This week I write about how the job market is shifting into a diamond shape with the most competition in the middle, professionals can no longer rely on quiet execution alone and must become more active in building visibility, relationships, and a personal brand through social platforms like LinkedIn.

For a long time, careers followed a predictable pattern: a lot of people started at the bottom, fewer moved into management, and a small group eventually made it to the top. A pyramid. That shape influenced how careers were built and how people expected progress to happen.

That structure is collapsing. As teams get leaner and AI takes on more routine work, the job market is starting to look less like a triangle and more like a diamond — narrow at the bottom, narrow at the top, and bulging in the middle.

This isn't a vibe; it's showing up in the employment data with startling speed. Stanford researchers found that workers aged 22 to 25 in the most AI-exposed occupations experienced a 16% relative decline in employment after the spread of generative AI — while more experienced workers in the same occupations saw no comparable decline. A 2026 Harvard working paper analyzing 65 million workers across 280,000 firms found the same shape: at companies that adopted generative AI, junior employment fell roughly 9% within six quarters, driven not by layoffs but by firms simply hiring fewer people at the bottom — while senior employment kept rising.

Fewer true entry-level roles. Leadership positions as limited as ever. The biggest part of the market now sits in the middle: experienced professionals doing the day-to-day work that keeps organizations running. That group is larger, more competitive, and under more pressure than either end of the spectrum — and everyone displaced from the shrinking bottom is trying to climb into it.

Here's the uncomfortable implication. Flatter organizations mean fewer layers and fewer natural moments for visibility. It's easier than ever to do important work and still be overlooked. For people in the middle, staying heads-down and hoping things work out doesn't just slow momentum — it's a strategy built for a market shape that no longer exists.

That's why marketing yourself has become part of the job, whether you like the idea or not.

Networking can't be something you do only when you need a new role. It works best when it's consistent and based on real relationships — staying connected to peers, former colleagues, and people in your industry keeps you close to where opportunities are forming, usually before they're posted anywhere.

Being more active on LinkedIn fits into this practically. It doesn't mean posting constantly or trying to sound like a thought leader. It can be as simple as:

Those small moments add up. They help people understand how you think and what you bring to the table. (If you want structure for this, the 3-3-3 method keeps the mix intentional, and the best voices show range, not just expertise.)

Over time, that kind of visibility builds a reputation. People start to associate your name with a point of view, an area of expertise, or a way of approaching problems. In a crowded middle layer, that familiarity can matter more than a title change or a bullet point on a résumé — because when an opportunity forms, the question in the room isn't "who applied?" It's "who do we know?"

Progress increasingly comes through exposure, relationships, and being known for something specific. For professionals in the middle of the market, staying active, visible, and engaged — especially online — is less about self-promotion and more about staying relevant and creating options as the landscape keeps changing.

The pyramid rewarded patience. The diamond rewards presence.

If you're looking for guidance on building your visibility, personal brand, or voice in your industry, you can contact me here.