Posted on 08/28/2024 12:33:21 PM PDT by grundle
In today’s rapidly evolving job market, many job seekers find themselves perplexed by the abundance of job openings paired with the difficulty of securing employment. Despite reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicating millions of job vacancies, the reality of landing a job has become increasingly challenging. This seeming contradiction has left many wondering, “If everyone is hiring, why can’t I get a job?” The answer lies in the complex dynamics of the modern hiring landscape, influenced by factors such as ghost jobs, automated screening processes, and economic uncertainty.
The current job market presents a paradox. On one hand, there are more job openings than ever before, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting over 8 million vacancies in 2024. On the other hand, a significant portion of job seekers are struggling to find employment. This discrepancy has led to the widespread sentiment that "no one wants to work anymore," a phrase often cited by employers. However, the underlying issue is not a lack of willing workers but rather systemic challenges within the hiring process itself.
One of the most significant challenges job seekers face today is the proliferation of ghost jobs. These are positions that companies advertise without any real intention of filling them in the immediate future. Ghost jobs may be posted to maintain a talent pool, create an illusion of growth for investors, or satisfy internal policies related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). For job seekers, applying to these non-existent roles can be an exercise in futility, contributing to the frustration and discouragement many experience during their job search.
The job search process is further complicated by the widespread use of Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). These automated systems are designed to filter resumes, often rejecting qualified candidates based on rigid keyword criteria or formatting issues before a human recruiter even sees the application. This technological barrier can leave many capable professionals out of the running, adding to the perception that finding a job is nearly impossible.
Moreover, the rise of remote work has expanded the talent pool globally. This means that job seekers are not only competing with local candidates but also with professionals from around the world, making the job market more competitive than ever before. As companies have access to a broader range of candidates, the criteria for hiring can become more stringent, further narrowing the field of opportunities for job seekers.
Economic uncertainty is another critical factor influencing the current job market. Companies may post jobs as a precautionary measure but delay actual hiring until they have a clearer picture of the market’s stability. This can result in prolonged hiring processes, positions being put on hold, or job postings that are not reflective of immediate hiring needs. For job seekers, this uncertainty translates into extended waiting periods and fewer concrete opportunities, contributing to the overall difficulty in securing employment.
While the job market appears to be full of opportunities, the reality for many job seekers is far more complex. Factors such as ghost jobs, automated resume filtering, increased global competition, and economic uncertainty create significant obstacles in the hiring process.
0:00 Intro
0:21 Are We Actually In A Labor Shortage?
1:23 Revision Of Over 818k False Jobs Created
2:29 What Are Ghost Jobs?
2:45 Why Companies Are Incentivizes To Create Ghost Jobs
3:03 A Corporate Recruiter Shares His Perspective On Ghost Jobs
4:14 How Companies Profit Off Job Applications
5:58 Why Companies Don't Close Job Openings
7:19 How Ghost Jobs Are Used To Avoid DEI
9:14 Why You Never Get A Response From Your Application
9:27 The Massive Tax Incentive Companies Have Using Ghost Jobs
11:13 The Collapse Of Business Ethics
12:40 Conclusion
The job signs are a sick joke
Unless it’s fast food or grocery and nobody wants to work with the public
Can’t blame them
I’m not looking for work (I’m retired), but I’m under the impression there is a LOT of work out there, but it’s all minimum wage type stuff. “Real” jobs are harder to find.
Drive down any main street and every business has “now hiring” for the last 2-3 years. I haven’t looked at the professional market since I was laid off during covid, that’s when I decided to retire.
Yeah, there are some slightly above minimum wage jobs. But the young adults with college degrees have been trained to be entitled to a high wage job, regardless of degree major. Most don’t have the discipline or patience to start at the ground level.
I’ve been trying to get into vandalay industries since forever.
It too forever to find applicants who could at least pass the drug test.
All they had to do was stay clean for a couple of weeks and they would never be tested again as long as they weren't involved in an accident.
Then try to find any willing to get his hands dirty.
Finally the task was wasting so much of out time, the company farmed it out to a temp agency.
They would hire the folks and if they did ok, the company would hire them full time anywhere from in a few weeks to a year depending on how good they were.
