Exit interviews reveal exhaustion, not freedom. The culprit? A culture that treats remote work like in-office work.
The problem isn’t where people work – it’s how we’re asking them to work. Most organizations have a digitized synchronous culture rather than designing an asynchronous culture. The difference is profound, and as HR leaders, we’re uniquely positioned to recognize and address it.

Why HR Must Champion Asynchronous Culture (Not Just Remote Policies)

1. Employee Well-being at Scale

Traditional metrics focus on what we can easily measure: response times, meeting attendance, seat time logged. But asynchronous culture optimizes for what actually matters: meaningful contribution, cognitive load management, and sustainable performance. HR leaders who champion async-first approaches report significant improvements in employee satisfaction scores and a drastic reduction in burnout indicators.

2. Inclusive Excellence by Design

Asynchronous work isn’t just accommodating – it’s optimizing for human diversity. Parents managing school pickup, neurodivergent team members who process information differently, introverts who contribute better in writing – async culture doesn’t just include these voices, it amplifies them. This isn’t about making exceptions; it’s about designing systems that bring out everyone’s best work.

3. Talent Access Multiplier

When your culture operates asynchronously, geography becomes irrelevant. But more importantly, lifestyle becomes irrelevant. Suddenly, your talent pool includes incredible people who previously couldn’t fit into rigid synchronous expectations. The organizations that figure this out first will have unprecedented access to top talent.

The Implementation Framework: Beyond Policy Changes

Phase 1: Audit Your Synchronous Assumptions

Before changing tools, change thinking. Conduct an honest assessment of which collaborative activities truly require real-time interaction. Most HR leaders are shocked to discover that 60-70% of meetings could be handled asynchronously with better outcomes.
Start by tracking these metrics for 30 days:

  • Meeting frequency and duration per team
  • Response time expectations (stated vs. cultural reality)
  • Decision-making speed for different process types
  • Employee energy levels throughout typical work weeks

Phase 2: Design Communication Hierarchies

Create clear guidelines for when to use alternate communication methods. This isn’t about restricting communication – it’s about making it intentional. Establish protocols that default to asynchronous methods while preserving space for synchronous connections when it adds genuine value.

Phase 3: Train Managers as Culture Champions

Middle management makes or breaks async transformation. They need specific skills: writing clear context-full messages, managing performance based on outcomes rather than activity, and creating psychological safety for team members who contribute differently.

Measuring Success: New Metrics for New Culture

Traditional HR metrics weren’t designed for asynchronous culture. Consider measuring items like:

  • Contribution Quality Index: Are people delivering their best work, or just responding quickly?
  • Deep Work Protection Rate: How much uninterrupted focus time are team members actually getting?
  • Decision Velocity: How quickly do decisions happen (not how quickly meetings get scheduled)?
  • Cultural Alignment Score: Do employee behaviors match stated async values?

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

The “Async Theater” Trap: Organizations that adopt async tools but maintain synchronous expectations. This creates the worst of both worlds – more platforms to monitor without the benefits of thoughtful, time-shifted communication.

The Documentation Excuse: Teams that resist async communication because they “don’t have time to document.” This reveals a fundamental misunderstanding – async communication becomes your documentation.

The Equity Illusion: Assuming that making async communication available makes it equitable. Without intentional culture design, async tools often amplify existing communication hierarchies rather than disrupting them.

The Competitive Reality

Organizations that successfully implement asynchronous-first cultures aren’t just improving employee satisfaction – they’re fundamentally outcompeting synchronous organizations. They make decisions faster, access better talent, and scale more efficiently.

The question isn’t whether your organization will eventually adopt asynchronous practices. The question is whether you’ll lead this transformation or be forced into it by competitive pressure.

Your Next Steps as an HR Leader

  1. Assess Your Current State: How much of your organization’s collaboration actually requires real-time interaction?

  2. Build Internal Champions: Identify managers who already work well asynchronously and learn from their practices.

  3. Start Small, Think Big: Pilot async approaches with willing teams before organization-wide rollouts.

  4. Invest in Skills Development: Async culture requires new competencies, particularly in written communication and outcome-based performance management.

The future belongs to organizations that can harness human potential without constraining human rhythms. As HR leaders, we have the opportunity, and responsibility, to design remote cultures where everyone can do their best work, on their own terms, together.


Want to dive deeper into implementing asynchronous practices? Explore this comprehensive guide to asynchronous work benefits for detailed strategies and tools that successful remote-first teams utilize to thrive.

Jim Coughlin is the Founder at Remotivated. Remotivated helps organizations build remote work cultures that actually work. Through their certification programs and consulting services, they help companies ensure sustainable, productive, and inclusive remote-first operations.

