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11 Strategic Principles to help you Benefit During in 2026

Wooden cubes forming the year 2026, a key time to focus on using strategic principles to get a job, on a neutral background.
Table Of Contents
  1. To Start: Is a Hiring Surge really Coming?
  2. First: Efficiency Beats Hustle in Every Job Search
  3. Second: Use AI as a Tool — Not a Crutch
  4. Third: Preparation Must Happen Before the Market Improves
  5. Fourth: If you rely on Algorithms, You’ll miss the Signal
  6. Fifth: Beating the ATS is about Clarity, not Tricks
  7. Sixth: Systems are a New Differentiator
  8. Seventh: Interviews are Storytelling Exercises
  9. Eighth: Set Appropriate Expectations (this Market is a Long Game)
  10. Ninth: Be Patient — It Will Work Out
  11. Tenth: Accept that you’re Better than you Think
  12. Eleventh: Know when to Seek Strategic Help
  13. The Bottom Line

To Start: Is a Hiring Surge really Coming?

Every time the market hints at recovery, job seekers hear the same advice: apply more, move faster, stay positive. Pardon me while I vomit. I’m sick of bad advice, and it’s everywhere. Because of that advice, most people burn out before they break through, and are left with the messaging that it must be them. They just aren’t positive enough, the were too slow. and they need to apply to even MORE jobs. Nope, nope, and nope.

The problem isn’t effort. It’s approach. Hiring surges don’t reward activity — they reward career strategy. They favor job seekers who’ve already clarified their value, built efficient systems, and learned how to communicate impact clearly to both humans and machines; applicants who can hit an appropriate volume of applications while only after learning to communicate their value better than others communicate theirs.

If you want the next hiring wave to work for you instead of exhaust you, remember that preparation starts long before the market feels “good” again. Here are 11 strategic principles every serious job seeker should internalize now to take advantage of the coming hiring surge, and get a job in 2026.

First: Efficiency Beats Hustle in Every Job Search

I’ll defend this one until my dying breath, because this is how the best companies operate as well. If you’re rewriting your resume from scratch for every role, you’re wasting cognitive energy that should be spent on positioning and narrative clarity. That’s why I teach a modular resume method to my coaching clients. The quick version is that it’s a system where core experience blocks stay consistent, while emphasis shifts based on role requirements. “Modules” shift in and out of a template document. This adds efficiency to an already effective system of tailoring your resume for value. You get the best of both worlds.

Efficiency isn’t about shortcuts. It’s about:

  1. Reducing friction
  2. Preserving mental energy
  3. Making quality sustainable

Strategic job seekers don’t apply more. They apply better.

Second: Use AI as a Tool — Not a Crutch

I’m using AI right now in this article and I’d be stupid not to. The difference in using it strategically is to first know what it can and can’t do. Too many people ask AI to do things it’s not going to get right. Its goal is to complete a task; that’s why it hallucinates, lies, manipulates, and will jump its guardrails just to complete that task. If it isn’t directed, it’ll give you awful results. I wrote this entire paragraph. AI didn’t give it to me. But it did give me other sections I then edited (a lot).

Other times, I’ll use an AI to significantly cut down what I write, because I tend to get a little verbose (much to my wife’s chagrin). I have ADHD and OCD, which leads to an annoying combination of a lack of filtering because I’m excited, and a fear that something I say will be taken out of context, so I often include EVERYTHING! AI has been an absolute Godsend in this regard, and I’m (slowly) learning to write more concisely as a result. It can do the same for your resume. Just remember, use it as a start or the middle (initial editing), not the finish.

Truly, AI is reshaping the modern job search and it can’t be ignored because it isn’t going away, but most people are using it incorrectly. Copy-pasted, AI-generated resumes and cover letters don’t stand out. They blur you into the crowd. Used strategically, though, AI can:

  • Accelerate iteration
  • Clarify positioning
  • Stress-test messaging before humans ever see it

Just remember: AI should amplify your thinking, not replace it.

Third: Preparation Must Happen Before the Market Improves

When the market heats up, companies move fast. Candidates who need time to “get ready” miss opportunities. But you shouldn’t just throw junk out there, either. You need to prepare in advance, but not wait until things feel perfect.

A good balance is this:

  • Defining your core career narrative
  • Mapping interview stories in advance
  • Knowing how to explain your value succinctly

Preparation isn’t about predicting outcomes. It’s about reducing uncertainty so you can act decisively when opportunity appears.

Fourth: If you rely on Algorithms, You’ll miss the Signal

Social platforms are inconsistent by design, engineered to keep us on the dopamine hamster wheel. Important insights get buried. Context disappears. That’s why email remains the most reliable channel for serious career development. If you aren’t part of my email list, I do strongly recommend joining it in addition to keeping up on my social media channels. You’ll get slightly different flavors from each. I’ve always been a better communicator in writing than in person.

When you join the mailing list, you’re opting into:

  • Strategic job search guidance
  • New tools and DIY products
  • Timely insights you won’t see elsewhere
  • Exclusive discounts

If your career matters, your information sources should be intentional. Plus I’ll send you my free Beat the ATS guide. It’s the most honest advice on building for the ATS as well as humans that I’ve found.

