Jobs II.
For those trying to keep a finger on the pulse of where the economy and society is headed, your scan of events watch employment news in the near term. The rate at which unemployment deteriorates will be the determining factor for how fast the other social and economic problems develop.
Job openings have become rarer, with many more applicants that available positions. A few trends are developing:
1. Available job positions are being withdrawn. I have spoken with many job applicants who have passed several layers of interviews, only to be told that the job is not going to be offered to anyone after all, or that it has now been put “on-old.”
Recruiters and HR departments are having second thoughts about adding new people, as they become more concerned and cautious with their capital, even if the business is profitable. In some cases, executives have told me that their hesitancy has been exacerbated by the number of applicants for the job. In other words, when they see that thousands of people are applying for a single job, many of whom are vastly overqualified, it scares them off of hiring.
2. It takes one to get one. Companies are increasingly using current employment as a filter to select applicants. Resumes which indicate that the person is not currently employed are not considered, because the company figures that these applicants may not be as serious about their specific position, but simply will take anything.
According to Ryan Ross, a partner with Kaye/Bassman International Corp., an executive recruiting firm in Dallas, more clients recently have indicated that they would prefer to fill positions with “passive candidates” who are working elsewhere and not actively seeking a job. The Wall Street Journal goes on to say that the bias extends from front-line workers to senior managers. Charlie Wilgus, managing partner of executive search for Lucas Group, based in Atlanta, says a manufacturing client looking for a division president recently refused to consider a former divisional president at Newell Rubbermaid Inc. whose department had been eliminated. The client doesn’t want candidates who have been laid off, Mr. Wilgus says.
3. Companies are using the economic principle of supply-and-demand to reduce salaries. With hundreds of applicants available, a companies are offering lower salaries for jobs because at least one of the qualified applicants will take it out of desperation. In one case, we talked to a legal assistant who had been making $56,000 when their employer went bankrupt. They were offered the same job by a competing firm, who offered only $20,000. The new company had been paying $60,000 to the prior holder of that job.
4. Couples both applying for the same job. Recruiters are reporting that they see more instances of two members of the same household applying for an opening. This phenomenon extends from entry-level to executive level jobs. In one case, a couple from Oklahoma moved back to Las Vegas to apply for jobs at a newly-opening hot dog stand.
It needs dishwashers, bussers, cooks and prep cooks, cashiers and a stock manager — about 40 jobs starting at about $10 an hour. During a job fair , about 220 people applied. Flipping through the applications, it looks like most of them will take any job at Pink’s. “I have experience as a busser, but am open to any position available” … “Looking forward to anything” … “open” … “busboy, anything” … “anything that’s available” … “labor, Anything.” the applications stated. The recruiters major screening question is hidden in the middle of his interview. It’s when he says “big smile.” He’s looking for people who react with a smile. “I can teach people to put a bun on a hot dog, but I can’t teach them to smile all the time,” he says.