When I Was An Intern: What I Wish My Internship Company Knew

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When I Was An Intern: What I Wish My Internship Company Knew

Internships are often painted as mere stepping stones—a brief chapter before “real” work begins.

But ask any former intern, and you’ll see: these months carry the power to shape careers, confidence, and sense of belonging.

Yet, what makes an internship truly transformative?

In this article, you’ll hear firsthand from voices who’ve lived it, sharing what they wish their companies understood: connection matters, growth needs support, and inclusion isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s essential.

Their insights offer a blueprint for turning internships from ticking-off tasks into launching pads for potential.

Read on!

Beverlyn Tsai

I wish more companies held structured opportunities for interns to build connections, whether that is with other interns, school alumni at the company, or higher-level employees, to create a community where everyone feels heard and a strong sense of belonging.

For me, team lunches have been very helpful. I always sat next to someone new every day, and by doing so, I was able to form authentic relationships as I learned about my peers’ interests outside of work. During my remote internships, in-person meetups where possible, typically in the bigger cities, and virtual office hours have offered me similar bonding experiences.

“Speed networking” during onboarding, where all the interns have the opportunity to quickly chat with others in the company, has been another game-changer. From day one, the ice was broken, and it was much easier to feel known and included in the company, much like my experience joining college clubs.

Having weekly guest speakers, especially former interns who have found career success, has also been deeply inspiring and a great addition to have in the program. It gave all the interns the chance to learn from now-experts once in their position and also a glance at the possibilities post-internship.

What truly elevated my intern experience were anonymous weekly feedback forms, a chance for interns to share what was and was not working well about the internship in terms of mentorship, culture, and workload. This way, it was evident to all the interns that the company valued and respected our opinions and inputs, and it was easy for them to make any adjustments to suit our needs, which I highly appreciated.

About Beverlyn Tsai

Beverlyn Tsai is a rising sophomore and a Presidential and Viterbi Scholar at the University of Southern California majoring in Computer Science and Business Administration with an AI Applications minor. She co-leads AthenaHacks, Southern California’s premier women-centric hackathon, supports corporate outreach for the Society of Women Engineers as an officer, and works as a Learning Assistant for an AI programming course. At USC Information Sciences Institute’s HUMANS Lab in the AI Department, Beverlyn leverages GPT-4o and OpenCV to detect AI images and identify superspreaders, and she applies web scraping, tweetNLP, and the Mann-Whitney U test to analyze emotional sentiment in AI versus non-AI political image tweets, research crucial to understand how AI-generated political media influences public opinion, trust, and election integrity.

Madeline Gupta

I wish companies knew that moving to a new place for an internship, even just for the summer, can be scary! Programs and activities that help interns explore the area, meet friends close by, and get settled in their new city are essential. 

This is especially true for interns who are from communities that are smaller, far-away, or close knit. To support diverse engineers, it’s also to provide diverse kinds of support, including guidance on moving to a new place. 

About Madeline Gupta

Madeline Gupta is a recent graduate from Yale University where she studied how digital tools can increase community wellness around the globe. Her most recent projects are a virtual reality video game focused on land re-creation for her tribal nation, the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, and a statistical exploration into how large language models can contribute to Indigenous language education and preservation.This fall, she is starting as a software engineer at Google. She has worked as an intern at Zillow, Apple, and Kode with Klossy and her work has previously been featured by TEDx, NBC, and the United Nations.

Angela Cao

Allow your interns to grow, but also allow them to fail sometimes. Mistakes aren’t signs of incompetence, but rather they’re signs that someone is learning, stretching, and doing something they haven’t done before. Especially for interns who are stepping into their first industry role, patience is key. They’re probably navigating a professional environment for the first time, and they’re most likely working on projects that are way more complex than anything they’ve done in school or on their own. Bumps in the road are normal as they’re part of the process. As an experienced employee, it’s your job to help them succeed, not expect them to have everything figured out from day one. 

When assigning projects, be realistic about scope and timeline. For instance, don’t give them a 6-month project and expect them to finish in 10 weeks; rather, give them something meaningful, but achievable. 

I’m currently mentoring an intern, and it reinforced how important mentorship really is for a successful experience. As a mentor, don’t only provide technical or career development or project guidance. Treat your intern like a full member of the team through checking in with them (e.g. 1:1 with your interns), making sure they’re adjusting okay. The gap between an academic environment and industrial environment is way more significant than most people acknowledge. 

