Getting a Job = Harvard Admission... Hardly

Landing a job like getting into Harvard
By Samuel Sherraden, Special to CNN , November 6, 2009 9:45 a.m. EST

I read the above article and about busted at the seams. I wonder why they do not post Job search articles by the two groups of people that actually know about job searching; job seekers and career services professionals.

More tiring yet were the comments! Apparently, this is Bush's fault, even though the housing Mortgage meltdown can be traced directly Bill Clinton's policies forcing banks to make risky loans to people who could not afford their homes. Or that the only way to fix this is for a greater government roll in the economy, which is contradictory, small economy = big government, large economy = small government involvement. This is kind of a rule.

I work in the career services industry and have for the last 9 years. I think it is fair not to count the “discouraged” workers in some unemployment measures. Some workers labeled as “discouraged” are actually voluntarily unemployed workers and often only work when convenient or when the standards for achieving and maintaining employment come with limited effort. Once the task of achieving and maintaining employment become too great many will drop out of the workforce until the next low unemployment cycle puts hiring managers back in the position of “looking for someone with a pulse” to fill open vacancies.

I by no means want to diminish the plight of job seekers. Since just before WW2 full employment figures have ranged from as low as 3% to as high as 7%. This economy sucks but saying getting any job is like getting into Harvard is wrong. For example, this does not take into consideration geographic or educational variables in the unemployed. During Recessions College graduates suffer unemployment at roughly half the rate of non graduates. Geographically, unemployment in Dallas, Texas is 8.3% and Detroit, MI is 17.8%. Yes, gettign a job in Detroit may be like getting into Harvard, but finding work in Dallas or Houston might be compared to getting into a State College.

The author's blanket statements just fuel the fire of despair for workers just when they need the most support. People like Samuel Sherraden push more people into the "discouraged" worker category lessening the likelihood that they will find a job to support their family. The next payroll these people will be on will be the Gub'ment, and once on that payroll it is nearly impossible to get off.