Are you a high-earner who has had to take a pay cut for a new job? Share your story by emailingmoney@telegraph.co.uk
Since coming to Britain from India in 2020, Abhra Malakar has steadily built his career in data management, successfully securing a stream of roles at well-known consultancies.
But since being made redundant last September, and applying for more than 100 jobs since, Malakar, 43, has found himself in an unexpected position.
Having reached a decent mid-level in his career, roles that match his experience seem to be few and far between. A number of senior and junior roles appear to be available – with hardly anything in the middle.
He has tried to convince potential new employers that he is capable of taking a step up, as well as reassuring hiring managers that he still has the appetite and ability to do so.technical work at a lower level. In short, he’s stuck in the middle – with nowhere to go.
“当我之前担任更高层次的职位时，我传达了这一点，但得到的反馈是他们正在寻找一个能用正确的语言与其他业务领袖交谈的人，他们说我并没有表现出这一点。” 马拉卡说，他来自肯特。
It is frustrating because, based on the reactions in the interview, I thought I did pretty well.
Recommended
I was a successful businessman in Singapore – and had to queue at the job center in Britain
Read more
The ‘great flattening’ is here
For companies looking to slim down, middle managers are often seen as a layer of fat they can do without.
AI can now perform many of the tasks managerswere once responsible for, such as team scheduling, deadline tracking, performance reports, and even answering questions on how to perform certain tasks and where to find relevant company information.
Some companies are now even using AI agents to automatically “nudge” team members whose performance appears to be declining, and to help resolve disputes within the team.
As a result, 41pc of employees surveyed in the 2025 Korn Ferry Workforce Survey reported that their organizations cut management layers last year, in a trend called “the great flattening.”
Meanwhile, technology analysts Gartner have predicted that 20% of organizations this year willuse AI to flatten their structure, eliminating more than half of current middle management positions.
The financial pressure has hit Malakar hard. Recently separated from his wife, he is paying both rent and mortgage contributions, and has had to use his savings so his daughters can continue their beloved football, swimming and gymnastics. He’s also relied on the support of friends.
“I have to think twice now about buying gifts and toys for my daughters, which is really painful for me because I’ve always wanted to give them a good life,” he says.
To earn some money, and avoid his career stalling altogether, Malakar has taken a short-term contract at a slightly lower salary, which he hopes will lead to further opportunities.
Assessing the impact of a middle manager
For job-seeking middle managers who find themselves in a similar sort of no-man’s land, Kate Waterfall Hill, a leadership coach, advises they should consider what impact they had in their previous roles.
When I was recruiting, I was seeing lots of people who would spend three or four pages on their CV telling me every task they’d ever done in every previous job. I don’t care about that,” she says. “What I care about is: what’s been your measurable impact?
Malakar acknowledges that perhaps he could have pushed himself further in previous roles in order to give himself more of a competitive edge now.
“I should have upskilled myself in previous roles. What I have realized is that with how the job market is right now, it is not only data management skills that will help me get into a job,” Malakar says.
I need more skills, like cloud certifications, and data engineering, and I need to have some business understanding or certification in how the retail and manufacturing industries work.
Competition for leadership positions is also likely to heat up this year if there is an influx of more mature talent entering the job market. In 2025, over 50s were the groupmost likely to be made redundant, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Making side hustles pay
Due to increased competition, Waterfall Hill acknowledges that for many mid-level job seekers, it will be time to think about what new income opportunities they can generate – whether through an entrepreneurial venture, or turningside hustles into multiple revenue streams.
That’s how Milly* has been making a living since she was made redundant in 2023 from her role as a communications manager at a large tech company.
Milly, 31, has gone from feeling highly rated and respected in her previous job to struggling to get interviews for many of the 300 roles she has applied for since.
She has pushed herself to take on more senior roles – but has been beaten at the last hurdle. She is now freelance, and is trying to be open-minded.
“I’ve been trying to reframe how I’m making money. It’s not looking at it like a salary in the same way, or even a day rate. It’s just like, make money when you can make money,” Milly reasons.
A keen actress, she has been cast in a play, and is considering becoming an agent for her numerous actor friends. Turning her Cocker Spaniel into a show dog is also an option, and she has also set up a Substack newsletter.
But constantly seeking work, Milly admits, is exhausting. “I think I’m too young to be a freelancer. If I had another 10 years of experience, I think I would be doing great, because I’d know so many people, but right now, it’s really brutal. The market is horrific,” she says.
Taking a more junior role might seem like a good deal for the employer, but in reality it is not always that straightforward.
It’s something Simon*, 31, has thought about, but decided against, since being made redundant from his content marketing job in January.
” If I had to take a slight step backwards in terms of salary or responsibility, absolutely, I’d consider it. But if I were to be taking a significant step back, that’s when I’d think: ‘do I even want to be doing this?’ ” says Simon, based in Hampshire.
Because then I could just go and work in a pub and be working on things I’m actually passionate about on the side. You could completely sack off what you’ve done for the last five years.
Whatever the current trend is, Waterfall Hill is convinced that middle managers won’t be completely eliminated.
“People are going to feel lost at sea if there’s too much of a gap between them and the next layer up. There’s a naivety in thinking that you could completely do without the middle manager,” she says.
You need somebody advocating for you, looking out for you and listening to you on a human level. I think that’s what people are missing sometimes in businesses.
*Names have been changed to maintain anonymity.
Recommended
I’ve got 30 years of work ahead of me – so I’ve become an ‘AI prepper’
Read more
Play The Telegraph’s brilliant range of Puzzles – and feel brighter every day. Train your brain and boost your mood with PlusWord, the Mini Crossword, the fearsome Killer Sudoku and even the classic Cryptic Crossword.