Also, while school tends to put a lot of emphasis on technical skills, make space for soft skill development as well such as communication, teamwork, and navigating feedback. Many interns will be neurodivergent or don’t fit the usual mold of what’s considered “professional.” Thus, the way they navigate communication, teamwork, and receiving feedback may not fit the “norm” or “expectation.” Check in and figure out what actually helps them succeed. Not everyone thrives under the same expectations, and sometimes, leaning into a person’s strengths (even if they’re not conventional) is what unlocks their best work. 

Finally, don’t forget to encourage your interns to have a life outside of work, company lunches and happy hours. Encourage exploring the city, hanging out with friends, or even taking time for themselves. Many interns come straight from a hectic academic year, and may need time to decompress as well. Burnout is not just exclusive to full-time employees. Creating balance and reminding them that rest is part of success and achieving their best performance as possible makes the whole experience healthier and more sustainable as well.

About Angela Cao

Angela Cao is a Rewriting the Code (RTC) member based in Houston and a data scientist at Memorial Hermann Health Systems, where she leads high-impact AI and analytics projects to drive data-informed decisions in healthcare. She also holds a Masters of Data Science from Rice University and double Bachelor of Science degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin. Angela is also a co-founder and board member of Women Who Do Data (W2D2) since its inception in 2024, where she leads initiatives to support and advance women and underrepresented minorities in Data and AI.

Monica Para

One valuable insight I’ve gained through my internship experiences is the importance of making expectations and workplace norms transparent and accessible to interns from day one. 

Often, much of what shapes the day-to-day culture, like communication styles, decision-making approaches, and unwritten “rules,” remains unspoken, which can create unnecessary confusion or hesitation for new team members.

I believe companies can improve their internship programs by documenting these key expectations in a clear, approachable guide or handbook tailored specifically for interns. This not only levels the playing field but also empowers interns to contribute confidently and feel truly integrated into the team.

Creating an environment where open dialogue is encouraged around these norms further supports learning and growth, helping interns navigate the nuances of professional culture while focusing on delivering impact.

Ultimately, a little clarity and intentional communication can turn an internship from just a learning opportunity into a truly enriching experience for everyone involved.

About Monica Para

Monica Para is a tech content creator and an early career member of Rewriting The Code. She is very passionate about diversity and sharing accessible resources in the tech and startup sectors. Her project, ChiMaps, is an AI-powered map that highlights startup and venture capital firms across the Chicago tech ecosystem. She aims to make tech more inclusive and navigable for all through content, community, and data-driven tools.

Chahana Dahal

From my experience, the best internship programs are the ones where you’re trusted with meaningful work, not just small tasks to pass the time. 

Having a mentor or someone to check in with regularly made me feel supported and helped me learn so much faster. 

I also really valued when companies gave interns the chance to meet people from other teams. This opened my eyes to roles and paths I hadn’t considered. 

Feeling included and knowing my input mattered, even as an intern, made a huge difference in my confidence and internship experience. 

Companies should focus on creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for their interns.

About Chahana Dahal

Chahana Dahal is a Computer Science graduate with a Data Science minor from Westminster University, where she completed her degree in just three years. She was selected for the Google Computer Science Research Mentorship Program (CSRMP), which started her research journey in AI/ML. Her work on knowledge graph completion with RelatE is under review for NeurIPS 2025, and she is currently developing a Federated RAG framework using large language models. She also presented her independently proposed AI-powered education framework at AAAI 2024 and previously served as a Machine Learning Engineer at Omdena, contributing to adaptive AI tutors for refugee education. She plans to begin her graduate degree in ML in fall 2025.

What Legacy Does Your Company’s Internship Experience Aim to Build?

If there’s one thread weaving these stories together, it’s this: internships aren’t just about what’s learned; they’re about what’s felt.

Structure, trust, honest feedback, and meaningful connection are the pillars that turn a temporary opportunity into a lasting impact.

As companies look to shape their next wave of talent, listening to these voices won’t just improve internship programs; it will help build workplaces where everyone, intern or executive, truly belongs.

The future of work is crafted bell by bell, lunch by lunch, check-in by check-in.

What will your legacy be for the next intern who walks through your door?

The HR Spotlight team thanks these industry leaders for offering their expertise and experience and sharing these insights.

Do you wish to contribute to the next HR Spotlight article? Or is there an insight or idea you’d like to share with readers across the globe?

Write to us at connect@HRSpotlight.com, and our team will help you share your insights.

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Decoding Vague Feedback: What Recruiters Really Mean When They Say “Not the Right Fit”

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Decoding Vague Feedback

What Recruiters Really Mean When They Say “Not the Right Fit”

By

Margaret Buj

Global Talent Acquisition Leader and Interview Coach

You nailed the interviews (or so you thought). The conversations flowed, you came prepared, and you left with a good feeling. Then the email arrives:

“Thanks for your time – you were a strong candidate, but we’ve decided to move forward with someone else who’s a better fit.”

