I teach/facilitate weekly workshops to job seekers on topics ranging from improving resumes to networking. I love what I do and I am incredibly grateful to have job that allows me to help other people.
Something really scary happened this week in my workshops. I had 32 people in the resume workshop and 31 people in the interviewing workshop, compared to 8 people last year at this time in the same workshops. The numbers grew overnight. There they were, packed into a room on a Monday morning, 32 bodies looking for work. I knew there had been lay offs over the past few months, but hadn't seen people coming to workshops. I suppose I was hoping that most of those laid off had secured jobs quickly.
Sadly, what I think happened was that they took the holiday season off. They probably said to themselves, after the New Year, I will really kick my job search into high gear. They didn't ask for help sooner because they probably didn't think they needed it. I can't be sure about this hypothesis, and it may not be applicable to all 32 people in that room. What I do know is that the job market is incredibly flooded with people looking for work. There is a severe competition.
With extreme conditions, we need to take extreme measures...I wish I knew what that looked like...
The realist has spoken.
I can agree with your hypothesis and support it with data. I can name 10 people that were laid off when I was laid off. 9 out of those 10 had the "wait until after the new year" mentality. Me, I was making phone calls 45 minutes after I got laid off. 20 minutes to commute home, 15 minutes to focus and get my head straight and 5 minutes prioritizing my list. :) Oh - and I will see you next Thursday maybe. My appointment is at Goodman.
Posted by: Mike Lally | January 15, 2009 at 08:53 AM