How Job Seekers Spend Their Time

Reader Comments
Back to blog

Most companies are only concerned about their bottom-line figure at the end of each quarter. Their lay-offs and hiring practices reflect this. New hires are never guaranteed any more than a 90-Day Review now and are usually told that no further downsizing is planned! However, employees are normally looked upon as disposable commodities. The lower ranking workforce remaining at each company is made to feel that they are the problem why the company is struggling financially, because it is conveyed that they are working inefficiently on their job assignments!
Staffing Firms, Placement Consults, Career Coaches, etc., all concentrate on telling the job hunter what he or she needs to do to improve their own profile and attractiveness to hiring managers. These firms never publicly make any statements about the changes in management and operational practices that companies in all industries should undertake in order to prevent the problems of the past two years from happening over and over again. Most companies repeatedly lie to their customers, vendors and workforce, while spewing out Phony P.R. Statements to the general public in order to make themselves look better than they really are!
How do you feel about the management practices of most companies, industries and businesses in existence today?

Raymond Santopietro of NJ 12:09PM December 31, 2009

I'm wondering if anyone is able to actually locate the source of this statistic on the Department of Labor website. I am seeing this information posted throughout the web, but was unable to find any documentation from the DOL. Not saying it isn't there, and not saying I agree (since there are many ways to evaluate and present statistical evidence), but if anyone has found the source, please share with me. Thanks, Joni Liebel
www.joniliebel.com
www.liebelcasemgt.com

Joni Liebel of NC 10:58AM December 31, 2009

I just read on msnbc that my profession was one of the hardest hit in this recession. Tell me something I do not already know. I was laid off last spring and knew I was done for. I left a company in spring 08 to escape a mass layoff. Once there my ex-coworkers called me for a job. I have 2 college degrees and worked as a professor for years, and that job is also gone. I refuse to move to another region where i could be laid off yet again. Oh well, It could have been worse- in another 1991 layoff the employer said i would never make it in architecture, probably so i would not sue or assault him.
i have tried other industries such as insurance and financial services which advertised "will train". i got a few interviews but there are so many applicants those companies can just hire young unemployed MBA's for peanuts or get somebody with money to do a startup business on their own, so it was a waste of time.
Another waste of time: the schools out there. We unemployed do not want to pay for more high-priced degrees only to find no jobs or if there are any they are in undesirable environments or we have to move again.
More productive approaches might include seeking independent work/consulting without benefits, odd jobs, or looking for work in government postings. In this economy these probably better than hunting nonexistent "real" jobs.

unemployed architect of PA 10:55AM December 31, 2009

There are more elements to this job search thing. I am a self-employed graphic artist/general manager. I wear many hats, and have been able to do so for more than 30 years. I have morphed my career and 'spun' my resume more times than this article has been read. And yet, I still can't find work for a living wage.
I learned my trade and earned my BFA degree (graphic design/photography) manually: on a drawing board with hot type, an exacto knife/tweezers, rubber cement, t-square/triangle, 35 mm film and a darkroom. Since graduation, I have learned how businesses operate, what to do to stay profitable, industry specific graphics requirements, 20-plus computer applications (bi-platform), computer maintenance, bookkeeping, small-business tax responsibility, staff management (HR) and importation of hard goods, all in a few different industries.
My biggest downfall? I don't fit the mold - I am more than a "one"-off. Problem? I don't have an MBA to prove my qualifications for big businees, and small business cannot afford to pay a living wage.
I didn't get where I am today living in my parents' extra bedroom. I have responsibilities and financial commitments, all of which have been impacted by the imploded US economy. There is no "stimulus" money for people like me. I don't collect unemployment. I have reaped the benefits of small-business and am now relying on my "beyond" rainy-day funds.
Do I sound angry? You bet I am. Those who have benefited from the stimulus money are the corporate chairs and CEOs with severance policies large enough to retire on. Have a job? The message out there is be happy, be grateful, even if it is a hostile work environment and you hate it.
Those in the business of entertainment and sports are equally responsible for the economy. I can't justify a night's entertainment as an evening at a sporting event/concert is more than I earn per day. I need that money for utilities and food.
I can't afford to go back to school. We had the money when the market tanked in 2003, and destroyed our children's education funds. Besides, I'll be on SSI and Medicare by the time I graduate. The "myth" is that our government cares.

