Job Misplacement
There have been distinct advantages of furthering my education late in life. Obtaining so much diverse life experience, then marrying that to my academic experience gives me a unique perspective. I figured this would translate well in terms of gainful employment. Oh, how naïve of me to entertain this notion.
Back when I was still under the delusion that if you worked hard, stayed up to date with technology and the latest trends, obtaining a job that would utilize my vast and broad skill set would be a snap. There’s that naivete rearing its ugly head again.
I did the research on how a resume should be constructed. I have seen multi-page resumes go to single page in and out of style twice. I have seen one font only switch to multi-font and back again. I read about the twenty buzzwords all resumes MUST include (they change from time to time) to get noticed through the newly developed online submission process.
I became quite adept at constructing up-to-date resumes for others. As I learned and became more jaded with each of my own submissions, a company is not always looking for the most qualified candidate for a position. Now, it is the semi-qualified candidate that will do the most mediocre work for the least amount of money.
Much of this approach is fueled by economics. The current disparity in wealth is currently a mirror of the disparity in salaries. A CEO in the U.S. made about 150% more than the average employee in 1979. Today, it’s about 790%. The costliest expenditure a company has is its employees. If you cut benefits, pensions, and raises, a company can save boatloads of cash that can then be dispersed to stockholders and upper management. If this sounds like sour grapes, it shouldn’t. It’s just the current state of affairs. I didn’t want a piece of anyone’s pie, just a crumb or two. I was perfectly willing to work somewhere that paid me way less than what my resume warranted, but I could help the company become more productive while I enjoyed what I did. 157 resume submissions later, no one thought I was even worth interviewing, much less employing in any capacity.
I was realistic to know, not suppose, that age was definitely a factor. The sophisticated levels of ass-covering companies use to mask whatever discrimination that may produce a lawsuit is astounding. While most of the countries in the world revere their older members, the U.S. marginalizes them . . . except in the federal government which perplexes me.
The “all-in-one hiring platform,” Indeed, was launched in 2004. The professional social networking site LinkedIn, in 2003. Both claim advanced technological implementation and multi-level algorithms that match prospective employees with employers. Throughout my life, I’ve been told, and have firsthand experience, that most hires are through networking. LinkedIn has supposedly capitalized on this. What I have received from LinkedIn are numerous solicitations from people who want me to give them money so they can give me the tools that companies crave. I even got one from a 35-year-old who wanted me to hire to be my life coach. My success with Indeed was similar, but recently, considerably more direct. After I submitted my resume, answered all the requisite data-gathering questions, and checked all the additional skills my resume did not cover. My 28 years of work experience and 12 years of education which include a Magna Cum Laude history honors baccalaureate, a master’s degree in American History with a master’s minor in sociology, and a PhD in Educational Leadership and Research Methodology, according to Indeed, “Janitor” is a good fit for a 66-year-old disabled individual. See the screenshot I took.
If companies want to save money, I’d start with anyone in Human Resources. I still haven’t figured out what tremendous contribution they make to society.