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And to say a fast food place is afraid of people moving on? The starbucks on my corner seems to have different people there literally every week. It's just a way station for people moving on to something better. I would definitely work there if I had to; they offer health benefits for half time work, pretty good deal if you ask me. And a pound of free coffee per week clinches the deal.
Yeah - and all of those people are young aren't they - folks with few other skills? They are of the demographic Starbucks hires.
I know EXACTLY what I'm talking about in regards to being reluctant to hire overqualified people. I worked my way through school managing a pair of car washes and I know how such low-paid industries work. Yes, people do move on from these jobs - an management doesn't like it. They will ALWAYS choose a person more likely to stay for a while over one that is almost certain to move on ASAP - for the simple reason that there are substantial costs involved in bringing a new person on board and getting him/her trained.
And to say a fast food place is afraid of people moving on? The starbucks on my corner seems to have different people there literally every week. It's just a way station for people moving on to something better. I would definitely work there if I had to; they offer health benefits for half time work, pretty good deal if you ask me. And a pound of free coffee per week clinches the deal.
Age doesn't really translate to qualification. There are many older people that worked in the fast food and restaurant business all their life and have no college or even high school degrees thus they are not overqualified for their jobs despite their age. And many of the seniors that work there are usually retired people who want to stay active and employers are fine hiring them knowing these elderly people are working to stay busy and are likely to remain as long as they are healthy. As Lord Balfour stated, companies avoid hiring people who are overqualified because of the likelihood that they will leave when the first opportunity comes along. In addition, they are aware that overqualified people seek the highest income on their pay scale which is another drawback to hiring them. It costs companies a lot of money to re-hire and retrain someone as opposed to hiring someone who will remain.
Lastly, the term overqualified is subjective. It's just assumed that someone with a college or graduate degree is automatically sought over someone with just a high school degree. This isn't true. Employers seek relevant experience first and foremost. An employer hiring for a restaurant server position will hire the person with relevant experience serving tables over a person with a PhD in math that has no experience waiting tables. They know the person with experience will be able to be trained faster and make less mistakes and likely stay longer. I just used a restaurant server as an example but this concept applies to all industries. We recently hired a person to answer phones and work the front desk in one of our offices. We had many people who were more educated apply for the job (many had even worked as nurses at one time) but the person we hired was someone who had worked as a receptionist at a physician's office for years and was very familiar with the job. This is why people are having difficulty finding work because employers have to look out for their best interests and hiring an overqualified person who will likely leave and/or may take more time to get trained will cost an employer.
Last edited by azriverfan.; 06-09-2009 at 10:27 AM..
Yeah - and all of those people are young aren't they - folks with few other skills? They are of the demographic Starbucks hires.
I know EXACTLY what I'm talking about in regards to being reluctant to hire overqualified people. I worked my way through school managing a pair of car washes and I know how such low-paid industries work. Yes, people do move on from these jobs - an management doesn't like it. They will ALWAYS choose a person more likely to stay for a while over one that is almost certain to move on ASAP - for the simple reason that there are substantial costs involved in bringing a new person on board and getting him/her trained.
Ken
At my local starbucks it's more of a mixture of 20-something and older people. It's one of those transitional jobs that people take while looking for "a real job". Rarely do I see the same face from week to week. Actually I haven't been going there much, since I canceled my Starbucks credit card
Age doesn't really translate to qualification. There are many older people that worked in the fast food and restaurant business all their life and have no college or even high school degrees thus they are not overqualified for their jobs despite their age. And many of the seniors that work there are usually retired people who want to stay active and employers are fine hiring them knowing they won't leave. As Lord Balfour stated, companies avoid hiring people who are overqualified because of the likelihood that they will leave when the first opportunity comes along. In addition, they are aware that overqualified people seek the highest income on their pay scale which is another drawback to hiring them. It costs companies a lot of money to re-hire and retrain someone as opposed to hiring someone who will remain.
Lastly, the term overqualified is subjective. It's just assumed that someone with a college or graduate degree is automatically sought over someone with just a high school degree. This isn't true. Employers seek relevant experience first and foremost. An employer hiring for a restaurant server position will hire the person with relevant experience serving tables over a person with a PhD in math that has no experience waiting tables. They know the person with experience will be able to be trained faster and make less mistakes and likely stay longer.
Nah, the cost of hiring and training is built in to a company's business plan. Turnover is part of the cost of doing business. It's everywhere now. We live in a very mobile society as compared to 40-50 years ago.
Also, it's kind of a myth that companies spend a lot of time training people. People come in, learn the ropes, and get up to speed. The old model where they hire someone fresh out of college, like a business major or EE, and he/she hangs around the office for a few months getting all this training before becoming useful--those days are over.
And I would much rather have a PhD in math serving me. He might actually get my order straight. I mean, you need a certain amount of intelligence to get a degree like that, right? I think the profession of waitering has really gone downhill. I hate it when they bring 4 dinners on a big tray, set it down, and say, OK who ordered the special? Hello, I already told you what I ordered.
Nah, the cost of hiring and training is built in to a company's business plan. Turnover is part of the cost of doing business. It's everywhere now. We live in a very mobile society as compared to 40-50 years ago.
Also, it's kind of a myth that companies spend a lot of time training people. People come in, learn the ropes, and get up to speed. The old model where they hire someone fresh out of college, like a business major or EE, and he/she hangs around the office for a few months getting all this training before becoming useful--those days are over.
I know nothing of a business plan or running a business, but I have observed from my own job. I work in a call center people come and go like the sun rise and sun set. Does this effect the business? sort of.
