Every day, in small towns all over America, hundreds of decent, well qualified men and women pound the pavement searching for work. The journey has been a tough one …
Here are a few of their stories. Names have been changed to protect identities.
Bill applies for a sales position at a chain store. The prospective employer immediately lets Bill know that he had two hundred applicants for the job. He offers Bill an opportunity to work for minimum wage but with commissions for sales that exceed a certain amount. Only the certain amount is so high, Bill has a better chance of winning the lottery than he does of ever making any decent money. Bill leaves wondering why the job advertised a potential six figured salary.
Susan, a college graduate, applies for a technical job that advertises for an internship position. She is told at the interview,” You’re just what we’re looking for! Work for free for two months and then we will evaluate your performance and consider you for a paid position.” Susan leaves upset that she wasn’t given this information when she applied for the position, before she wasted her time traveling to another city to be interviewed.
Robert, a 25 year old man, applies for a corporate job he is well qualified for. He fills out all the paperwork, is interviewed several times and receives outstanding references from his former employers. Robert is led to believe that he’s a prime candidate for the job. Weeks go by and Robert inquires about the delay. He is told that he’s no longer being considered for the position because he wrote down incorrect employment dates on a job he held as a teenager. Robert can’t believe his application is rejected because of an innocent mistake and he’s upset that no-one cared enough to contact him.
There are hundreds of similar stories shared by family members, friends and neighbors.
Employers hold the ball on their side of the court during these tough economic times, but the game is not always being played with a good code of ethics. It’s every man for himself!
That in itself…is very sad!
