Laid off? Another reason to commit suicide.

its not too surprising. i read a story several weeks ago that employers were having a lot of problems because they will hire "great" candidates (often over qualified) for positions only to have them leave several months later when they find a better job. its costing companies a lot of money to advertise positions, hire people, train then, have them leave for greener pastures, and then start the cycle over again.
 
How is this like relationships? As in, I only want one with you if you are in one with someone else?

I saw that article - it's not that surprising but it definitely sucks. I mean, where I work there are ZERO minorities and ZERO women (other than secretaries and staff) - the only difference is that no one has written an article about it. This can't be just coincidence, can it? It's sad really.
 
[quote name='javeryh']How is this like relationships? As in, I only want one with you if you are in one with someone else? [/QUOTE]

Yes. Homewreckers for the win.

...

Seriously though. 20% of the employable are unemployed or underemployed. If somebody is qualified for a position and he or she can be picked up on the cheap, go for it.

If somebody wants to hire me, they have to pay me 20% more than I make right now.

If I'm unemployed, they have to pay 80% of what I made last.
 
This is why I don't believe in when a company says they are an equal opportunity employer. There is no such thing these days.
 
[quote name='RAMSTORIA']its not too surprising. i read a story several weeks ago that employers were having a lot of problems because they will hire "great" candidates (often over qualified) for positions only to have them leave several months later when they find a better job. its costing companies a lot of money to advertise positions, hire people, train then, have them leave for greener pastures, and then start the cycle over again.[/QUOTE]

I am curious how much money does it cost to train an employee. Lets say for example target and on the job training... Ok so your hiring manager assigns you to a "trainer"...That trainer spends his/her normal day training you on how to use the register, LRT/PDT, and understanding the day to day operations of a target store. The trainer is getting paid the same amount they are currently getting, and target is paying you whatever they agreed to pay you for. I can understand if target fly's you to the company hq for floor training, yea that's a big expense , but no a days "Training someone else" is part of everyone job and yep, they don't give you more money to train others :(
 
This is really assinine. People who work and hire have no appreciation for how it is out there. Most of them live sheltered lives and have never been unemployed in their lives.

And it's toooooooooooo tough out there.
 
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If I'm already employed, why the fuck would I need another job unless I was unhappy at that job I currently have?

Honestly, companies just suck balls. In this state(PA), a company could make up any ridiculous rules they want to and the employees had better ask about any silly rules prior to being hired.

Case in point, I worked for a company about 16 years ago. They had a rule where you had TWO minutes(one minute before the top of the hour, one minute at the top of the hour)to clock in. Couple that with them having only ONE shift(which ran from 5 am till about 2-3 am the next morning)and about 45 or so employees at the time and I was 'late' apparently a couple of days.

I was not informed of this rule during the interview and I wondered why the hell people were scrambling to get to the time clock in such a hurry. They docked me $1 an hour(supposed to be $6 an hour, down to $5)for the two weeks I stayed there slaving my ass away for them. I was so worn out by the end of the first week, I slept for about 16 hours when I got off early Saturday morning.

But I figured I had a huge check coming the next week, so imagine my shock when I got my check and it was alot less than I expected. I was pissed. After the bs at that company, I asked every question I could think of during interviews and if there was so much as a hint of the company having some bs rule I wouldn't go to work there.
 
I just got a copy of my new employee contract and one of the causes that could lead to a loss of seniority is death. As far as I know, in all the years the business has operated, those who died never filed a grievance.
 
