DICE says IT Unemployment is below 4%

As the DOW slips again below 12,000 two articles about labor and unemployment came across my laptop today.
 
According to an article on TechFlash.com, “Tech unemployment below 4 percent, jobs stay open for months”, See http://tinyurl.com/43fg3ps.

Yet according to CNNMoney, “Unemployment claims stuck above 400,000”, See http://tinyurl.com/3zx9blw.

Can unemployment be 9.1% with over 400,000 claims and IT unemployment be below 4%? The answer is yes, but I don’t think so. So who is right?

I talked to a manager from a large national staffing firm that told me IT unemployment is below 5%. He is a smart guy and his company is having trouble finding good qualified candidates to fill his contract jobs. However it is in his best interest to say that IT unemployment is below 5% because he can then raise his rates to his clients and he can lobby congress for increasing the number visa workers into the United States. More visa workers and less expensive workers, makes his job easier and his profits higher.

The same goes for DICE. If DICE can convince companies that IT unemployment is low and that DICE alone has all the available candidates then that means more business for DICE. Also, DICE can justify raising their rates.

What is really happening is that employers, hiring managers and companies, for IT jobs, are taking more time than ever on selecting candidates to interview and hire. This leaves job posting open longer and sitting on websites longer than usual. This creates the perception that unemployment is low. After all if the hiring manager cannot find the perfect candidate then there must be a shortage of candidates and unemployment is low. Right? Wrong!

There are plenty of available, talented IT workers out there with good skills. They might not be perfect. For example they may be skilled in .Net 2.0 rather than .Net 3.5 or .Net 4.0. However hiring managers are passing on these candidates looking for the perfect candidate. That is their right but that does not mean IT unemployment is below 4 percent!

I agree with the numbers that DICE is reporting in their survey, however I don’t agree with their conclusion.

How do Recruiters find You? (The $100,000 a year salary question!)

Job seekers, unemployed or looking for a move, have to wonder where they should put their best efforts. In the last 10 to 15 years companies like Monster, CareerBuilder and others would make you believe that the only place to find a job is on their job board websites. They carefully walk job seekers through the process of creating an account, they help job seekers upload your resume and they assist job seekers in setting up email alerts to notify the job seekers of the perfect job. They advertise on network television during the sporting events and reality TV, magazines and as popups on your web browser. Meanwhile HR departments and recruiters set up pay accounts to search through the available résumés and post jobs.

More at http://exm.nr/dgGuxz

So the recession is over and it was over in June of last year? Yet unemployment is still officially at 9.6%. Many big companies are doing well because they were able to cut staff, trim their bottom lines and stock pile cash. In other words the recession is over because companies laid off 10% or more of their workforce.

I am not saying the news of the recession being over is not good news. The news just does not mean much to most people.

Thus we need new rules to define when a recession is over. Because in my opinion it is not over. With 10% of the workforce still out of work or underemployed, this equates to 15% to 25% of families not buying anything except food, and gas for the car. A few families may be buying needed items like clothing, shoes, a few school supplies but most are not buying any of the high ticket items such as homes, cars, TVs, computers or other luxury items. As a nation we are only buying what we need.

So the “Great Recession” is over. But the “Great Unemployment Recession” continues.

But this blog is about finding a job. So I can tell you activity has increased and companies are starting to hire a few here and there. Continue to look, hunt and network and I will bet you will get some calls and interviews. You may have to step out of your comfort zone and take a sales job with a small base and high payout on commission. You may have to consider a lower paying position just to get your foot in the door and get something on your résumé. You may need to consider contract and temporary positions over permanent positions and you may need to consider 1099 over W2.

In any case the “Great Employment Recession” continues with some light at the end of the tunnel.

Unemployed will not be considered

In a recent article by Chris Isidore, CNN Money, Chris mentions that some companies are not considering unemployed workers. Some of these companies are even going a far as mention in their job posting that "unemployed candidates will not be considered". See Chris article at http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Outofwork-job-applicants-told-cnnm-3498252371.html?x=0.

Employers want to know you are employable. They want to see you have been working in your trade recently and that your skills are up to date. Employers do not want candidates who last “worked” in 2008 or 2009 and have done nothing to keep their skills up to date since their last job.

So how do you get around this?

There are two ways. One is to form your own consulting firm and go after your own paying clients. The other is to find an organization that you could volunteer your time. I don’t mean filling bowls at the local soup kitchen, but using your trade and professional skills to help that organization.

Let’s say you are a report writer and have outstanding MS Access, or better yet, SQL Server or Oracle skills. I bet your local church is doing their finances or parishioners’ lists manually. This could be a good opportunity to build them a parishioner database that can print labels for marketing and events. If the system is more complex, maybe it will have email capability to alert parishioners of events and so on. A project like this could take 40 to 120 hours plus ongoing maintenance. You can add the volunteer project to your résumé just like any other job. Not to mention your skills will be sharp and recent as you apply and interview for jobs.

