I thought that the job market was a little better than it really is. I realize that only now that I've started looking for a new job more seriously because I'm fed up with the constant uncertainty here. What are your experiences with looking for a new job?
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@pmf+1ndLWccb Same here. Almost 16 months unemployed. CS, MEngineering, quantitative PhD degrees from top schools decades ago- worthless on job market now. Tried application all sort of jobs, also out of field, also technician, also data entry / analysis. Passed even for entry level jobs I did in high school.
@1tkn+1ndLWccb Did all that customization and bespoke resumes (and pain letters, cover letters, background research on the company; the works I advised myself others to do for decades). My specific field evolves very fast and my decades honed knowledge value-add has been subsumed by 'good enough' AI LLM (cost are externalized, so good enough works for the company, bc failure are socialized / externalized to gov or customers). You are also correct about the flooding by unscrupulous HH and staffing firms (pro tip, read the terms v carefully - I didn't - some staffing agencies do not allow you to delete your profile and you granted them a forever non-cancellable license to what you submitted so you are somewhat scr*wed on that but of course IANAL)
We are about to head into a recession, or worse, and are actually long overdue. I know friends and family members working in multiple OEMs and tier ones and they're all saying the same thing. The hiring is slowed or frozen, but the work hasn't slowed or stopped. There's not enough bodies for the current workload. Hoaxvid sh*tshots took a lot of people and caring family members out of the workforce, and the corporations are now downsizing to what is available. Deny it all you want, whether you see it within your life or not is irrelevant. It's happening, so get on board and own the reality of it. Or, continue to be the person that can't figure things out, always shocked, never sees it coming, because you choose to remain naive. Not my problem, not in the least. Zero, zilth, nada.
The only companies that are still hiring, are the newer setups, or those that were already a skeleton crew. My company increased it's hiring capacity 300-400%, in which about 1/3 were salary, and the rest are hired contract. First time contract were hired in many years. When downsize time comes, and it will, the contract are the first to go. We know the game.
Recession. Great Recession. D*io. I'll take an prsn and e Alex....
I'd like to solve the puzzle....
Depression.
Figure it out people, or don't. Hegelian dialectic. You either figure things out and get the eff out of the way, or that train is going to steam roll right over you. Don't act surprised should you arrive at that "oh sh*t" moment. It's not like it was that hard to figure out. In a zero sum game, one must win, one must lose. Some must win, some must lose. Many must win, many must lose.
Unless you can figure out the game, and sidestep all the nonsense....
Can someone explain why so many fake jobs? What is the goal? How to tell the job is fake?
Job market is weird and it is not the same as last year, that is for sure.
I was SIREd end of April 2022. Took a couple months off, started looking in August 2022, started on job in Nov 2022 and another job Jan 2023. Fast forward to May 2023, and both jobs laid me off - budget cuts.
However, before I even stopped working for employer 2, recruiter called me about a job with a well known firm in truck trailers…..got to third interview before was told I was 2nd runner up.
So there are jobs out there, it is going to take persistence, patience, and some compromise (ie might have to return to office, might have to take lower rate, might have to move, etc). You should plan on it taking 4 to 6 months to find something.
Yeah, I’m not keen on compromising, either, but at my age I only want to work another three to 4 years to top off the 401k so I can work part time at something I like or want to do.
I too can confirm the job market sucks. LinkedIn is just pageantry; tons of fake job postings. The messages you get from recruiters are dog sh-t companies that cannot get anyone to stay. Best I got was phone interviews, but I mention my salary requirements and I get ghosted. The Cali companies are a joke because most of them want to pay a little more than Michigan wages but the COLA is 2x. Also median home price is $1.5M, so move to Cali and be homeless, yeah right LOL. Money is tight everywhere or companies just want to load more work on the people that are still there. Just keeping my head down. I don’t even surf jobs online anymore because clearly if you don’t check certain boxes or are not someone’s pet you are going nowhere at Ford. I just save my money and invest for passive income. Best the “real” smart people can do. Live below your means and you will be fine.
"Who is John Galt?"
Long read and tedious in places, but the overall arc is surprisingly prescient for being written nearly seven decades ago.
@OP. I agree with other commenters here. The job market is "weird", with few openings, many fake jobs, and lower compensation.
At the beginning of the year, I lost an opportunity, when the company decided not to fill the position. I went through few interviews later on (only applying to positions where I am a good match, I got interviews for around half of my applications). Lately, I applied to a position that paid less than my current job, since Ford is signaling that layoffs are coming. I aced the 2 technical interviews. While allegedly I am waiting for a response, and the recruiter says is normal to take this long, I get the impression that I am being ghosted.
Until I get an offer, I'll keep searching, but there is not much out there. I have only found 1 good position in the last 3 weeks, which tells me companies are freezing new hires or already hurting and doing layoffs. It doesn't look good.
The job market is abysmal. Too many looking, too few openings. This is going to be awful. Last August the market was still hot. Now, yeah, not so much.
I read posts on Linked In about people applying to 100s of jobs, getting a dozen call backs, a handful of interviews and no offers over months of unemployment.
I'm ready to retire. For those not, I feel for you!
Thank you for the encouragement, however I have had multiple recruiters at contract houses tell me they have NOTHING. This just confirmed what I had figured out on my own. Also, the recruiters agreed most job postings are fake, since they have to deal with fake jobs postings as well. This isn't about resumes; it is about there is nowhere to go.
If you have portable current skills, a good attitude and good work ethic you will find a job.
Some tips
- create a customized resume for each position. Include all of the skills and technologies exactly specified in the posting (only the skills you have). Nearly all resumes go thru pattern matching process and go directly into the trash bin if match % is not high enough.
- only apply to jobs you are qualified for. Do not lie about your abilities or allow a headhunter to Wi--y Nilly send your resume to every company. Your name will get placed on a bit bucket list.
You can thank unscrupulous head hunters and IT agencies for the low response rates and perceived ghosting. They mass submit hundreds/thousands of resumes for positions hoping one will make it thru.
Target your resumes to good fit positions and you will be fine.
I have an EE Degree and it is now worthless. At least I have a savings and will try to retire early. My data analysis skills will be useful to day trade stocks, looking at REITs (oversold) and A.I. stocks. I have better positive response rate with the lottery than I do with resumes.
@bbh+1ndLWccb, you are correct - to add insult to injury yes, most of the job postings are fake. (For multiple reasons). If you are in the tech field, it is hopeless.
@OP Stay with your current job. Even if you did find a different job, it would be just the same thing or more likely worse.
Can only speak for tech jobs. For top top performer who are headhunted it's great. For everybody else 200-300 applications per job, response rate is <3% and falling, age discrimination not hidden anymore, 1/3-1/2 maybe more of jobs posting are fake (it;s for optics there are no actual jobs), and employers are massively lowballing people, ghosting. Look at reddit antiwork jobs etc to get a feel. My advice: Stay in your job