Frustrating, right?

As a recruiter and interview coach with two decades of experience, I’ve seen this scenario unfold hundreds of times. Candidates are left in the dark, wondering:

What does “not the right fit” actually mean?

And more importantly – what can I do differently next time?

The truth is, “fit” is often a polite umbrella term we use to mask a more specific reason the candidate wasn’t selected. Sometimes it’s about skills. Sometimes it’s about communication or chemistry. And sometimes, it’s not about you at all – it’s about internal dynamics, team balance, or shifting hiring priorities.

Let’s decode the most common vague rejection phrases and what they might actually mean behind the scenes – along with what you can take away from each.

1. “We’re moving forward with someone who’s a stronger fit.”

👉 Translation: They likely found a candidate with more relevant experience or clearer alignment to the role’s core responsibilities.

🔍 What to reflect on:

  • Were your examples directly tied to the role’s key deliverables?
  • Could your resume or interview answers have done a better job positioning your impact in similar roles or industries?

✅ What to do next:

  • Make sure your resume and LinkedIn profile clearly demonstrate measurable achievements aligned with the target job.
  • In interviews, use the STAR method to connect your experience directly to the challenges the hiring manager is facing.

2. “We’ve decided to go in a different direction.”

👉 Translation: This could mean a change in role scope, budget constraints, or that they decided to prioritize a different skill set entirely.

🔍 What to reflect on:

  • Did the job or expectations shift during the process?
  • Were there hints the company was rethinking what they needed?

✅ What to do next:

  • Don’t take this one personally – it often has nothing to do with your performance.
  • Follow up politely asking if they see a potential future fit for your background in the company.

3. “We really enjoyed meeting you, but the team didn’t feel it was quite the right match.”

👉 Translation: This may signal a perceived mismatch in communication style, seniority level, or team dynamics.

🔍 What to reflect on:

  • Did you ask questions and engage with multiple stakeholders during the interview?
  • Were there moments you could have connected better to company culture or values?

✅ What to do next:

  • Watch for cultural cues in interviews – do they value brevity? Collaboration? Bold ideas? Mirror what you observe authentically.
  • Consider asking in future interviews: “What does success look like in this team, beyond the technical skills?”

4. “We were impressed but decided to proceed with someone whose experience more closely aligned.”

👉 Translation: You may have been slightly overqualified, underqualified, or just came from a different industry or environment.

🔍 What to reflect on:

  • Did you bridge the gap between your past experience and the specific demands of the role?
  • Were you able to show how your past roles prepared you to succeed here?

✅ What to do next:

  • Customize your pitch and resume to emphasize relevant experience.
  • In interviews, be proactive in addressing the “leap” – show you understand the business and how you’ll add value from day one.

5. “It was a tough decision - we had a lot of great candidates.”

👉 Translation: This might be true! But it can also mean someone else had a slight edge in experience, executive presence, or internal advocacy.

🔍 What to reflect on:

  • Did you make your value obvious and memorable?
  • Did you build rapport with the interviewers or leave them with a clear sense of what it’d be like to work with you?

✅ What to do next:

  • Ask for feedback — not everyone will give it, but it’s worth asking.
  • Stay connected. I’ve seen many candidates re-interviewed and hired later, especially when they followed up graciously.

Summary: It’s Not Always You

Hiring isn’t a perfect science. Sometimes the internal candidate got the job. Sometimes the role was paused. And sometimes, you were genuinely excellent – but someone else was a slightly better puzzle piece.

When you hear “not the right fit,” take a breath. Then take action: reflect, refine your approach, and stay open. Clarity is power – and with the right tools and insight, your next opportunity will be an even better fit for you.

Margaret Buj is a Global Talent Acquisition Leader and Interview Coach with two decades of experience hiring top talent across EMEA, LATAM, and the US. She has led hiring across engineering, product, marketing, and G&A at companies including Expedia, VMware, Cisco, Microsoft, Box, Typeform, and Mixmax.

Margaret is also a Career Success Manager at Kadima Careers and the founder of Interview Coach UK, where she’s coached over 1,000 professionals on landing jobs, negotiating salaries, and advancing their careers. Her insights have been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Fox Business, and Financial Times, and she has been recognised as a LinkedIn Top Voice.

She offers 1:1 coaching, group programs, and interview training for hiring managers. Learn more at interview-coach.co.uk or connect with her on LinkedIn.