[quote name='crunchb3rry']I just got a copy of my new employee contract and one of the causes that could lead to a loss of seniority is death. As far as I know, in all the years the business has operated, those who died never filed a grievance.[/QUOTE]
In some areas of the country death doesn't stop people from voting.;) So death is not the end all like it used to be.:lol:

Then again, you only need to Google Lackawanna and Luzerne county to see how frickin' corrupt my area is.
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']I am curious how much money does it cost to train an employee. Lets say for example target and on the job training... Ok so your hiring manager assigns you to a "trainer"...That trainer spends his/her normal day training you on how to use the register, LRT/PDT, and understanding the day to day operations of a target store. The trainer is getting paid the same amount they are currently getting, and target is paying you whatever they agreed to pay you for. I can understand if target fly's you to the company hq for floor training, yea that's a big expense , but no a days "Training someone else" is part of everyone job and yep, they don't give you more money to train others :([/QUOTE]

its easy to think of it as money that people are already getting paid. but theres a lot of direct and indirect costs with turnover. it can be something as obvious as recruiting costs like advertising, interviewing etc. to costs like training a new employee and the extra work others have to do when someone leaves the company.

quick google example http://www.isquare.com/turnover.cfm
 
You know what's funny?

Entry-level jobs!

They nowadays require you to have experience....to get a job in which you will need to be trained for.

I spoke to a HR rep when she said I wasn't qualified for an entry-level position because of "lack of experience" and I was like "ma'am, in all due respect...how can I get it if you are denying me of it?"

She suggested I find a job that did what that job did for a year, and then reapply. REALLY? You think I'm going to do that????

I'd be damned if I told my boss "hey, I'm going to leave you and this analyst I position to go work at this other company potentially at their analyst I position where I can make the same pay if not less...."
 
[quote name='strongpimphand']You know what's funny?

Entry-level jobs!

They nowadays require you to have experience....to get a job in which you will need to be trained for.

I spoke to a HR rep when she said I wasn't qualified for an entry-level position because of "lack of experience" and I was like "ma'am, in all due respect...how can I get it if you are denying me of it?"

She suggested I find a job that did what that job did for a year, and then reapply. REALLY? You think I'm going to do that????

I'd be damned if I told my boss "hey, I'm going to leave you and this analyst I position to go work at this other company potentially at their analyst I position where I can make the same pay if not less...."[/QUOTE]

It's the old Catch 22...

It's like when I got out of school 10 years ago. Had a great portfolio, great demo....applied to so many companies in the NoVA/DC area and I got the same result..."No experience, no job"... Others say that it's your internship which breaks you into your field... guess what? I had no internship (because we had a fucked up department chairwoman who didn't give a shit about us and our internships). The only way I have gotten any type of experience was to go a different route, and that was the teaching route in the hopes it would give me enough experience and an opportunity to land a full time gig which I went to college for. Guess what? The economy tanks and they no longer need my specialized field.

Others say volunteer/kiss ass at the place your at now and you will not only move up in the place, but secure your future. I say fuck NO. I worked my ass off in college and in the workplace and these skill-less under-educated fucks come in and climb up the ladder and end up making more money than you, or become your boss. And guess what? These bosses fall for it every time. Every place I have worked at I have seen the same shit over and over again where hard work and loyalty is outweighed/ignored to someone who can show how much cock can they suck out of the boss!
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']It's the old Catch 22...

It's like when I got out of school 10 years ago. Had a great portfolio, great demo....applied to so many companies in the NoVA/DC area and I got the same result..."No experience, no job"... Others say that it's your internship which breaks you into your field... guess what? I had no internship (because we had a fucked up department chairwoman who didn't give a shit about us and our internships). The only way I have gotten any type of experience was to go a different route, and that was the teaching route in the hopes it would give me enough experience and an opportunity to land a full time gig which I went to college for. Guess what? The economy tanks and they no longer need my specialized field.

Others say volunteer/kiss ass at the place your at now and you will not only move up in the place, but secure your future. I say fuck NO. I worked my ass off in college and in the workplace and these skill-less under-educated fucks come in and climb up the ladder and end up making more money than you, or become your boss. And guess what? These bosses fall for it every time. Every place I have worked at I have seen the same shit over and over again where hard work and loyalty is outweighed/ignored to someone who can show how much cock can they suck out of the boss![/QUOTE]

Definitely a catch 22, but I'm going to disagree with you on some points.

