What if your hiring strategy isn’t broken… but the market has changed so fast it’s making everyone feel crazy?

In this episode of Savage Angel, Angela sits down with Mark Toscano, a recruiter with 20+ years in the trenches, to talk about what’s actually happening in today’s job market—why it feels brutal, why those “2,000 applicants” numbers are misleading, and what job seekers (and employers) need to understand right now.

Mark breaks down the real math behind LinkedIn job posts (spoiler: impressions ≠ applicants), why only a small percentage of people applying are truly qualified, and the surprising reason recruiters often can’t even get qualified candidates to call back. We also dive into the massive mismatch between white-collar layoffs and the exploding demand for skilled trades, plus the rise of “over-employment” and why some people are stacking jobs to survive.

What You’ll Learn

• Why Mark says this is the worst job market he’s seen—even compared to 2008
• What LinkedIn’s “applicant count” is really measuring (and why it scares people for no reason)
• Why only about 10% of applicants are typically qualified—and how that changes your odds
• The #1 mistake job seekers make after applying (and how to avoid getting overlooked)
• Why skilled trades are starving for talent while tech roles are getting flooded
• What forward-thinking companies are doing: academies, training pipelines, and partnerships
• The truth about Over-Employment (OE)—why it’s rising and what employers fear most

Connect with Mark Toscano / NRB Services
💼 LinkedIn: Mark Toscano