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How People Are Getting Hired in 2026 (And What Most Jobseekers Miss)

Blog introduction

A new year always brings new job market predictions. What matters more is understanding how hiring actually works now.

LinkedIn’s latest Jobs on the Rise data confirms what many jobseekers are already feeling: opportunities still exist, but the rules have changed. Some roles are growing fast, competition is high, and many capable people are being overlooked simply because their profiles are not aligned to how employers search and shortlist.

This article offers a clear, practical view of today’s job market for jobseekers and for everyone who supports them, including graduates, parents, career services teams, universities, NGOs, sponsors, and organisations helping people return to work or rebuild their careers.

Three things everyone should understand about today’s job market

1) AI dominates hiring, but not only for technical roles

AI Engineers, AI Consultants, Strategists, and AI/ML Researchers sit at the top of Jobs on the Rise lists across multiple countries.

What is often missed is this: you do not need to be a deep technical specialist to benefit from the AI shift.

Hiring demand also includes:

• roles analysing AI outputs
• roles applying AI to business decisions
• roles managing risk, compliance, and governance
• roles building and maintaining the infrastructure that supports AI

AI is changing how work is done across industries, not just who writes code.

2) The fastest-growing roles reward clarity, not volume

Recruiters are not scrolling endlessly through profiles. They are searching.

Hiring decisions increasingly start with:

• job titles
• skills and tools
• relevance to the role
• evidence of outcomes

If a CV or LinkedIn profile does not clearly match what is being searched for, it is filtered out early, even if the person is capable.

This affects:

• graduates with strong potential
• laid-off professionals
• parents returning to work
• international candidates
• people rebuilding their lives after disruption or incarceration

The market is selective, not personal.

3) More people are creating their own paths

Across countries, LinkedIn’s data shows continued growth in founders, independent consultants, and advisory roles.

This reflects a reality many are choosing intentionally:

• building portfolio careers
• consulting alongside employment
• creating income while transitioning
• reducing reliance on a single employer

For many, this is not a fallback. It is a strategy.

Who this market impacts most and how to respond

Graduates and students
Focus on skills, projects, and application of learning. Degrees alone are no longer enough.

Laid-off professionals
Layoffs are structural. Clear positioning and outcome-based CVs matter more than ever.

Returning professionals
Career gaps require explanation, not apology. Skills framing and confidence matter.

Migrating professionals
Strong experience often fails to translate without local job titles and keywords.

People re-entering society after incarceration
Clarity, honesty, and structured support reduce employer uncertainty and improve outcomes.

Parents, sponsors, NGOs, and career services teams
Understanding how hiring works today leads to better guidance, better funding decisions, and better outcomes.

How to use our blog to research jobs by country (important)

Job markets differ by country, even when the themes are similar.

On cvsandresumes.com, we publish country-specific “Jobs on the Rise” guides so you can focus on where demand is actually growing.

How to find the right country guide:

1. Go to the Blog section on cvsandresumes.com
2. Use the search bar or scroll to find posts titled “Jobs on the Rise [Country] 2026”
3. Start with the country you are targeting, then compare with others

We currently cover and are expanding insights for:
Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Spain, the UK, Netherlands, the United States, and India.

If you are considering migration, remote work, or international mobility, comparing countries helps you target smarter and avoid guesswork.

What actually helps people get hired now

Across all markets, the same principles improve outcomes:

• choose one clear target role
• align CV and LinkedIn to how recruiters search
• lead with skills and outcomes
• be consistent across platforms
• focus on relevance, not volume

People are still being hired every day. The difference is not effort. It is alignment.

How CVsAndResumes.com supports this journey

CVsAndResumes.com exists to remove confusion and replace it with clarity.

We help people:

• structure CVs for modern screening
• make skills and outcomes visible
• align profiles to real hiring behaviour
• regain confidence through clear positioning

For institutions and organisations, we provide a scalable way to support many people consistently and responsibly.

Final thought

The job market is not broken. It has changed.

Understanding those changes, and responding with intention, is what separates frustration from progress.

Whether you are jobseeking or supporting someone who is, start with insight. Then act with clarity.

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