What Color is Your Parachute? summary

If you’ve been having a tough time finding the right job, don’t despair. The job market can be an unfriendly place, which is why it’s crucial to have great tools in your toolbox.

Today, we face an ongoing economic recession that has changed the way employers look for candidates.

During times of economic prosperity, it can be a challenge for employers to find the perfect employees; as a result, the employer has to adapt to the needs and preferences of the person seeking employment. This is when résumés will be thoroughly read and company websites will be regularly updated with job postings.

But 2017 is not such a time. Since the economic meltdown of 2008, it’s been rough times for job hunters. These days, employers are the ones in control; with a much larger pool of unemployed people to choose from, they care much less about the résumés and needs of prospective employees.

As a result, it generally takes much longer to land a new job.

Between 1994 and 2008, it would have only taken around five weeks for half of all unemployed people in the United States to find a job. Post-2008, it would take more than a year for just 22 to 33 percent of unemployed Americans to find a job.

Plus, with the struggling economy, employers are on the lookout for ways to cut costs. So jobs are generally short-term since businesses prefer to offer part-time and freelance positions.

These jobs are usually project-based, and they’re cheaper for employers, because they don’t have to cover health benefits or paid holidays.

According to a 2015 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 69 percent of people aged 18 to 24 had been working at a job for less than a year, and 93 percent for less than five years.

And it wasn’t much better for people aged 40 to 48. Thirty-two percent had been working at their job for less than a year, and 69 percent for less than five years.