Is Any Job A Good Job?

Posted by • July 14th, 2011 • 1,229 Comments

This morning, I got a note from an old friend who has been out of work for two years. He used to be a social worker in the state parole system, budget cuts and new ways of thinking eliminated his job. It will never come back.

In the note, he told me how happy he was to have finally secured an interview. Given that this was the first interview in months, he was sure that this was going to be the one.

Another chum worked hard in his late 40s to get a degree in Computer Science. After eighteen months without work, he joined a company that sells sports equipment. They hired him as a retail manager (he says) because he told him that he would fire under performers quickly.

To get the job, he had to relocate 900 miles away at his own expense.

At the very same time, I know a host of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who simply can’t find any software development engineers. In that niche (and there are similar niches in most population centers), finding a new job is as simple as signaling that you’re available.

The truth about employment is that there is always a job to be found. As long as you are willing to compromise on pay and the work itself, you can find a job. In this sense, all unemployment is voluntary.

The most important question is whether there is any demand for the skills you have. The second question is whether you’re willing to do what it takes to be the person that an employer wants to hire to deliver those skills. The third question is whether you have the ability to rearrange your lifestyle and expectations to get the job.

If you haven’t seen the movie Company Men, give it a look. It’s a fictionalized story of the lives of key executives in a company that used layoffs as a tool to make the company attractive in a sale. The CEO does well financially (of course). The rest of the characters wrestle with the difference between the lifestyles they are financing and the available work.

It doesn’t go well for any of them. Lost houses, destroyed families, alcoholism, infidelity, despair, rage and magical thinking are the results of dramatic and sustained unemployment.

Shifting gears in an economic transition is really, really hard. Over the last 20 years, the domestic American economy has softened. Global competitors have gotten good at what they do. The internet has eliminated ‘friction’ in every supply chain.

The result is a world in which some skills are valued and some skills are no longer needed. Sometimes (as in Detroit), the change devastates an entire region. In other cases, it’s a matter of being willing to accept a smaller pay check.

Deciding whether you are going to be able to get it all back or going to have to totally rearrange your life and expectations is not a simple process. Over the next several columns, I’ll help you explore the information you need to make these decisions.

Guest Blogger John Sumser, a member of the Glassdoor Clearview Collection, is the founder and editor-in-chief of HRExaminer, a weekly online magazine about the people and technology of HR. Widely respected as an independent analyst, Sumser has been chronicling and critiquing the HRTechnology industry for eighteen years. During that time, he has consulted with more than 100 HR vendors on matters of strategy and positioning in the market. Prior to his involvement in the HR Technology industry, Sumser was a senior executive in Defense Technology. From large scale software development to naval architecture, he was the leader of tech development teams in a broad variety of settings. His passion is the intersection of people and technology.

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  • Locusstandi

    This is a great start. I have been thinking more and more about what I should do with my life and it is clear that my job as engineer is neither making me rich nor making me happy. It has to lead to something new as I throw away the stifling past.

  • Drew

    okay.  but two parent households can't relocate one parent and leave the other behind.  so unemployment isn't really voluntary………..right?

  • John Sumser

    My take is that everything's a choice. There's always a job at some level of pay. It may not be the one you want or where you want it. If you need two incomes, you've gotta do what it takes to get two incomes. There's work. It may not pay what you want;  it may not involve doing what you want and in may not be where you want, but there's work.

  • W-2 Guru

    I think every American should read this every morning:
    “The truth about employment is that there is always a job to be found. As long as you are willing to compromise on pay and the work itself, you can find a job. In this sense, all unemployment is voluntary.
    The most important question is whether there is any demand for the skills you have. The second question is whether you’re willing to do what it takes to be the person that an employer wants to hire to deliver those skills. The third question is whether you have the ability to rearrange your lifestyle and expectations to get the job.”
    The problem is that the unemployed are home watching reruns of The Brady Bunch or Leave it to Beaver, where dad had the solid company job and that company cared about the family, house and type of car they drove. WRONG-OOOO, such an idealic nostalgia we all have of our beloved American life.  I suggest kill you cable and reinvent yourself today to match the world, read all of the wanted adds to figure out what is needed in your area and adapt to that, after all we are Americans!!  are you an out of work accountant overwelmed by nurse practitioner ads? those companies are hiring, call them up, drop by and offer your services- they are so good at the nurse staffing business they have no clue on the numbers side.  Yes any job is better than a family nose dive into the canyon, we are adaptable Americans- put your ego in the toilet,  kill your cable and go find something productive to do.

  • jallen301

    Another thing to consider is what two incomes is costing you. If you have two incomes, you need two cars, childcare, two sets of lunches every day, quick and easily prepared dinners (or perhaps you are eating fast-food?) etc. Can you survive on one income? Probably, but it requires that you examine your needs and restructure your family. If one parent stays at home and cares for the children (and I'm not advocating that should be the mother; my husband would jump at such a chance!) you can sell one of your cars and eliminate a car payment. For that matter, sell both and buy one several year old car for cash. Drop your expensive cell phone plans and opt for either pre-paid minutes or a month-to-month plan. If only one spouse is working, you can probably go with just one phone. The stay-at-home spouse can prepare meals from scratch – much cheaper than packaged meals or fast-food. They can even prepare a brown-bag meal for the working spouse and save money that way. Without childcare expenses, dry-cleaning bills, and commuting expenses, does your remaining income meet your needs? Try a little juggling and you may be surprised!