Even then, a lot didn't stay long in spite of excellent pay and benefits.
I think the jobs out there really are just “jobs”. Dead-ends or gigs. The pay is low and it will never go up. And you’ll never get promoted because there really isn’t much of anywhere to move up to. So you can be a wage slave in a boring, low-paid pointless job with no future. That’s just a reality for a lot of people — and plenty of them went to college and got hired to a job that sounded on paper like it might be a really good job. But then it wasn’t.
There used to be “careers” out there where people could start out low, work hard, and move up. I think this sort of path has been drastically reduced.
Some older people get it. But I talk to a lot of Baby Boomers who think that the economy and demographics in 2024 are pretty much identical to how things were in 1984. But things have changed. A lot.
The screening stuff is killer. I have a wide knowledge and skill base. I have problems getting past the keyword crap because they set it to rigid standards, and computers can’t extrapolate knowledge. i.e. ability to cnc program (non CAM) is data entry. HR, which is useless as it is, has relegated even its most basic task to a computer that has no power to discern if a candidate might be functional even if the keywords dont exist.
That’s the truth! I’m going to tell this story again, so If you’ve already read it, feel free to skip it. Here goes:
I was in the market and a recruiter for a hiring agency sends me an e-mail with a job description. It’s 100% what I want, I’m completely qualified. I respond with my resume, and a note that I’m the perfect candidate, and that I want this job. NO RESPONSE. When I get no response I call her, voicemail box is full. I spam her daily for about a week, and get nothing. I call the main company phone number and ask for her. I get transferred to the full VMB. I start googling unique sets of words from the job description and I find the job. It was with Continental in Guadalajara Mexico (Not remote work out of Seattle as she had said), and the job in Mexico had been closed for months.
As all this is going on I get another e-mail from a different recruiter with the same company about a remote job based out of Mesa, AZ. I send him my resume, and he responds that it looks great, and he’ll submit me. 2 weeks later, no response. He stops answering e-mails, and never answers his phone (but at least his VMB wasn’t full). I’ve been as patient and honest with him as I can. So I google words from the description and find the company. They DO have an opening, and it’s the one that he’s sent me. I apply on the company’s website and get a call back in just a couple of hours that they’re interested in me. I do the phone interviews and get the job. The first week I have to go on site for training, and while I’m there I reach out to this guy. He says he still hasn’t heard anything from the company. I ask who he’s been talking to. He gives me a name of a guy 2 desks away from. I ask him “Hey, do you know this recruiter named X from Cybercoders?” Nope, never heard of him. Have you dealt with them at ALL? Nope! And if I WAS I wouldn’t have been hiring for YOUR job, I’m the hardware manager. I confront this guy with this info. He says he has no idea what I’m talking about. I step to the lobby of the building and take a picture of me standing in front of their sign. I tell him I applied DIRECTLY for the job you sent me, and got hired. YOU did NOTHING. YOU weren’t approved/retained to hire for this position. Why don’t you tell me what’s REALLY going on?
His response? Congrats! I don’t understand why you’re mad though. REALLY dude? REALLY?
yep lots of fake job ads to pad the stats for the gov.
If you look at indeed or ziprecruiter, very average jobs that you can barely support a small family on have 100’s of applications.
People are willing to work but they need to be able to support themselves with that job.
Job bump.
That explains why Biden hired so many government workers somebody has to keep the seat warm.
Do you have any experience distributing latex?
Regards,
NOTHING - ABSOLUTELY NOTHING is a much fun than being slightly hard of hearing and having to deal with some foreign passive aggressive 'customer service' person who can't remember little things like "please speak a little slower' for more than 12 seconds.
Close to 50 years professional work, I’ve found most positions through networking, and talking directly to the hiring manager, who tells HR “We’re hiring THIS guy, do the paperwork”.
Never pass up opportunities to network with people in your industry. When you actually need a job, it’s a bit late.
2004 was the last time anything was close to normal
Agreed. For one thing, the 2008 credit collapse changed everything and I think in many ways there has been no real recovery from that. But the change had already begun before 2008.
The best way to get a job that you actually want is to directly approach those who should eagerly want to hire you based on your skills and employment record. The last time I did that I worked for the same organization for more than twenty years doing what I liked and was good at.
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