RM of NY 10:54AM December 31, 2009

This Hoffman guy wrote this article simply to sell his job search engine, which may or may not be any good, and I question where he got his facts and figures, too. There was, however, a lot of information he left out, since it was an ad and not an actual article meant to provide help or to inform about anything other than LinkUp.com. We may be out of work, but we're not brain-dead. One very significant thing he forgot to mention is that the job market is currently FLOODED with potential applicants, allowing employers to pick and choose very specifically to fill the occasional openings in their companies. And pick and choose they do. I defy Mr. Hoffman to find any job, which pays enough to survive above the poverty level, which does NOT expect applicants to have a very specialized 4-year degree AND experience in that very specialized field. I don't know about the rest of you, but while I was working full time and stupidly thinking my position was secure, I didn't see the need to accumulate education and knowledge in IT, which seems to be where all the demand is. So, now I am adrift in a sea of unemployed, under-educated, 'mature' workers, with all the wrong work experience. Oh, and by the way, the federal funding for training through the Workforce Investment Act is very limited and quickly running out. I managed to get some, but it will only pay about half of what I need to complete a four-year degree in business which, according to a recent 'Time' article, will be as worthless as my current Associates' degreee by the time I find the additional funds to complete it.

Ex-Verizon of DE 10:10AM December 31, 2009

First of all, I think who ever wrote this article does not know what they are talking about. Looking for a job is a full time job in itself. People who are out of work did not choose to loose their job and did not have a choice about it. It just happened. I spend many hours searching and networking to find a job. Do you really thing I prefer to spend my time being home all the time? NO I would rather be working and know that I accomplished something to benefit my employer. I would work 3 days for nothing just to show an employer what type of person I am and experience that I have attained through my working career.
I've been on a number of interviews but nothing ever became of it. I call back to inquire about positions only to find out that it was filled already. The problem is, the employer's would not be disappointed in my work or ability to succeed and help the company grow. It does not mean that people who don't have a paper with a degree cannot do the work just as well as someone with a degree.
People now a days are greedy and prefer to give jobs overseas instead of hiring here in the United States. The only way to help this country is to keep jobs here.

me of NY 6:29AM December 31, 2009

I don't know who is doing the research at the Labor Department, but they are apparently not coming to my house. I spend several hours per day looking for a job. I'm not sure why I am not getting interviews, but it's definitely not for lack of trying. I think that the companies could do a LOT better job of getting the word out about openings if they are so in need of employees! All I ever seem to hear from so-called "career counselors" is about the things I "should" and "should not" do to get a job! Just tell me where the damn JOBS ARE if there are so many of them out there. I have a child at home, and can't afford to get someone to look after him every time there is some networking event or job fair I can't "afford" to miss! I have spent time and money to get more education, and I have over 2 years of experience in my chosen field, just to get laid off due to lack of work because they're gonna miss their precious bottom line if they keep paying my bills! What ticks me off the most about this article is that it offers NO solutions, but only cracks the whip at people like me who are doing everything they can to get a decent paying job (Lord knows this was probably written by some hiring manager who can't find any employees for the company he works for because he's too PICKY!) A word to the companies in "need" of employees: THIS IS NOT AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO INCREASE YOUR BOTTOM LINE BY STREAMLINING YOUR WORKFORCE! YOU NEED TO HIRE SOME PEOPLE AT A DECENT WAGE SO FOLKS WILL HAVE SOME MONEY SO THEY CAN BUY YOUR PRODUCTS/SERVICES, SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO BORROW MONEY/GET INTO AN OPPRESSIVE CONTRACT ALL THE TIME IN ORDER TO BUY ALL THE OVERPRICED STUFF THEY NEED TO LIVE!!! (Is it just me, or has anyone ELSE noticed that prices at WalMart keep going up, even as the jobless rate goes way over 10%?) Quit trying to take advantage of the "recession" that YOU are causing by being so GREEDY!! If things are going to get better in this country, SOMETHING, SOMEWHERE IS GOING TO HAVE TO GIVE!!! EVERYONE cannot be GREEDY and only think of THEMSELVES and this country survive!!!

A Very Frustrated Job Seeker of TN 3:40PM December 30, 2009

I spent 6 solid weeks sending letters and making phone calls trying to root out that unposted job market. Not once did I get an interview unless a company had an official posted openning. I think it is a big fat myth.

Kirk Brandon of AZ 3:30PM December 30, 2009

I find this very hard to believe. What is the source of this "fact"? How does the Department of Labor come up with this "fact"? Can I find it from a Department of Labor source?
Anyway, finding a job is a full time job if you are out of work.

Lynn Odom of TN 3:05PM December 30, 2009