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I see all these ads that advertise $10 jobs with years of experience. Some $12. Let's do the math. After taxes what does that come out to? $10 become like 8.50 which is a what $1 higher than minimum wage? What's it now $7.15? Now let's tax 7.15. This is insane. Entry level jobs that require experience? Then it's not an entry level job and should pay way more. There are large cities where you can work at Mickey D's or White Castle for $10 or 12. I bet some pay slightly more to flip burgers. I can see why some people decide not to go to college, take out thousands in loans, and then be forced to take a $10 an hour job. Defeats purpose of going to school. Just go flip burgers straight out of high school. This is the American Dream? Looks like Third World Dream to me.
"Maybe they hired the person with years of forklift experience who decided after a few weeks working for $10ph wasn't enough."
That's exactly what happened.
These employers aren't cherry picking. They are exploiting and picking up where the Big Banks left off. They are kicking a horse that's already down.
'' Exploiting" doesn't even come close to explain what these employers are doing to the poor working man with a family to feed and insure with medical coverage. Do you notice the large amount of jobs being listed as "temp to full-time". They'll offer you $14/15 per hour, BUT, without benefits while you are a temp. Then, when the mad rush of production is done or they get tired of hearing you, asking to go full-time, they will let you go for some reason or other. When they get busy down the road then they will repeat the scheme with another employee needing money and hoping for benefits sooner or later. I've been thru this game 2 times already(both times was let go cause of lack of work). These companies want loyalty from their workers , well, I can assure you that loyalty will not come from a temp worker when he/she knows that they are being taken advantage of by big industry.
What role do employers play in the high unemployment rate? Well, they are the reason for the numbers of people out of work. There are companies out there now, not all of them but some CAN afford to hire people but they just don't want to. They would rather save money instead of hiring someone and paying them a salary, health and dental benefits. It is not the fault of the unemployed who are looking for work. It is a 100% the fault of these companies and/or business owners who only care about themselves. Most of the unemployed are working at getting a job but they can't find one because employers don't want to hire them. That's what free market capitalism has done to this country, it has ruined it.
What role do employers play in the high unemployment rate? Well, they are the reason for the numbers of people out of work. There are companies out there now, not all of them but some CAN afford to hire people but they just don't want to. They would rather save money instead of hiring someone and paying them a salary, health and dental benefits. It is not the fault of the unemployed who are looking for work. It is a 100% the fault of these companies and/or business owners who only care about themselves. Most of the unemployed are working at getting a job but they can't find one because employers don't want to hire them. That's what free market capitalism has done to this country, it has ruined it.
Private employers don't hire people to sit around with nothing to do. That's what we have government for...
Private employers don't hire people to sit around with nothing to do. That's what we have government for...
And the Government does a **** poor job in their hiring process. All we have to do is round up Bill Clinton's old financial adviser's and they would have our economy fixed in 6 months:
Most New Jobs Ever Created Under a Single Administration: The economy has created more than 22.5 million jobs in less than eight years—the most jobs ever created under a single administration, and more than were created in the previous 12 years. Of the total new jobs, 20.7 million, or 92 percent, are in the private sector.
Unemployment at Its Lowest Level in More than 30 Years: Overall unemployment has dropped to the lowest level in more than 30 years, down from 6.9 percent in 1993 to just 4.0 percent in November 2000. The unemployment rate has been below 5 percent for 40 consecutive months. Unemployment for African Americans has fallen from 14.2 percent in 1992 to 7.3 percent in October 2000, the lowest rate on record. Unemployment for Hispanics has fallen from 11.8 percent in October 1992 to 5.0 percent in October 2000, also the lowest rate on record.
Strong Economic Growth: Since President Clinton and Vice President Gore took office, economic growth has averaged 4.0 percent per year, compared to average growth of 2.8 percent during the Reagan-Bush years. The economy has grown for 116 consecutive months, the most in history.
What role do employers play in the high unemployment rate? Well, they are the reason for the numbers of people out of work. There are companies out there now, not all of them but some CAN afford to hire people but they just don't want to. They would rather save money instead of hiring someone and paying them a salary, health and dental benefits. It is not the fault of the unemployed who are looking for work. It is a 100% the fault of these companies and/or business owners who only care about themselves. Most of the unemployed are working at getting a job but they can't find one because employers don't want to hire them. That's what free market capitalism has done to this country, it has ruined it.
Thank you. Not hiring the many well skilled unemployed is a big mistake. This is a big reason also why unemployment is so high. Nothing is ever going to change since many companies do not want the unemployed, no matter what they bring to the table. Wrong on so many levels.......
It is an employer's market right now. They are going to choose the best of the best that is available.
Been looking for jobs for a year, the thing I can be sure of after many interviews, is this "best of the best" thing is an illusion.
They will never know if they are getting the "best of the best" from a simple interview, they will be hiring merely on the best impression made. Some people are great at interviews and suck at the job and vice versa. A proper hiring processes should at least include a one day work trial if it is a big company, or some type of competence test, but most companies budgets apparently won't stretch to that.
Been looking for jobs for a year, the thing I can be sure of after many interviews, is this "best of the best" thing is an illusion.
They will never know if they are getting the "best of the best" from a simple interview, they will be hiring merely on the best impression made. Some people are great at interviews and suck at the job and vice versa. A proper hiring processes should at least include a one day work trial if it is a big company, or some type of competence test, but most companies budgets apparently won't stretch to that.
The hiring process has become dominated by HR specialists. Their top priority isn't to find the best candidate, it's to make sure no rule in the complex maze of labor law gets violated. Even objective testing must be carefully designed to avoid being challenged as discriminating against one group or another.