Be honest with the organization about your goals. Let the organization know that this can be a win-win for both of you. If you are still unemployed after completing the project, do another project. I’m sure the local Red Cross, SPCA, Republican Party and Democratic Party, to name a few, could use your professional services. Shortly after you start the project you should update your résumé to reflect the job or project. Once you complete the project you will have a new reference to add to your reference list.

Good luck!

Agenda Week 4

• Résumés Line Test + Exercise
• Psychological Impact of Long-term Unemployment – from email
• Chas’s thoughts on Long-Term Unemployment
• Recession vs. the Employment Recession
• Reasons you are not getting an interview
• Reasons you are not getting an offer
• Networking – Networking - Networking

Road to Employment Recovery

Unemployed or Underemployed in 2010

So is it better to be unemployed or underemployed? The answer really depends on three conditions. The economy, the job and the person.

In the past, during a growing economy, I had met with active job seekers that honestly wanted more in their careers. Money was not a motivating factor for their job search. These job seekers wanted something more challenging, more responsibility and in some cases maybe even a management position. These job seekers were underemployed. Some of these job seekers would even welcome unemployment because unemployment would give them the time and motive to find their dream job. As a recruiter, if I found a passive candidate that felt underemployed, I knew I found a gem. So these candidates felt it was better to be unemployed than underemployed.

But today, March of 2010, things are different. The national unemployment rate is 9.7% (www.bls.gov) and the unemployment rate for professionals in information technology and accounting may be well above 10%. (I am guessing 15% to 20%) At least 75% of candidates I talk to are unemployed. Many have been unemployed for 6 months or longer and many have exhausted their unemployment benefits. Most of these people will, and should, consider any job in their field. I would also suggest to these people to not to get hung up on salaries, hourly rates, or if the job is contract verses permanent. Any job, like “any port in a storm for a ship” is better than no job.

My friend Paul emailed and stated, “I can tell you my thoughts! Underemployed is better.”

I asked, “Why?”

His reply, “As you know I had been unemployed for a 6 month period. It was the worst time ever. I am now employed with a company at a level I feel is below my skill level and is below my pay grade, but it is a job.”

He also added, “I feel that since I feel I am underemployed, I have the opportunity to learn a new skill set and strengthen my existing skills. Also if I can prove myself as a valuable employee, I can get noticed and move into another position that allows me to demonstrate my talents.”

Great answer! And that is why Paul is employed now and will eventually move into a more challenging and better paying position.

Lore told me, “That is a no-brainer: Underemployed definitely. Having been laid off from a 6-figure income, unemployed for the first time in my professional life…the emotional distress has been debilitating.”

Lore also adds, “I am currently working a $9/hourly rate, and thriving mentally in spite of the fact that I have to rely on my savings to pay for my basic needs. The constant exposure to customers has been uplifting, at the same time allowing me to "network"…”

Another great answer as Lore finds something good in the job she has.

Daniel wrote, “My job search has been going on for nine months now and it is very draining…If I was 'only' underemployed, I could at least take pride in my achievements. Being unemployed when you really want to work and contribute something is very frustrating.”

Daniel’s comments seem to be the sentiments of most of the people I have talked to recently. Being unemployed and looking for a job is not only hard work, daunting in a recession, costly, at times depressing, it is also boring and distracting. So the general consensus today is that being underemployed is way better than being unemployed. So join a user group, take chances, read employment articles that lend advice, attend free employment groups and of course stay tuned to this blog. Most of all, consider any job at any salary or rate. If you get that job work hard, do your best even if you feel underemployed.

And remember, most employers and companies will not care what you were making per hour in your last job. However they will want to know you did a good job, worked hard and added value like Paul and Lore.

Stimulus II

I keep getting asked about a second stimulus or more stimulus. I’m all for it! Let’s call it Stimulus II.

This second stimulus should be aimed at job growth only. The money would not go to banks, or cash for clunkers or whatever but job growth only. A large portion of this Stimulus II money would need to flow down from the federal government to the state governments.

1. With Stimulus II money we would get the state departments and agencies back to their pre recession employment figures and then add additional fulltime or contract/temporary employees to finish up information technology projects that have been shelved.

2. Some of this money would go to the educational system. Schools are closing and staff is being laid off. Let’s reverse this trend if the schools are closing because of lack of money rather then enrollment.

3. Local transportation projects can be funded with Stimulus II too. Our roads are a mess and bridges are not safe.

4. Fire and police departments could benefit too. Let’s stop and reverse any trends in laying off fire and police personal and maybe even fund a few new projects, police vehicles, fire and rescue trucks and so on.

These four areas alone would “jump start” the local economies. Let’s face it, our local state governments have lots of work that needs to be done and it never gets done because of the lack of money. Let’s get these projects funded, staffed and eventually completed. As the local governments employ more people and buy more from the local economy the private sector will come back to life.