“Tech Connects,” Dice’s podcast, digs into the tech hiring, recruiting, and career topics that matter to you. Subscribe on ACast, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Amazon Podcasts, and YouTube!

The next episode of the ‘Tech Connects’ podcast is here! Our next guest is Kathryn Minshew, the CEO and founder of The Muse, a website devoted to providing jobs, coaching, and advice to the next generation of job seekers. The site’s content covers everything that job candidates need to succeed in a dynamic and often uncertain job environment, from common interview questions to overcoming imposter syndrome.

Her position gives Kathryn extraordinary insight into the job market at the moment. Let’s listen in as we talk about everything from the current economic environment to remote work to finding purpose in your job. 

As you’ll hear during the podcast, there’s a lot of reason for optimism out there. The news headlines seem focused on layoffs and the possibility of a recession, but companies are still hungry for talent, and job candidates have a lot of opportunities that fit their skill-sets and dreams.

Here are a few takeaways from our discussion:

First, even though there are widespread fears of an economic recession, job candidates still expect to be able to vocalize their preferences and have their top priorities met. Many of them want a sense of purpose and an opportunity for growth. That means companies still need to provide the benefits, perks, and mission that candidates want.

Second, employees aren’t willing to stick in a job they hate, especially if they have highly specialized skills that make them valuable. Many employees are experiencing “shift shock,” where a new job’s reality doesn’t match up to their expectations going in; some 72 percent of those surveyed by The Muse had experienced this phenomenon at some point. To avoid this kind of mismatch, companies must be honest, accurate, and straightforward about company culture and what they’re offering candidates.

Third, if you’re a tech professional (or any other kind of worker) on the job hunt, take the time to do a personal inventory and figure out your career priorities. For example, do you want a position that allows you to engage in deeply focused work, or do you want to work constantly with a team? Are you willing to sacrifice a chance at higher compensation in order to work for a particular cause? Once you perform that sort of breakdown, you can get a better sense of the moves you need to make to have a truly fulfilling career.