I was recently quoted in an article in MSNBC titled “Discouraged? Time to Reignite Job Search” about the frustrating job search process many job seekers are encountering, it’s affect on morale and how to reignite the process.
Unfortunately, I happen to know several job seekers who are some of the absolute best people in their fields I’ve ever worked with over the past 20 years, across many companies, industries and borders who are having an awful time with the current market and job search environment. After all, California’s unemployment has hit a new high – 12.2%.
To me, it appears as though there is a serious crisis of confidence in corpoate America – in essence, business leaders seem afraid to make decisions. And, this crisis is affecting the job market. On the other hand, those leaders who forge forward and make solid business decisions and investments (whether it’s to hire to support your business strategy or invest in equipment to expand your product offerings etc) will leapfrog their competition. According to McGraw-Hill research, the companies that invested during the 80’s recession were more successful than the rest.
I believe business leaders must stand tall and think about thriving instead of surviving through the current recession. And, although terribly frustrating, the job seekers should not give up. Eventually, the top quality candidates will find the business leader interested in thriving, and it will be a fantastic opportunity for both the job seeker and business leader.
###
Don’t throw in the towel
The way companies are handling the hiring process also can frustrate job seekers.
“It appears as though employers are afraid to make decisions. In essence, they seem to begin the job search process, put it on hold, decide on a different avenue, recruiter vs. in-house, etc., start, stop, redesign the job — and then the process repeats,” said Lisa Anderson, a management consultant and founder of LMA Consulting Group, Inc. “For those job seekers who are the best in their field, it can be quite discouraging to experience this process on a daily basis.”
As they become frustrated, many job seekers start to think some time off is a good idea, hence the rising number of discouraged workers. But this is probably the worst strategy to adopt.