HR people are there to weed out applicants, as the hiring process is exclusionary, not inclusive. Many of these HR people don't understand the job or the industry itself. I find them to be just another middleman in the process, and an obstacle. HR, recruiters, agencies, headhunters - I put them in the same category. They are the bureaucratic obstacles to the unemployed, with all their overemphasis of all kinds of useless tests and even more useless paperwork. No matter how many tests, paperwork, or background searches one does, those who are Macchiavellian experts at hiding the "truth" will still continue to do that untouched. Employers, at the same time, are Macchiavelian themselves during this hiring process. They lie about the job, benefits, and other things. They change the job description after it's filled, when both parties agree to something else initially. Some employers even steal from their employees by carefully designed "policies." I prefer medium to small companies that don't use HR. I prefer the hiring manager or C-level exec to make the decision, as it gets done faster. You can also see and hear who will be working for and judge for yourself.
A little story about employers being to damn picky. I applied for a job as a receptionist a while ago. The job asked for 6 months of experience using a multi-line phone. I have years of experience using a multi-line phone in a classroom and a retail setting. I used a multi-line phone to contact and receive calls from parents and when I worked in retail, customers. Well anyway, because my multi-line phone experience was not in a clerical environment, I didn't get the job.
I've been running into the same problem. I have extensive experience in sales and business development. This means I have experience in driving, hiring, delivering products, writing contracts, cold calls, follow-ups, education, training, customer service, tech support, excel, word, powerpoint, outlook, networking, computer repair, consultation, scheduling, credit applications, handling confidential materials, and even operating a multi-line phone among many other things.
But because my job title was "sales" I'm automatically disqualified from any of the above jobs I've performed in the past. I should be getting offers for mid-level jobs left and right, but instead I can't even get an entry level position at $10/hr.
Been looking for jobs for a year, the thing I can be sure of after many interviews, is this "best of the best" thing is an illusion.
I disagree in part. There are companies out there who really do look for the superior candidate, mostly larger companies who really care about the quality of the talent pool rather than just filling seats (i.e. Sales positions).
I've been continuously employed - albeit at three separate companies, but continuously employed - for eight years. When I was considering leaving the second job, I had applied for a technical position at one of the not-quite-large-yet-well-known companies out here. I was imminently qualified for the position and they all wanted to hire me...but another guy had applied who had experience with one older system that they found valuable, and he got the position. He was the better candidate that day. He's still there, he's a cool guy, they're all good people.
I know there are a lot of employers out there with agendas, but if you master the art of wowing people, you'll always be able to find something.
I have to agree with one thing that was said previously though. Some people don't know how to interview properly. In fact I would go out on a limb and say that a lot of people don't. I've got friends who have years of experience who are unemployed...not because they can't find work, but because they just don't know how to carry themselves in that setting.
Some tips I'd offer to those who know they swallow at interviewing:
Dress to impress. You don't even have to wear a suit, but don't walk in there with casual clothes. Don't walk in there like a street hooker or a pimp. Dress pants, a dress shirt, polished dress shoes for the guys. A nice CONSERVATIVE dress or blouse/skirt for the women, closed-toed shoes, easy on the makeup. But it's important to stand out too; don't just go in with a suit and tie because that's what everyone else is going to wear. You should be clean, take it easy with the cologne/perfume, well groomed, carrying as little as possible. No extra purses and all of that. Bring a notebook to take notes with.
Talk the talk. If you have sorry communicative skills, you'd better get to work on them. Learn to express yourself comfortably and without hesitation. Understand the meaning of every word that comes out of your mouth and how it applies to the interview. Train yourself away from "umm" and "uhh" and "like" and "nahmean" and "OMG". Stop and think in your mind what questions you could possibly be asked, and be equipped to answer them to the best of your ability. Don't share too much, don't share too little. Answer the question honestly and professionally, without sharing too many details (for example, if you were laid off, tell them that the company had to downsize your department and others. That's it. You told the truth without giving specifics and sounded good doing it.) You're basically selling yourself to someone; master this art and the hard part is behind you.
Suck in your gut and strut. Confidence is the key. They can smell a lack of confidence a mile away. If you're not confident speaking in front of others you'd better work on that, because it will cost you jobs that you might have otherwise gotten. Being able to show confidence not only helps in putting yourself above the competition, but it also convinces a potential employer that you're serious about what you bring to the company. Remember, they're not just evaluating you as a worker, but also as a contributing member of the team that they've built. You should walk in there with your head up high, and believe 100% that you can do whatever it is they ask of you. Mind you, while you should be confident, you have to be careful not to be too much so...otherwise it will come across as arrogance. The line is a fine one that you must walk.
Nosce Te Ipsum. Know thyself - know what you can and cannot do, get a solid grasp of your strengths and weaknesses, and come to terms with the person you are inside. Whether you need to ask your friends or family, or if you can figure it out on your own, this is critical. Why? One: when they ask you what your strengths and weaknesses are, you're either going to lie (which they'll catch on to), tell too much of the truth (remember what I said above about not over-sharing), or be left without an answer, which comes across negatively.
Body Language Speaks Volumes. If you're fidgety, if you cross your arms, etc., it will leave a negative impression. Maintain eye contact at all times. Don't let your mind wander; it's easy to see your eyes glazing over. Make sure you're in a comfortable seating position, don't be afraid to ask for water if you know your throat will get dry, and keep your hands either directly on your lap or crossed gently in front of you. The point is to show true interest in the company and the position, because if you come across as just looking for "a job", you're not going to be called back unless the company is desperate. Turn off your cell phone. Don't put it on vibrate, turn it off so it does not distract you. You can live without it if you're serious about the job. No gum chewing, no lip smacking.
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