Panic or Perspective...I'll Take Perspective!

I admit I was somewhat annoyed by a story I read in the Sunday, February 15, 2009 Tulsa World. Okay, more than annoyed! Okay, it wasn’t the story, rather the way it exploited an unemployed person. Sure, they were just repeating what was said in their interview, but it was obvious that the whole point of the story was to convince folks how bad it was in the job market…and to subconsciously encourage people to take advantage of pubic assistance. The story featured a woman who had been laid off less than a month ago. She had sent ten (count them, 10) résumés and signed up with one temp agency—and well, you can read the story in the Tulsa World archives. Let me stress that I am not demeaning this obviously conscientious lady, nor do I quarrel with her feeling she needs assistance.

Now, don’t get me wrong, as owner of a recruiting and outplacement firm for more than twenty years, I know the job market is not as robust as it was a few months ago. And, I have no problem with welfare and other public assistance for those who really need it and who have exhausted every avenue to find work. My problem is that the main thrust of almost every report we see these days is that it is all but impossible for the unemployed to find employment, and for the employed to find better jobs.

For several months there has been a concerted effort to convince us that this is the worst economy since the Great Depression. Fact, it isn’t anywhere near that. From 1923-1929 the average unemployment rate was 3.3%. In 1931 it jumped to 15.9%. In 1933 the rate was 24.9%, then dropped to 19.1% in 1938 and 9.9% in 1941. After the United States entered World War II the 1942 rate came in at 4.7%. Move forward thirty years and we discover that the 1975 unemployment rate was 8.5%.

I don’t mean to bore you with statistics, but we need to exchange panic for perspective!

In Mid-November of last year, a company retained my firm, Hidde Career Services to handle outplacement for a group of mid-level individuals in a very narrow specialty. By the end of December 60% had found employment in what was considered to be a difficult profession to find work.

My wife owns The Résumé Source, a career development service that serves people at all levels not only nationwide, but thanks to the internet around the world. Over 75% of here clients are currently employed and most report good results in finding better opportunities as they conduct discreet job searches.

There’s an old myth that says, “Good things come to those who wait”—that might be true in some instances, but in today’s media driven frenzy, we could say that “He or she who hesitates, loses!” By that I mean, open your eyes to the opportunity created by the faint of heart, refine your message, go for the promotion, redouble your efforts and in the words of one of my readers who responded to my email informing everyone that Monday Morning was back, “Don’t let the bastards get you down!”
Have a great and profitable week!
Robert Hidde