I’ve written before about how the recession does and does not affect me. However, I’m beginning to see some changes in the candidate pool. Unfortunately, I’m still seeing, as one manager put it, “the bottom of the barrel.” But, this bottom is different than the bottom from three months ago.
All around me I see DESPERATION.
My candidates are oozing desperation. On any given month there’s usually one or two of these types but lately they’re crawling out of the woodwork. What makes these candidates different?
- They tell me how desperate they are.
- They call me daily.
- They don’t take the hint when I stop returning their calls.
- They send a new resume every two weeks.
- They apply for every job available.
Just like in dating, desperation is not a desirable sight. If you do this and think that you’re helping your chances of getting a job, you are mistaken. Even if your resume looks good, your desperation is a deal breaker. Yes, we want enthusiastic candidates, but there’s a thick line between enthusiastic and desperate and you’re either on one side or the other.
May 14, 2008 at 1:17 pm |
When you’re desperate, as in home foreclosure, sick kids with no medical coverage and mounting bills, no one is going to take hints. They’ll apply to every job, because a job unapplied for, is a chance thrown away.
At the point these people are at, they are looking at homelessness, potentially dying family members, and their grandchildren saddled with their debts. They aren’t going to be think totally rationally, because the most precious people and things in their lives are being threatened and they have no real way to protect them.
Faced with the worst economic conditions in two generations, I’m not surprised.