Fifth: Beating the ATS is about Clarity, not Tricks

Applicant Tracking Systems are unavoidable — but they’re widely misunderstood. While it used to be true that you could game the ATS, they’ve become more sophisticated. You don’t beat the ATS by keyword stuffing or formatting hacks. You beat it with:

  • Clear structure
  • Logical experience grouping
  • Language that reflects real responsibilities and outcomes

That’s why I offer my free Beat the ATS guide to email subscribers. It focuses on what actually improves pass-through rates without sacrificing human readability. The goal isn’t to “game” the system. It’s to communicate value cleanly enough that the system gets out of the way.

Sixth: Systems are a New Differentiator

Here’s where many job seekers lose credibility without realizing it. They describe what they did — but not how they think. Employers increasingly hire for:

  • Decision-making frameworks
    • Not for the framework itself, but because of what it says your cognitive abilities and processes.
  • Repeatable processes
    • Again, it says more about you and your way of thinking, but signals that you value time and efficiency.
  • Structured problem-solving
    • This hits at the cognitive angle again. Your results become sensical rather than luck-based, which reduces hiring risk from an employer standpoint. They know what they’re getting by hiring you.

If you can’t articulate your systems, your success appears accidental. Learning to identify and communicate your systems is a core career strategy skill — and one that consistently separates strong candidates from average ones.

Seventh: Interviews are Storytelling Exercises

Interviews aren’t exams. I’ll say that again. Interviews aren’t exams. They’re sense-making conversations. Hiring managers want to know:

  • How you handle complexity
  • How you make decisions
  • Whether your judgment is trustworthy

Compelling stories do what bullet points can’t:

  • They create emotional credibility
  • They make your experience memorable
  • They reveal how you think under pressure

If your interview answers sound like a resume recap, you’re underselling yourself — no matter how strong your background is — and you get ignored because the information isn’t new. Now, if an interviewer asks you a specific question you know was on your resume, don’t remind them that it was on their resume. People forget, and they interview a lot of people so give them a little grace if they forget. You also make them defensive in reminding them because they feel embarrassed for having forgotten.

Eighth: Set Appropriate Expectations (this Market is a Long Game)

I don’t believe the job market will meaningfully improve until 2029–2030. If that’s the first time you’re hearing me say that, then let me also also say that I’m sorry. I know that’s an unpleasant prediction. However, I believe it’s best when we remain optimistic while also first being realistic. Otherwise you’re just blindly hoping, and while that’s fine for a normal job market, you’ll just lead yourself to some dark moments during a bad job market if you’re constantly thinking that your next job is right around the corner. It might happen, but it’s far less likely.

Any time you’re feeling down, just remember that structural shifts take time. Companies are cautious due to the economy. Hiring is slower, more selective, and therefor you need to be more strategic. When job seekers expect quick wins in a slow system, frustration skyrockets. When they expect a long arc, they:

  • Build stronger foundations
  • Make better decisions
  • Stay emotionally regulated

Ninth: Be Patient — It Will Work Out

I know how hard this is to hear when bills exist and confidence is fragile, but in working with clients I’ve regularly witnessed that people who stay thoughtful, consistent, and strategic do land roles — often better ones than they originally targeted because they’ve learned to direct their efforts. Success didn’t come as a result of hustling harder, but because they didn’t panic halfway through and abandon the process. This is a season — not a verdict on your worth.

Tenth: Accept that you’re Better than you Think

Imposter syndrome doesn’t mean you’re underqualified. In fact, it usually means you’re better than you’re realizing. Imposter syndrome increases alongside knowledge and competence, which is what makes it so annoyingly insidious. The better you are, the worse you feel and the worse you think you are.

Imposter syndrome can also mean you lack external calibration. When you spend months alone with rejection emails, your self-assessment drifts downward. That’s why strategy matters. Systems create objectivity. Structure counters self-doubt. You’re likely not behind. You’re just too close to your own story.

Eleventh: Know when to Seek Strategic Help

Some people want to DIY their entire job search. That’s valid — and it’s why we offer DIY products that help you build strong systems independently. Others benefit from, or simply prefer, more guidance. Our coaching provides structured support, beginning with a discovery session where we diagnose what’s actually holding you back and discuss your goals. Then in strategy sessions we map the most effective and the most efficient path forward and get you started. Results vary, as with anything, but those we’ve advised consistently tend to land a job they want in two to three months. A recent client of ours who was laid off late last year landed a job that builds her career, moves her along a path she wants, and she did it in just nine weeks. There were rejections along the way, but we helped her reframe them.

The Bottom Line

I frankly don’t care all that much about hiring surges, because it’s possible to get a job with or without them if you’re strategic. This year, as all years before it, will have hiring surges and hiring droughts.

If you want this next phase of your job search to feel calmer, clearer, and more effective:

At Ryze Guides, we don’t just help you get hired. We help you think like a strategist, and that makes a difference beyond this next job and spans your entire career.

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