The headlines this past week were a bit unsettling.

Job hunters are paying to get recruited.

At first glance, it looks like desperation. Another sign that white-collar work is collapsing under pressure.

But that’s not the real story.

What’s actually happening is that the old deal is breaking.

For decades, professionals were sold a simple promise. Do good work. Build a résumé. Stay loyal. And in return, employers would offer stability, identity, and a future.

That bargain is gone. Not because people failed, but because the system changed.

Algorithms now screen résumés before humans ever see them. Recruiting has been industrialized. Platforms decide who gets visibility. Experienced, capable people are increasingly invisible inside systems that no longer recognize depth.

So yes, people are paying to get recruited.

But what we’re really seeing is the collapse of dependence on employers as a viable long-term strategy.

There’s an old teaching often associated with the Chinese character for crisis. One set of brush strokes points to danger. Another points to opportunity. Whether the etymology is perfect doesn’t matter. The wisdom holds.

This moment contains both.

The danger is obvious. Longer job searches. Less leverage. A growing sense of powerlessness.

The opportunity is quieter, and far more important.

The market is forcing professions to ask a better question. Not “How do I get hired?” but “What do I actually know how to do?”

That question changes everything.

When you step outside the employment frame, experience looks different. Years of work aren’t just credentials. They’re assets. Pattern recognition. Judgment earned under pressure. The ability to steady others and see around corners.

Those things don’t live on résumés. They live in relationships.

This is where AI clarifies rather than threatens.

AI will replace tasks. It will accelerate production. It will commoditize routine work.

What it will not replace is trust. Discernment. Context. Or the quiet authority that comes from having been there before.

That is the work of consultants, coaches, advisors, and guides.

Not influencers. Not gurus. But people who can sit across the table and say, “Here’s what I see. Here’s what I’d do. Here’s how I can help.”

Deep relationships are no longer a bonus in this economy. They are the economy.

Which means this moment, unsettling as it feels, is also an invitation.

An invitation to stop begging broken systems; stop outsourcing your worth; and claim authorship over your own work.

The future doesn’t belong to those who optimize themselves for algorithms.

It belongs to those who know how to work with people, earn trust, and create value in real time.

That’s not bad news.

That’s very good news.

Curious? Email me: [email protected]