by Lisa Campi

Created on: June 07, 2009

Why are jobs so hard to find today? It's not surprising that jobs have become more difficult to find in this current recession. Every day we seem to hear of another company laying off thousands of workers or another manufacturing plant closing. More and more people continue to join the ranks of the unemployed or underemployed. As these numbers swell, it becomes increasingly difficult to find and land a new job.

There are several reasons that job searches have become more difficult as we remain in this recession:

First and foremost, many companies are not hiring, or if they are, they are hiring very selectively. Making do with less is the mantra at many companies as workers are asked to fill in for their laid off, former co-workers. In other cases, management is sitting on the sidelines waiting to see what happens with the economy before filling positions or initiating new projects. As these companies wait to make hiring decisions, the length of time people stay unemployed increases and the difficulty in finding a new job increases.

Secondly, when there are openings, insiders assist their friends in getting those jobs before they are posted on job boards or corporate listings. Without inside connections, having your resume noticed by the hiring manager becomes increasingly difficult. If you are a hiring manager in a company, you are probably inundated with resumes from friends of friends of friends before you have even had a chance to post all of the criteria necessary to fill the job.

Thirdly, many job seekers rely solely on internet job postings. While some may find jobs through those postings, in many cases, having the personal contact from a job fair or informational interview streamlines the way for a resume to reach the hiring manager. Many internet job postings solicit hundred's of resumes for one position. No hiring manager can possibly review that many resumes in a timely manner, which means only those with personal contacts make it through to the next round of the job selection process.

Lastly, many job postings have a long list of qualifications and requirements for the position. In many cases, job seekers may meet 80% of the requirements but may be missing one or two of the required skills. Due to the sheer number of job seekers posting for each open position, hiring managers can hold out to find someone who meets 100% of the requirements. In the past, the hiring manager may have taken a chance on someone who met some but not all of the requirements; however, nowadays, he or she can pick and choose what candidate is selected. It's a hiring manager's market right now.

While we can ask why jobs are so hard to find in today's world, should we really be asking what makes this recession different than past ones? Is it that this recession crossed all industries and all geographic boundaries? Or is it that most of us know several people, including family members, impacted by the economic downturn? Or is it that companies are no longer taking a chance on hiring employees as they wait to see what happens with the economy? All the unemployed job seeker can do is keep looking and keep a positive outlook.

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