Before we dive in — I’m kicking off a special 4-WEEK YEAR-IN-REVIEW SERIES here on The Elite Edge.
Four weeks. Four themes. Four deep dives into what really happened in 2025 and what will define power, opportunity, and career velocity in 2026.
Think Mary Meeker meets Elite Recruiter: data, truth, strategy, no fluff.

Now… Week 64 starts with the biggest shift of all:

2025 wasn’t subtle. This was the year traditional employment cracked straight down the middle.

Here’s what the data screamed:

This was the year work stopped behaving like a ladder —
and started behaving like a marketplace: modular, fluid, optional.

Your power is no longer in the job you have.
Your power is in the options you control.

Professionals who changed roles every ~2 years earned 3.5–5x more than those who stayed put.
Not because they were better — because the market rewarded mobility.

After year 3, your promotion odds drop 50%.
Your external opportunities? Down 70%.
Loyalty used to signal commitment.
Now it signals comfort.

The fractional executive market exploded to $156B in 2025 (up from $18B in 2015).
Companies realized they don’t need a full-time leader —
they need a high-impact operator for 10 hours/week.

2025 proved a universal truth:

Your employer is not your strategy.
Optionality is.

Here’s what I want my entire audience to prepare for:

The professionals who win won’t be the ones who stay loyal.
They’ll be the ones who stay ready.

If you do nothing else, do this:

Your job is your baseline.
Your power is your diversification.

Not because you’re leaving —
but because the market won’t wait for you to “get ready.”

Not to job hunt —
to stay visible, relevant, and top-of-mind.

If you don’t touch money —
make sure you touch something the business can’t cut.

Or reinvent the role until you do.

Over the next month, I’m breaking down:

How work fractured — and how power shifted.

Why the top 10% pulled away — and how to join them.

AI didn’t replace people. It repriced them.

Why 2026 will force every professional into one of three paths — and how to choose the one that pays.

This is your roadmap.
Your blueprint.
Your unfair advantage going into 2026.

The people making the rules aren’t playing by them.
I’m here to show you how the insiders win.

Let’s go.

This week’s reading came with a plot twist — I opened Fortune and saw my name in it.
Not because I was being interviewed…
but because my A/B/C Player Framework was officially featured.

I didn’t pitch it.
I didn’t know it was coming.
It wasn’t planned.

But the framework we’ve been talking about here — in this newsletter, in my videos, in my coaching sessions — just got picked up by Fortune Magazine as a defining lens for how leaders evaluate talent in 2025 and beyond.

Here’s the article if you haven’t seen it yet:
🔗 https://fortune.com/2025/11/21/a-vs-b-c-players-deepali-vyas-elite-recruiter-performance/

This is a moment for all of us — because this community has shaped and sharpened the ideas that are now influencing the national conversation on performance, leadership, and how careers are actually judged behind closed doors.

More on that in the coming weeks… because we’re just getting started.

2025 broke a lot of assumptions about work.
But it also handed you something more powerful than stability: agency.

This is the moment to stop waiting for companies to define your path.
Your career isn’t a ladder anymore — it’s a portfolio, a strategy, a series of bets you get to make with intention.

And here’s the truth:
The people who win in 2026 won’t be the ones with the safest jobs…
but the ones with the strongest options.

Build your optionality.
Stack your skills.
Expand your network.
Tell your story before someone else does.

I’ll keep giving you the data, the frameworks, and the real talk.
You bring the courage to act.

Your career is your power.
Use it wisely. And use it boldly.

You’ve got the Edge. Now sharpen it.

Until next week,
— Deepali Vyas
Your Elite Recruiter
Doing the research so you don’t have to.

I went live across all platforms this weekend to talk about:

And because so many of you asked… I’m going live AGAIN this week!

December 10th @ 7pm EST

I’ll be live on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube — breaking down career strategy, power language, mindset resets, and real talk about navigating the corporate game.

I’m rolling out two high-impact career webinars this month:

Book your spot here 👉 https://careergameplan.youcanbook.me

These are deep-dive strategy sessions designed to help you reset, reposition, and get ahead of the competition.

These openings are under the radar — not on LinkedIn, not on job boards. I’m sharing them here first, straight from my insider network.

Tech moves fast, but you're still playing catch-up?

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Here's what you get:

All delivered twice a week in just 2 short emails.

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If you’re ready to upgrade your career materials and get noticed faster, explore my Elite Career Services — the same strategies I use with top-tier executives and industry leaders. From resume rewrites to full LinkedIn makeovers, these services are built to help you stand out in a noisy market.

👉 Explore all services here: https://www.deepalivyas.com/products

I’m giving away 3 Free 1:1 coaching sessions with me — so tell me your story and you might be the lucky winner 😃

I want to help as many people as possible — and this is my way of giving back to the community that continues to grow with me.

I would love to know what you thought of this newsletter and any feedback you have for me. Do you have a favorite part? Wish I would add something? Felt confused? Please reply and share your thoughts!