| Topic Name: |
The "Did I get the job?" question |
| Message Name: |
Is it just my perception or... |
| Date Posted: |
09/03/2004 |
| Message: |
Do the following trends bother you too?
1. Is the Hiring Process in general becoming too obtuse? In the past, firms held open houses, ran ads in the paper and other trade journals, and hired from campuses. Nowadays, most jobs are only posted online, which somewhat removes the human element.
2. Jobs are posted...often for long periods of time, with no hires ever materializing. I've seen the same postings for months or years.
3. It used to be that you were told that a position was filled, and were extended the courtesy of being told good luck, and that you'll be in the database when when they next need someone with your skill sets. I see the excuses out there that retort 'since the number of applicants are too numerous, they could not possibly reply to everyone.' Well, if my education taught me anything, it is that automating this entire process on the web was supposed to increase productivity by providing scale. If the old HR process of reading, presenting, and filing a paper resume could be met with a nice postcard or thank you letter, it should not be too much of an effort to post a message or send an email indicating that a position was filled. There should be no excuse for the lack of courtesy. Some poor dolt expended the energy to pursue a job at your company so it is only fair that you offer him/her a simple acknowledgement to set his/her expectations.
4. Things are desperate when there are more and more scams that prey on the vulnerabilities of the unemployed. If I had a dollar for every multi-level marketing hack and start-your-own-business-by-learning-my-process-and-buying-my-tapes-so-that-I-get-rich-off-of-you-sucka I'd be rich enough to be able to affort Berkshire Hathaway shares.
5. Many of us were told back at college that the next 25 years will be witness to a service-based economy. This at first did not sound too bad when I was envisioning myself making a lofty 6 figure salary with a white collar job, sitting in a leather chair on the 29th floor of a luxury burlwood-decorated executive office within the multi-trillion dollar MNC that I was recruited into from school. A decade later after moving from 70-90hr work weeks putting up with politics and then lay-offs so that CEOs can get their bonuses, the 'service economy' that has materialized is me dressed in a waiter outfit scrounging off of measly tips and minimum wage "serving" the executive who laid me off and come to think of it... was the guest lecturer back at school that told us to expect a 'service-based' economy.
6. Job growth? Forget the matter of whether the government statistic is meaningful sampling. If 45 million people cannot afford basic services, then hell, these 2 words become an oxymoron right?
It's a pretty sad day for our country when the American Dream only applies to a few, and the rest would probably do better seeking it in another country. Problem is...we can't speak the foreign language, and are not legally able to get a 'visa' to work or live there :^).
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