Why is it so hard for me to find a job?

Why is it so hard to find an inspiring job?

• I hate to whine, but I am genuinely flummoxed about the number of AMAZING people I know who struggle to find jobs in our fast forward, living-in-the-future economy.  They are experienced, professional, innovators, brimming with perspective, ideas and enthusiasm.  They take contract jobs at major corporations in hope of getting their foot in the door.  They apply to dozens of posted jobs, craft thoughtful cover letters, and get the word out everywhere they can.  Yet they rarely receive anything more than an automated acknowledgement of their efforts.  They network, befriend recruiters, they blog, comment on other blogs, they Tweet, attend conferences and make themselves available in myriad other ways.  They worry about being obnoxious in their enthusiasm, yet wake up every day with that 'what's next' passion that has long fueled our progress.  They try to distill their essences to one pithy brand statement, yet so much seems to get lost in that process. We hear that the world needs self-starters, knowledge workers and innovators.  Many of the people I reference have advanced degrees in law, science and technology.  Some are less educated, but have a decade or more experience, and live on the bleeding edge themselves, which is a useful perspective.   I look at the company I work in, where I am now on my 4th contract, and can't figure out why I'm not taken seriously - why my energy, enthusiam and fresh thinking are not harnessed, why I am not involved in the dozens of employee programs and initiatives that make it such a great place to work.  In fact, I have had small hand slaps for being slightly too big for my britches, when I want to utilize my 20 years of work experience to move the organization forward in some significant way, or merely evangelize products I think are kick-ass.   I have a scholarly career that I am forced to keep entirely separate from my work at said corporation.  In a talk I gave last week (a separate endeavor), my audience, while interested in the topic at hand, turned out to be more interested in my knowledge of the industry in which work, a perspective I am not at liberty to discuss as a non-employee of the company.   I hear frequent jokes about contractors being the worker bees, and wince when employees deliberately exclude contract employees from information and processes that will help them do their jobs better.  But we accept all this in hope that our hard work might be rewarded with a greater commitment from an establishment that clearly derives value from our work, yet not enough so that they ensure there is a path (for those who want it) for full integration into the organization.   There is so much effort that is swallowed by the black hole that has come to characterize corporate recruiting, as we sit back and say 'I just want to contribute something - I want to be engaged by my work - I want to plan for my future and the world's future with some organization.  It's slightly easier if you fit some box, like Ruby on Rails developer, or designer, corporate counsel or usability engineer.  When you are capable of moving beyond that purview, however, there is a struggle for visibility and an outright barrier to advancement.  So many of us are so capable, thanks to the knowledge tools and training we have.  Yet our jobs seem to keep us limited and silo'd.   So tell me, Quorites, please... why is it so difficult to find people who will let us work hard for them?  How do we change it?  We need you, you need us.... how do we get it together?  I'm about to launch my own company just so I can do the work I want to do... seems slightly ridiculous as there are already so many efforts underway...  I suppose it's  a numbers game, but being constantly ignored takes its toll on the sensitive soul, and so we stop trying.  There are a lot of us who have so much to give... who's listening?

• Answer:

  Here's why, you are fighting these major macro trends: 1. Technology has improved white collar productivity greatly in the past 20 years, maybe 50% to 2X in North America and Europe. So far fewer people are needed for most white collar work. Note that this is not a trade issue. 2. A lot of manufacturing and white collar work that supported manufacturing (design, production planing, purchasing, etc.) has moved overseas from North America and the EU. 3.  Some white collar work has been directly outsourced, to India, Eastern Europe, South America, etc.  Outside of computer programing, the numbers here are not huge, but they are on top of 1&2. 4. Baby Boomers will not retire or die soon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_boom Some time after 2020 employment will get better. Not now. The analogy is a game of musical chairs with a 100 people...but instead of taking one chair away, take away 25...now when the music stops, it gets real ugly. ****okay, what can be done ?**** Very important - corporations want to hire to get something done, they want to hire to fit a box. They have little interest in the whole person. Yes, they want a "Ruby on Rails" person, and a good one, who maybe understands a few other things. But they don't care if you play oboe in the symphony orchestra. Option 1  Learn whatever next year's model will be - Ruby on Rails, Python plus X frame work, Nuclear Power Plant Safety Inspection, Health Care Cost Reduction Auditing, etc. > Get a credential for next year's model & some work to show - even if the work is for open source, or for some freelance, or a non-profit. > Market your self shamelessly with a tightly focused plan. > Result is you get a job, hopefully direct, > Learn to be friendly and helpful, and try to become one of the insiders. Option 2  Create a product.  Then people and corporations can buy the product, or well defined service, not you.  With a product, you can create your own musical chairs game, with three chairs and one player - you. Note that there is a huge surplus of people - that is unlikely to be fixed any time soon.  Products aren't so bad - if you can differentiate the product, and it aligns to some degree with what the customer thinks they want and need, you will have much less competition. Also notice that once you try to make a product or service, this kicks - " So many of us are so capable, thanks to the knowledge tools and training we have. "   All those tools and productivity that work against you as a potential employee now works in your favor as business person. So it is not absurd to do your own business - that's a reasonable response to the situation.  If it is raining solid for 20 days and nights, you need to build a boat.  Don't wait around for things to get back to normal.