First, you said your department has a "f'd up chairwoman who doesn't care about you". Well my first internship in college I got through friends, so I think it's more about networking than your career center. I got my first "real" job at the place I interned at. I did some not so wise career things and am back in school for my master's. Once again our career program ain't great, but they always post internship opportunities on their page. So I landed a graduate level internship (hoping to turn it into a full time job) All by myself. You just have to have the drive to go out there and find these things.

Second thing I disagree with you is the fact that you don't are so adamant about not volunteering. I realize you're talking about volunteering for projects in the workplace, but have any unemployed people considered volunteering? I was unemployed in school so I had a ton of free time. So I volunteered at a school for ONE HOUR a week. I think that's what helped me land my current internship. Also the people you volunteer for truly appreciate the help AND they can provide solid references.
 
Yeah, it's kinda hard to volunteer for someone and NOT have them give you a glowing reference. Unless you volunteered at Habitats For Humanity and got caught napping inside a fort you built out of drywall scraps.
 
A company/factory in my town recently laid off over half their staff because of, "money issues." The people working there were making a decent salary, enough to make a living.

A short time later they needed to hire more people so they hired from a temp agency. Guess who started working back at the company...all the employees that were laid off by that same company, who are now working for the temp agency doing the exact same job they were before, only now for minimum wage.

So the company basically got to cut all of their employees salaries, and in turn got some government incentive for hiring a bunch of people from the temp agency, thus, "creating jobs."
 
[quote name='DV8']Definitely a catch 22, but I'm going to disagree with you on some points.

First, you said your department has a "f'd up chairwoman who doesn't care about you". Well my first internship in college I got through friends, so I think it's more about networking than your career center. I got my first "real" job at the place I interned at. I did some not so wise career things and am back in school for my master's. Once again our career program ain't great, but they always post internship opportunities on their page. So I landed a graduate level internship (hoping to turn it into a full time job) All by myself. You just have to have the drive to go out there and find these things.

Second thing I disagree with you is the fact that you don't are so adamant about not volunteering. I realize you're talking about volunteering for projects in the workplace, but have any unemployed people considered volunteering? I was unemployed in school so I had a ton of free time. So I volunteered at a school for ONE HOUR a week. I think that's what helped me land my current internship. Also the people you volunteer for truly appreciate the help AND they can provide solid references.[/QUOTE]

Wanna know what's crazy? There's a guy who worked for us a year and a half ago and got laid off, and now he's coming in to work for us on a volunteer basis 2 days a week.

It must be really desperate out there for somebody to do that.
 
[quote name='2DMention']Wanna know what's crazy? There's a guy who worked for us a year and a half ago and got laid off, and now he's coming in to work for us on a volunteer basis 2 days a week.

It must be really desperate out there for somebody to do that.[/QUOTE]

I would NEVER work for a place that laid me off, let alone volunteer. One moment your part of the staff, the next your laid off and no one talks to you anymore, then you come back to work for free at the same place that laid you off? Either the guy is an idiot or he's really desperate to think that his former bosses will PAY him.

[quote name='DV8']Definitely a catch 22, but I'm going to disagree with you on some points.

First, you said your department has a "f'd up chairwoman who doesn't care about you". Well my first internship in college I got through friends, so I think it's more about networking than your career center. I got my first "real" job at the place I interned at. I did some not so wise career things and am back in school for my master's. Once again our career program ain't great, but they always post internship opportunities on their page. So I landed a graduate level internship (hoping to turn it into a full time job) All by myself. You just have to have the drive to go out there and find these things.

Second thing I disagree with you is the fact that you don't are so adamant about not volunteering. I realize you're talking about volunteering for projects in the workplace, but have any unemployed people considered volunteering? I was unemployed in school so I had a ton of free time. So I volunteered at a school for ONE HOUR a week. I think that's what helped me land my current internship. Also the people you volunteer for truly appreciate the help AND they can provide solid references.[/QUOTE]

