Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Employment Paralysis in the Obama Economy — Doug Kimball
As many of you know, I’m in the midst of a job search. It became clear early on that I needed to temper my expectations; which is to say consider taking a few giant steps backwards in order to get a paycheck.
The first headhunter I met with tried to sell me on a “retained search.” That’s a euphemism for paying them a fee up front to represent me. I politely told them, no, but I wanted to ask them if they saw “SUCKER” tattooed on my forehead. This is where the job market is. Poor unemployed dinosaurs like me are rubes to be deprived of their IRA savings.
Not all of the search firms have gone over to the dark side. Some are still helping fill open positions for a company fee. Right now, I’m well along in the process, but the hoops and barriers are as absurd and onerous as they have ever been.
A struggling economy is like candy for HR departments. When there are so many candidates, sifting through the chaff becomes a major task (forget that the immense chaff is in large part generated by the unemployed going through the motions so that they can obtain their weekly unemployment checks). Once one has settled on candidates for interview, there are an infinite number of tools available to further the assessment. I’ve been subjected to personality tests and software tests. I’ve been asked to analyze deals, prepare spreadsheets, and consult on possible acquisitions. I’m an unpaid consultant now, servicing nervous CEOs who are afraid to hire a CFO.
In the midst of all this activity, I remain unemployed — which leads me to a conversation I had with a recruiter yesterday. I expressed some frustration with all these demands. I told him that I thought this was a result of general insecurity among CEOs. Hiring a high-level finance guy is risky and costly, so they balk and balk.
My recruiter buddy disagreed. He said that his problem was a dearth of good candidates. Of course, when I asked him about positions for someone like me, he said it wasn’t top-level jobs, but secondary, middle-management positions that he could not fill. I thought about this comment as I tossed and turned last night. It seemed so counterintuitive, but then I realized the answer.
This trend results from a complicated series of factors, but, first and foremost, it’s the product of a poor economy. Employers no longer think in terms of training or developing talent. In this economy, they demand a perfect fit. They want it cheap and they want it now. They look for specific industry experience, specific software experience, current professional credentials, expertise with specific software tools, etc. Out-of-area candidates are immediately dinged. Relocation assistance has gone the way of the dodo bird. Candidates are eliminated if they lack any required attribute.
On the potential candidate side of the equation, there is little confidence. They are staying put and tempering their ambitions. Finally, salaries are stagnant or declining, which provides little opportunity for any employment mobility.
Here is what it comes down to: a strong economy seeks talent and is willing to train and pay to get it; a bad economy looks for an exact fit at the cheapest price and is not interested in promotion or training. We are not in a period of employment immobility; our economy is suffering from employment paralysis.
Published in General
There are similar problems on the younger end of the work force. I mention this not to say that one side is worse than the other; I’m just simply closer to the that end of the spectrum, and it’s what I see. Almost all positions that I see advertised in my industry (process/chemical/refinery engineering) require 5+ years of industry experience. Now how is a college kid supposed to get that if nobody wants to hire and train rookies? They get lucky. Period. I was lucky. I got hired in Spring ’08 and started Sept ’08, just before the recession really hit. The job wasn’t a good fit, so 2 years later I was looking and was lucky (again) to find a company that was almost as desperate as I was.
My current employer is now actively seeking out college kids for training, but it’s one of the few. Too many others see employees as costs instead of assets, but who can blame them? The cost of hiring is growing everyday (thanks Obamacare!), and the cost of a bad hire is tremendous. The market may be good, but transaction costs are still prohibitively high.
-E
Hey Doug: I’m likely at the “secondary, middle-management stage of my career”, and I’ve been considering making a change. Would you mind sharing your recruiter buddy’s contact info? I’d be happy to play the chocolate to his peanut butter.
The big issue with the Indians that I see ignored is the culture / language issues. Time after time I watched the H1Bs send projects into the shoals because they just don’t understand what is required or explained. It is not their fault, many of them do not have the social / culture / language experience to give instructions and descriptions necessary context. I would be in the same position if our situation was reversed. Big companies and HR departments feed into this with their a warm body is a warm body philosophy. When you view people as resources to be acquired at the cheapest price possible then you are doing it wrong. Sadly this is most companies.