Posted on 11/24/2015 5:16:50 AM PST by SkyPilot
In the US, the internet has become a job seeker's most important resource.
People are researching, finding, and applying to jobs online with relative ease. A Pew Research Center report released Thursday (Nov. 19) shows most American adults who have looked for a job in the last two years turned to online resources more than they used personal and professional connections, employment agencies, ads, or job fairs, the traditional avenues of a career hunt. A third of respondents used social media to either research or look for a job.
Relocating job hunting to the internet is an obvious outcome, as it expands access and opportunity. But it's fairly troubling for a significant portion of the American population. That group, while a minority, includes older adults who are less familiar with online platforms than their younger counterparts, as well as people with lower levels of education; it also includes a disproportionately high number of black and Hispanic adults, who tend to use the internet less than whites or Asians.
According to the Pew report, 17% of US job seekers would not find it easy to create a digital resume if they needed to do so. Another 21% say they have trouble highlighting their employment skills on social media or personal websites. And roughly 11% of people struggle with contacting potential employers via email, finding job applications online, or finding available jobs in the local area through the internet.
"In many cases, individuals who might benefit the most from being able to perform these behaviors effectively—such as those with relatively low levels of educational attainment or those who are currently not employed for pay—are the ones who find them most daunting," Pew researcher Aaron Smith wrote in the report.
(Excerpt) Read more at govexec.com ...
I was thinking ‘no credit cards’
I see them shoving cash into those machines more often than using a card.
What I’ve noticed on my state’s employment website is that the low paid, unskilled jobs are few and those get snapped up immediately.
Anything paying over $50k in tech, engineering, architecture, animal husbandry, chemistry, etc., remains open forever.
Employers are begging for qualified employees, and it’s only getting worse, with colleges sending out hordes of SJWs.
but I bet they know how to download the latest version of a video game on their phone, post their thoughts on the protest of the month website, and of course they know the latest mess with the Jenner/Kardashian clan. But they can't take the time to create a resume.
It’s not so much the looking as the listening. I listen for work. And as I’m looking and listening I am also looking. You can’t discount looking. It’s sort of a combination. It’s looking, and listening, listening and looking. But you must look.
Where was the “personal attack” oh sensitive one? #oldsargelivesmatter.
I have been job hunting for five months, the vast majority of it online.
The issue for me is that employers don’t want to hire an older white male when in my field they can hire a younger person, usually female, hit their EOE goals, and pay less money.
I’m losing out to those people and it’s annoying as hell.
I realized after many years of using the internet for job seeking and submitting applications/resume’ that if/when a recruiter calls or e-mails, I end up having to help them do their job more than they could have helped me find a job.
Gen-X is no earlier than 1965.
My last project in the secular workforce was on a team of fiber optic engineers completing & testing the installation at the new NSA headquarters. At the age of 62, I figured that I'd be called "grandpa" by the rest of the crew. Once I got to the jobsite, I learned that on a crew of 8, I was only the 4th oldest!
I'd guess that the situation is similar with other STEM jobs.
"...high number of black and Hispanic adults, who tend to use the internet less than whites or Asians."
The largest gap is 6% according to the chart. I don't know that I could or would call that "disproportionate".
Then again, I'm not into spewing BS to make some kind of nonsensical narrative come to life.
It is still common to drive past a factory and see signs set up in front of the place saying “hiring: welders, assemblers, drivers”. Subway and McDonalds put up on the sign or in the door when they are hiring. These jobs do not require searching the internet, simply seeing the sign, walking in and applying.
And if you are interested in working somewhere, walking in to talk to the manager about getting hired often can result in a job.
It is not ALL the Internet, but those who live and die online think it is.
Another thing is the ability to say “I searched online” for 8 hours when someone asks if you searched for a job while seeking unemployment benefits, when much of the time is spent reading content, commenting, etc.
What they don’t tell you is that more and more jobs require basic computing skills to perform their duties so if you can’t fill out an online resume, they shouldn’t hire you anyway.
There’s still a need for trash haulers, grass-cutters, toilet-scrubbers and child care for you folks who can’t figure out how to use a computer. But then you could have a hard time filling out a pay sheet so you can get paid for your work.
>>but I bet they know how to download the latest version of a video game on their phone, post their thoughts on the protest of the month website, and of course they know the latest mess with the Jenner/Kardashian clan. But they can’t take the time to create a resume.<<
Likewise, if they had to fill out an online form in order to get free weed and booze, they’d break the damn internet doing so.
It’s motivation, that’s all.
At many companies it is now AGAINST POLICY to provide a resume directly to a hiring manager.
Why?? A little Federal Government adventure called OFCCP.
Basically this forces companies who hire to produce reams of data to the Federal Government to PROVE that they are not discriminating. For these purposes EVERY applicant has to be tracked in a central database.....by race.
For example, if you are hiring a Systems Analyst, you are required to prepare a report to the Feds stating that “53 people applied, which included 29 white males, 14 white females, 6 Hispanic males, 3 Black females....etc.” You have to document that you actually offered interviews to enough members of each of the relevant groups, and then justify your ultimate hire to the Federal Government by stating that you hired “Mary Jones, a White Female, due to reasons A, B, C, D, E.....etc.”)
Since all of that central record keeping is essential they force everyone to apply via the internet (where race is “self reported”) and no one is allowed to work outside the system.
Right. That’s why the first thing I did after I decided to hire these people was instruct them to post their resumes through our HR portal anyway, just so we could include them in the hundreds of other resumes. We cover our @sses well.
P.S. There is nothing in our HR portal that requires anyone to “self-report” their race or gender. Most applicants check the box that says “N/A” or something like that.
That and in my last round of interviews I had two people out of 22 actually dress up for the interview. Man wore a suit and the woman wore a business suit. The others wore flip flops, androgynous jeans/shorts, and t-shirts. One guy actually wore a white men’s t-shirt with yellow collar stains. My how we have changed.
Guess which two I hired?
Then your portal is not OFCCP Compliant and you will be receiving a visit from the Gestapo eventually.
The OFCCP is for Federal contractors. As you can see from other Freepers who cite cases of fast-food joints and other business establishments, it doesn’t cover each and every employer.
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