Inputting more information on that internship part, well *some* of us got internships on our own since like I said the department head didn't give a fuck about us or helped us. The place I intern was a joke and ended up shutting down 6 weeks after I started because of lack of business :roll:. Told my chairperson what happened and she didn't find me another internship in time before the end of the semester so you know where she put me for the remainder of my internship? Computer Lab monitor duty. :bomb: I asked her if because the place shut down and I was unable to find another internship place would it effect my grade and she said no. End of the semester I get my grades, and guess what? I got an F for my internship! Can you fucking believe that? As soon as I got that report I marched into her office and demanded to know why after numerous conversations and updates on the situation that I still ended up getting an "F". Believe me I never saw her shake so badly during that conversation as she knew I was pissed and she immediately wrote an email to the dean and the main office to delete that F as it was a mistake.. Gave it a week and later that F became an A, but I still had no internship. We had no networking, no connections no nothing because we were the *first* graduating class in our field for that school in a system that was extremely new to offering my major, which was computer animation. Turns out a few months after I left, the president of that school got tired of her bullshit (took him 3 years to realize she was full of shit) and so she fired her. In response she built her own school and was running that for awhile til her board of directors or investors or whatever finally got sick of her shit and fired her (so says my former classmate that worked in that school).


As for the volunteering part, I use to be big on volunteering...but after awhile it really ended up going no where or people were given jobs that I was eyeballing for awhile. Now a days employers want to use people and pay them nothing because it saves them in the long run and they know people are desperate for work. Of course when you ask if there is an open position, the usual answer is not at this time...and it feels like you just wasted your time for nothing.

One place I have been working at in the after school program for like the past 5 school years I have been trying to build up my reputation and connections and have had nothing but praises from my supervisor and the principal of the school and even letters of recommendations. That school is one of the best places to work at and every time I apply for a position when it opens up, I don't get it...they just give it to someone else.

With the school systems cutting programs to save themselves because of their overspending (too many people getting paid too much money for jobs they don't do right), they don't need computer graphics teachers and I am more than sure I am going to get a call/email from my sup over the summer saying that my program has been canceled due to lack of funding, but of course this is the type of school system that has NO problem allowing her to spend the entire length of her pregnancy to stay at home (because her husband ordered her to stay home, not her doctor). So she was out for the entire school year.

She didn't just do this once, but twice! This school year alone I was told by one of the staff members that she reduced her hours because , get this...she has the "Flu". Who the hell has the flu for 10 months? And if it was the swine flu, then she shouldn't be anywhere near the school. And yes, she still has her job.
While she was out the first baby , it was already my second year with the program and the staff knew me well and liked me. They knew I had management experience and so on. So my supervisor takes her 10 month leave and instead of giving me the chance to prove my self, they give the job to a parent of a student in that school! When my supervisor returned from her leave, guess what? They gave her sub a full time job in that school. WTF?!?!

Rumors have it that my supervisor may not be coming back next year and that sub has already smooched her way up the ranks that they are considering giving her the full time job when she does leave.

Bottom line is it's a pretty fucked up situation and I am stuck with it/have to put up with it for now.
 
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Wow guy, sounds like you've had quite the string of bad luck. I just want to make some quick observations. I don't want to sound rude so please consider them to be constructive criticism.

1. When getting an internship do your absolute best to make sure it is a LEGIT company. There's probably 100+ internships on my school website right now. Guess what? 90% of them are companies I've never heard off wanting to pay either minimum wage or they want to pay you in "experience". I would never work for one of those companies simply because of the fact that they can't be doing THAT well if they need the free labor. It might just be my field (business), but every internship is paid and you just have to weed out the shady sounding ones. Which isn't too difficult you just have to know the companies.

2. From what you said about volunteering... it sounded like you were volunteering at places you wanted to work at (aka free labor). My comment was more directed to places that NEED help. Schools are massively underfunded and kids are dropping out/failing every day. They really need the extra help. At my school there were 2 tutors for 30 students for 1 hour. They were turning away students because we couldn't help them all. Kids want to learn and the kids that don't you can just ignore. Trust me it's 1000x better to volunteer for someone who needs the help rather than volunteer at some computer grafix firm for a summer.

