The Modern Job Hunt

Like many other Americans, I was layed off in 2009 due to bad economy and shrinking budgets. And, like many other Americans, I'm hunting work, both through business connections and online services. This, as many of you know, is riddled with more perils than an Indiana Jones movie.

I've noticed that web forms, while they are designed to gather information quickly and efficiently about a prospective job seeker, are often buggy, offer little flexibility, and go haywire if your syntax is even a hair off, regardless of intent. Case in point, I was trying to register with one particular job site this morning and form balked at the zipcode I put in. "Invalid Zipcode". So I tried two nearby zipcodes, all of which I knew were valid. "Invalid Zipcode". Oh really? Talk with the US Postal service Mr. Script, because, the zipcode you deem invalid, was my successful mailing address for eight years. Still not convinced? Try utilities, phone, car insurance, etc. They will verify the zipcode IS valid. And this is not the first time I've encountered this error.

At this point, time and energy are going into contacting the offending form's site, and then waiting on a response for whatever length of time. If you listen carefully, successful job search productivity is nose-diving. Fuel....Fuel?!

Now, one is introduced to the "Help" system to fix the initial problem. Ah, but you have to register with an automated script (often just as buggy), just like the ORIGINAL system. Now there are or are not additional errors that prevent you from starting a help account...to get the orignal registration fixed. That's two problems and still no solution...AND even MORE time wasted that could be spent job searching. And this is just ONE company dealt with so far.

Say you successfully circumvent all this and register with the job service. The companies that post openings to said service don't always fill out that service's forms correctly and/or force you to register with yet another service they use to handle applicants. This is yet another registration that may or may not fly, in order to apply for a position that you should've been able to apply for through the original job service's system. Remember the plane analogy? Junior, the tail's on fire.

Keeping this thought, multiply this scenario over several job services. If you've spent, say, two hours fighting with these kinds of systems to register for one job, that's only four jobs applied for in an eight hour day. This is not productive for the hopeful seeker or the companies looking for candidates, nor is it any kind of solve for sagging economy. Even so, this is typical and "acceptable" of the 2009 job search. Kind of hard to stay motivated, now isn't it? Anybody know what the rent is on a fridge box these days?

Ah, but there are yet more hidden blowgun darts and collapsing bridges before reaching the idol. Say you do successfully turn in an online application, it may take weeks (or longer) to hear yay or nay. The reasons vary, but typically include "So-and-so isn't here to make the decision," "I don't know but I'll switch you to another department," "We're still reviewing and we'll take our sweet time even though we posted an 'immediate need', " "We don't have our acts together," "Our budget changed and nobody knows what's going on with that," etc. Meanwhile, you're dangling over the snake pit of writhing bills, cutting costs, and dropping things like health insurance to keep you from falling in.

There are yet MORE booby traps on the way to the idol. If there aren't particular buzzwords in your application or resume the word filters can snag (humans don't really sort resumes anymore) it's very easy to get passed up. Some companies are also picking now of all times to run credit checks as a standard, when they did not before, and the specific job didn't require such. So if you're late on the bills, your credit score takes a hit, and you don't get the position...that you NEED...to pay your bills, and improve your credit...because you were out of work vs being irresponsible or not seeking work. Whiskey?

At this time, companies are also complaining about both volume and lack of qualifications in the resumes they do recieve for given positions. The general desperation for work does not register in their minds, nor that if there is a 10% chance someone MIGHT call, that people are willing to apply, qualified or not. Hence, more of the rope bridge to the idol just fell into a bottomless chasm.

Let's review. Flawed and ignored applicaiton and help systems. Communication and decision making failures. Removed human element. Poorly timed and questionable standards. Is it any wonder we, as a country, are in the shape we're in, especially if we depend on things like this to be productive?

Ire aside, this can be a golden opportunity for a lot of people. If you ever wanted to start your own small business, this could be an excellent time. If you're an up and coming programmer, this is a terrific time to not only build a good name, but fix and make more efficient, very poor automated systems. Fixing said systems = greater productivity and happier people.

If you're a business person or decision maker, this is a great time to review and get rid of policies (and methods) that are questionable and/or downright unhelpful to your perspective employees and customers. Good service = happy customers (including the essential repeat customers) who spend money and improve the bottom line. Good service also = happy employees who are more productive and bring in more money.

Like I said, modern job seeking is riddled with more perils than an Indiana Jones movie. It's also VERY easy just to say "to hell with it" and give up looking. If we, as a nation, are to pull out of our current state, some of these issues holding back my fellow job seekers and I need to be addressed. Otherwise very little progress is made and the bigger economy does not improve.

Many of us want and desperately need to work. We need good tools to help us do that.