The new shift

In the olden days, when the web was just a twinkle in Al Gore’s eye, if you wanted to find a job you simply got on your horse and rode out to the nearest job fair. There you would schmooze with all of the other job fair attendees and companies looking for a few good men (or women). You would smile, nod politely, answer a few inane questions and then start your new job next Monday at 9 sharp.

Or, if you weren’t into the whole ‘cattle call’ event, you would gather up your resumes and head for the nearest place of business. There you would hand out your resumes, fill out a 30 page application that asked questions like – “Why did you leave your last job?”, or “May we contact your last employer?”

Yeah, that’s just what I want. My hopefully new employer learning about all of my bad habits from my last employer…

Sometimes this method paid off. It was far more likely that you ended up with a sore wrist from filling out all those pages of information that the application required. If you were lucky, your skill set matched an available job and you would get called in for an interview. IF you were lucky.

By IF, I mean – IF you weren’t suddenly too old (never be fooled, ageism is alive and well) or IF you hadn’t been fired from your last job for an addiction to internet porn (you sicko!), or IF your skills matched an available job right down to the last possible microgram or IF…well you get my meaning.

It’s not that I am down on the whole idea of searching for a job. No, quite the opposite, I think that right now is the best time to be enhancing skills, taking classes and polishing the old resume. My problem comes from the fact that the old way of searching for a job has undergone a shift not unlike the upheaval in the economy.

Going door to door simply won’t work. How many dozens of companies have online forms that are designed to weed out the weak? No one seems to welcome the drop in anymore. I know this for a fact. I have filled out the online forms and then gone to the stores just ‘to get more information’ and what I’ve been met with is a wall of stupidity a foot thick. No, they don’t know if they are hiring. No, that manager is out for the day. No, the website should have given you all your answers….

Some stores won’t even talk to people who walk in. Kroger doesn’t accept paper applications. Neither does Lowes, Home Depot, Best Buy, WalMart or a dozen others. I can’t swear to this, but of the stores on that list, they all seem to use the same company for online applications. The hiring team isn’t anyone on the ground at a store. It’s some nebulous web site that may or may not process your application.

Okay, so online apps are kind of a waste, what’s next? Ah, yes, the venerable county or city website that has jobs posted. At least there is a human being that you can talk to at a local desk. These sorts of places include County agencies (city hall, public works, police & fire, etc.). You can go into their office, fill out and application, take a placement test and then be told (very politely) to have a nice day. Of course, the person who takes your application isn’t involved in the hiring process. For the most part, they don’t even work in the same department or agency that you are applying for. There’s no way to track what happens to your application and resume. If you call them, they will refer you back to the website, which carries the following line of text that you are pretty sure wasn’t there before – If you match the minimum requirements you will be contacted. Do not call or email this office. Damn. Gotta get better about reading the fine print…

Okay, so now we are to the cattle call, oops, sorry I mean Job Fair. Since there are so many thousands of people out of jobs, Job Fairs can be a bit daunting. When there are about 300 jobs available and 6000 people show up, it tends to lower your odds. You’d better have all of your ducks in a row.

On second thought, never mind the ducks, they just increase the competition.

If you go to a job fair make sure you are dressed to kill. A nice suit, tie and clean fresh breath are essential. Bring lots of copies of your polished resume and all of your patience. Depending on how long the event is supposed to last and how many companies are there, it will be a lot like speed dating. You get about 45 seconds to make your pitch, ask and answer questions, pass on your resume, get some idea of what job specifics the company wants, find out where they are physically located, get a business card, admire how the interviewers manage to keep a smile on their face despite the fact that they can see the 300 foot line behind you. Whew, it took me more than 45 seconds to type that last line.

So what’s left? Oh, I know. Start your own business. Yeah, I know. It’s probably not the best time to be trying to drop into the business world. But think about it... There hasn’t been a time like this for entrepreneurs in a lot of years. Since the early 1900’s the focus has been on getting a job with some big company, staying there for 25 or 30 years. Climbing the ladder and getting the gold watch at the top.

But like everything else, that paradigm has changed. Companies are about as interested in having you stay with them for 30 years as you are. New blood is more important to them. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard about companies finding legal ways to push out everyone above a certain age. Also, the last two job fairs I’ve been to and the networking meetings contain people who are well past their early 30’s. I think that things are changing on an hourly basis at this point.

It almost makes more sense to develop a plan while at your current job, and then work that plan for all you are worth. Who knows, you might find out that you are better boss than anyone else you’ve ever had. At the very least, if you are the one calling the shots, you get to pick your own destiny.