3. Still on volunteering... volunteering isn't supposed to be what YOU get out of it, you're supposed to help other people. If you go in with the mindset, "I'm only going to advance my own career here and screw everyone else" well, you probably won't do that good of job and won't get any good references.

4. Sounds like you've been dealt a pretty rough hand. The old boys network I'm afraid is pretty damn unfair. That's why there's the saying, "It's not what you know, it's who you know".

5. You've got the summer off though so you should be doing everything in your power to find a new job in the event that your teaching gig falls through. Hell you might even find a better job than the teaching one and could leverage that somehow. Do what you can to stay positive though your attitude is very critical when trying to stay afloat.

Shameless self-promotion here: I'm not claiming to be an expert at anything and if you've read any of my blogs some people think I'm some form of elitist. But if you or anyone for that matter would want a second pair of eyes on a cover letter or resume. I know a couple things about interviewing as well. Like I said I'm not an expert and I have no certifications on this stuff but I've gotten every single job (8 total) I've applied for minus my first job app and one last year (I blame competition). Each one has been progressively more successful career-wise than the last. Just send me a PM or leave a comment on my blog and I'll do whatever I can to help you.

/In before everyone calls me a douchebag know-it-all $$$.
 
People have to network like crazy in this day and age. Not fair, but it is the way it is. You have to know people. That is the best purpose for something like Facebook.
 
[quote name='DV8']Definitely a catch 22, but I'm going to disagree with you on some points.

First, you said your department has a "f'd up chairwoman who doesn't care about you". Well my first internship in college I got through friends, so I think it's more about networking than your career center. I got my first "real" job at the place I interned at. I did some not so wise career things and am back in school for my master's. Once again our career program ain't great, but they always post internship opportunities on their page. So I landed a graduate level internship (hoping to turn it into a full time job) All by myself. You just have to have the drive to go out there and find these things.

Second thing I disagree with you is the fact that you don't are so adamant about not volunteering. I realize you're talking about volunteering for projects in the workplace, but have any unemployed people considered volunteering? I was unemployed in school so I had a ton of free time. So I volunteered at a school for ONE HOUR a week. I think that's what helped me land my current internship. Also the people you volunteer for truly appreciate the help AND they can provide solid references.[/QUOTE]
I don't know we had a really great Engineering Co-op/Work Coordinator when I went to The University of Akron. I'd say at least 85% of the students (in my class) who got co-ops got them with her help, rather than knowing someone in the industry. A lot of people were offered jobs where they Co-Oped but some people (like me) took Co-ops for the experience (and $) knowing that there was a very good chance that there was no way they would be hired at the end (simply because they weren't looking to hire).

But my co-op experience helped me land my job now which I love. I'm doing a job that isn't exactly in my degree field, as they just wanted engineers in general (I have a Chem. E degree), but it's great. Another thing is, I took the job knowing I would likely have to move as early as 6 months into the job (which I did, moved from Ohio to Louisiana). I think some people could find work if they expanded their search criteria, but many people I know don't want to leave the area they live in now, and are real adamant about what type of work they want to do (and what they should be paid). And that hurts them.
 
[quote name='GuilewasNK']People have to network like crazy in this day and age. Not fair, but it is the way it is. You have to know people. That is the best purpose for something like Facebook.[/QUOTE]

or something useful like linkedin
 
Quite shocking actually. It does not make sense if an employed person is satisfied with his/her present job and not interested in a hunt, whom to consider then?
 
[quote name='VipFREAK']It's not what you know, but who you know.[/QUOTE]


I've heard that same shit these past few years. So basically forget college education, forget working hard...just buddy buddy with someone who has a good connection in a company and your future is secure. That's really a slap in the face to all the people who work hard to get their education and earned their positions in the world.
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']I've heard that same shit these past few years. So basically forget college education, forget working hard...just buddy buddy with someone who has a good connection in a company and your future is secure. That's really a slap in the face to all the people who work hard to get their education and earned their positions in the world.[/QUOTE]

Not really.

