Conversations with Hiring Companies

I had conversations with several companies yesterday regarding hiring and what trends they are seeing. Let me share one with you.

A friend of mine works at a software company and they advertised a position for software tester. They received 50 resumes in a couple of days. They reviewed them and picked the top 20 candidates and conducted telephone interviews immediately. Out of the 20 candidates, 19 were unemployed. The one that was employed was looking, because he was afraid that he was going to be laid off.

This story is typical of what I'm seeing in the job market. I have seen men in their 50s who were MBAs hoping to get a job as a manager at a fast food restaurant. After talking with them, I found that most need health benefits due to pre-existing conditions and most health insurance plans will not even talk with them about coverage due to their conditions.

So, if you are looking at being laid off, realize this. It is a tough, tough job market out here.