The company sold one of the queues to another company because of the high turn around. The queue has several products in that queue and hundreds of calls every day, when someone quits, the call volume wouldn't stop but the service levels would. I guess it is more of a what is more profitable and keep the contract.
But i doubt any large corporation, like IBM, could do the same. Oh wait, they have, that is why they are moving to India.
Nah, the cost of hiring and training is built in to a company's business plan. Turnover is part of the cost of doing business. It's everywhere now. We live in a very mobile society as compared to 40-50 years ago.
That doesn't change the fact that employers strive to hire someone who will remain over a prolonged period over an overqualifed person who is likely to leave. And it doesn't change the fact that it costs a business money to re-hire and retrain someone.
Quote:
Also, it's kind of a myth that companies spend a lot of time training people. People come in, learn the ropes, and get up to speed.
That's because companies do a better job hiring people with relevant experience that require less training hence the reason overqualified people are having difficulty finding work because a company will prefer less educated people with more relevant job experience in that industry over an educated person with no experience.
Quote:
And I would much rather have a PhD in math serving me. He might actually get my order straight. I mean, you need a certain amount of intelligence to get a degree like that, right?
Again, this is a myth. I'm a physician but if you asked me to wait tables versus a person who has been doing it for years, they will do a better job than me and blow me out of the water. I've learned in life that just because you are good at one thing, it doesn't mean you are automatically good at everything.
I will provide a quick example in my own life. One of our schedulers left because her husband was in the military and they had to move out of state. This person's job is to answer the phone and schedule appointments. In the meantime, we had one less scheduler so we had less appointments booked until we hired another scheduler. Less patients seen means less money! We hired a person who had worked as an administrative assistant for a business office. Unfortunately, it didn't work out with this person. She couldn't deal with the call volume nor did she have experience dealing with patients over the telephone. We ultimately hired a person who had been a scheduler in a physicians office in the valley and knew how to deal with patients on the phone and work quickly in a physicians office. We had a lot of overqualified people apply for that job including people with limited nursing experience but we sought to hire someone with relevant experience. She has been wonderful and we pray she doesn't leave.
How do I get hired to one of these misc. jobs when all I know is tech stuff? I have tried, and have got zero call backs. My resume doesn't even match what the job offers. When they come across my resume, they say" damn this guy is hurting" and move on. I could lie on my resume, but I wouldn't be able to lie on references. References if called would say "what the hell are you talking about!" I can't call my former managers and tell them if anyone calls, tell them I was a former cook.
So I am considered one of the many people who clog up emails\ resumes for jobs b/c I listen to people and try to find a job anywhere. I do no one a favor by so, but when you have cornered your market and have nowhere else to apply, you have so much free time and willing to do anything at that point.
And if someone were to ask me how commited I was going to be at that position would have to know that answer even if I told them what they wanted to hear.
Job hunting is just flat our ridicules right now. Gas prices are going back up. Companies that say they are hiring are really not hiring. If so, it's at a different location that is 50+ miles away. DES is not wanting to pay Unemployment. It just really sucks right now.
I have saved and have lived off savings for over 3 months. Will be able to do one more month. I think that is pretty good considering daycare and child expenses, living, gas, etc.
Will wait to see what happens!
Here is what DES - Unemployment gives me to look at every week
And Yes, I have called DES numerous times about my case.....I always get the same answer. Our system is backed up right now.
If you are just filing for unemployment or soon will be, get used to this!
How do I get hired to one of these misc. jobs when all I know is tech stuff? I have tried, and have got zero call backs. My resume doesn't even match what the job offers. When they come across my resume, they say" damn this guy is hurting" and move on. I could lie on my resume, but I wouldn't be able to lie on references. References if called would say "what the hell are you talking about!" I can't call my former managers and tell them if anyone calls, tell them I was a former cook.
So I am considered one of the many people who clog up emails\ resumes for jobs b/c I listen to people and try to find a job anywhere. I do no one a favor by so, but when you have cornered your market and have nowhere else to apply, you have so much free time and willing to do anything at that point.
And if someone were to ask me how commited I was going to be at that position would have to know that answer even if I told them what they wanted to hear.
Job hunting is just flat our ridicules right now. Gas prices are going back up. Companies that say they are hiring are really not hiring. If so, it's at a different location that is 50+ miles away. DES is not wanting to pay Unemployment. It just really sucks right now.
I have saved and have lived off savings for over 3 months. Will be able to do one more month. I think that is pretty good considering daycare and child expenses, living, gas, etc.
Will wait to see what happens!
Here is what DES - Unemployment gives me to look at every week
And Yes, I have called DES numerous times about my case.....I always get the same answer. Our system is backed up right now.
If you are just filing for unemployment or soon will be, get used to this!
You're unemployed and still paying for daycare?
Maybe for jobs outside of your field, say food industry or retail, you can just say that you need part time work. They don't need to know what you do the rest of the time. You could be starting your own business during the day and you need to moonlight at the circle K to make ends meet. That's normal enough. No one's going to question that. And you can explain, times are tough, you have a kid, and you're looking for long term work, not a quick buck.
That's what I would do, anyway. Just some ideas; best of luck!
Hello all, I too was laid off in September. I am still very much unemployed. I dont think people will understand this problem until they've actually experienced it. As for me, I have a bachelors degree and various certificates........still no job. Im trying to rough this recession out, but its really hard. I also had problems with the unemployment office. I was finally able to get unemployment checks in April.
Sucker2theSystem - I feel your pain, Im totally there with you. Try emailing the unemployment office @ azcallcenter@azdes.gov. I was contacted within two days. It was much better than dialing that number all hours of the day I hope this helps you and anyone else going through this.
Lets keep hope alive
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