Employers want what you think they want, someone who is going to go the extra mile to do an excellent job. If you can get someone they trust to vouch for you, it's going to be a huge feather in your cap. However they're not asking for your golf handicap or drinking capacity, they want to know if you have what it takes to do the job.

For the record I think this policy of only hiring already-employed people is ridiculous.
 
[quote name='camoor']

For the record I think this policy of only hiring already-employed people is ridiculous.[/QUOTE]

I agree. It's total bullshit. It seems more like a dick move than anything to me. It's a complete employer's market, so they can do anything they want. I don't understand their reasoning for that at all. They're missing out on some potentially great workers. I guess they're just trying to play it as safe as they can.

I was talking to some people at a graduation party, and it seems like everybody's selling insurance now lol.
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']I've heard that same shit these past few years. So basically forget college education, forget working hard...just buddy buddy with someone who has a good connection in a company and your future is secure. That's really a slap in the face to all the people who work hard to get their education and earned their positions in the world.[/QUOTE]

Not really. Most of the time you need the credential (degree, experience etc.) and need to know someone.

A lot of the times there's a bunch of applicants with degrees, similar work experience, do similarly well in interviews etc., and then knowing someone inside the company who can vouch for you can be a huge help as it can kind of be a tie breaker.

Now, of course there are 100% cases where less qualified people get hired because they have friends or family in the company for sure. But not to the extent that you should feel a degree, hard work etc. don't matter.

The majority of the time those things matter, but networking and knowing people in your industry is important as well.
 
After a new director was hired at my company, when filling positions she was basically trying to hired people she worked with in the past.
 
[quote name='62t']After a new director was hired at my company, when filling positions she was basically trying to hired people she worked with in the past.[/QUOTE]

That happens in the white house too :p

[quote name='camoor']Not really.

Employers want what you think they want, someone who is going to go the extra mile to do an excellent job. If you can get someone they trust to vouch for you, it's going to be a huge feather in your cap. However they're not asking for your golf handicap or drinking capacity, they want to know if you have what it takes to do the job.

For the record I think this policy of only hiring already-employed people is ridiculous.[/QUOTE]

Well then if you don't have a buddy in the company you want to work for, then your screwed :(

[quote name='dmaul1114']Not really. Most of the time you need the credential (degree, experience etc.) and need to know someone.

A lot of the times there's a bunch of applicants with degrees, similar work experience, do similarly well in interviews etc., and then knowing someone inside the company who can vouch for you can be a huge help as it can kind of be a tie breaker.

Now, of course there are 100% cases where less qualified people get hired because they have friends or family in the company for sure. But not to the extent that you should feel a degree, hard work etc. don't matter.

The majority of the time those things matter, but networking and knowing people in your industry is important as well.[/QUOTE]

Well I still have a college friend who got a job in the field of our study (he was my insider during the transformers 2 post production time-frame), he has not once said, "Hey send me your demo reel and I will get you an interview at my workplace.." where as another college buddy (in the same major) asked me to come teach for the summer at the school he teaches at but I told him I couldn't because I did not have a masters degree (they require it to teach there).

And yes I do agree, employers are being pussies right now not hiring the unemployed. There are lots of talented/hard working people who because of the economy lost their jobs of years/decades. See a lot of people get pissed off that there are people out there who are leeching off unemployment and don't understand how hard it is to find a job. It is not until they experience the other side of the coin (getting laid off themselves) that they can truly understand the situation.

Most people these days are nervous about losing their jobs..whether they are a good employee or mediocre employee. Employee moral is at an all time low.
 
Yeah, I wasn't saying you HAD to know someone to get a job, or that it always helps.

Just that it's generally not the case that every job is due to nepotism and under qualified people getting hired.

A lot of times "knowing" someone means having worked with them before etc., and that's pretty legit IMO as then they know how the person is to work with, how good a job the do etc. so it's less risk than hiring an unknown person with a similar resume.

Having a strong record--degree, good work experience etc. is most important, having a good network of people in your industry that know your work etc. is a huge plus as well. Having a friend on the inside can help--but not as much as having supervisors you've worked under who liked your work etc.
 
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