The next time you are thinking about getting a job...

[hacelikewhoa]

Originally Posted by Spallalala

I don't have one and its not going to well either ha. I apply and apply and apply and barely even get a response back. Had 2 interviews this year but there is always someone better or employers not wanting to make acceptions. ( one job finished 30mins after the last bus left and they wouldn't allow me to rock up earlier) pfft I say.
Imma keep trying just cos I have to ( stupid government payments ha) but don't think im gonna get anything even remotely interesting here.

Our world is going to shit and grrr @ it

My boyfriend has had the same problem for about 6 months now. No were will hire him, no matter how much he harasses them ( calling them ). The only jobs that he's been offered have been scams. Either they want him to pay money before starting the job or something else sketchy. He found one that's basically based on setting up appointments with people to get them to buy kitchen supplies..this kinda seems like a scam to me too. But he would make 17.25 for each appointment plus commission if they decided to buy anything. BUT..he has to do three days training WITHOUT pay before he can start.. AND he doesn't get to start training until the day after xmas..So it really isn't looking good. Plus this job is about 30 minutes away but it's the only one that's given him the time of day and actually 'hired' him.

[neverending]

Office Depot has announced they're closing over 200 stores in the coming months.

Jobs are going to be harder and harder to come by.

[_____V_____]

Originally Posted by neverending

Office Depot has announced they're closing over 200 stores in the coming months.

Jobs are going to be harder and harder to come by.

Exactly.

The next 4-5 years are going to paint a totally different economic picture of the world. I still predict entrepreneurs to blossom in this no-win situation.

Folks, be innovative. Set up your own business enterprises. If you still think you can score with a job, I have to sympathise with you.

[hacelikewhoa]

well, I'm getting a second job. I'm tired of being broke. Put in 13 applications with resume included for various hospital positions and today my mom is taking me to this agency she worked for a while back. They pay excellent and they would send me out to different places (hospitals and nursing homes) and its a good way to get into a hospital. She already talked to them and they said they would give me a job. I could work as I please when I want to where I want to. This is why its so great being in medical...If I lose my job, I could easily find another or already have another waiting.

[Vodstok]

Its been hard for a while, I have bounced from contract to contract for over 2 years now. Everyone is downsizing, no one wants to pay anyone for anything. I am luckiy enough to be working for a company now that actually understands that the employees are people, although their parent company is pretty typical corporate (Which is A-OK! because companies monitor forum postings :))

[newb]

I've been at the same job for twenty years. This year has been pretty scary....there's been a layoff and manufacturing has taken a big hit in this country. I should be alright....unless the whole ship sinks...then I'm fucked.

[stubbornforgey]

Same with the job market over here but we are surviving.
Its the big businesses that are closing up shop and moving offshore
or having thier products sent offshore to be built ..mainly to china cos the
labour there is cheap..BUT..in doing so ..the work is coming out cheaper.

An example...our biggest school shoe provider for intermediates and colleges
who sent all thier work to china
had to close thier doors a few months ago because..parents were buying
shoes that were broken after only a months worth of wear.
I ended up replacing my college students shoes 5 times in 2 months.
So parents no longer supported that shop and have moved to another brand.

Our government has also stopped funding to the 'buy newzealand made'
because all of our products now bear the made in NZ but at the bottom
of the tag it says..made in china that would tear in after a few wears.

Smaller companies now are taking advantage of the skilled labour that were made redundant...so there are jobs out..here in my country.

[UngodlyWarlock]

I got laid off from my job of almost 6 years.
They didn't lay off many, but layoffs at my previous job had been pretty much unheard of because they were just really good at finding shit for people to do and rolling off people onto new projects and stuff.

It really hit me like a ton of bricks...because I always just assumed that even IF there were layoffs, I would not be chosen. Apparently, I was judged on my last 6 months (end of 3-year project, 5-month 60-80 hr work week crunch back in the Spring, and a new management regime that I hated) instead of my last 6 years and the hammer fell to me an 5 others.

BUT..........I got a sweet severance (6 years will do that) and immediately flopped back into my job prior to that place within 2 weeks, so I feel *VERY* fortunate.

The lesson if there is one? Never burn your bridges! hahaha...I left my current employer on great terms so they were happy to have me back even after 6 years.

Now, I'm beyond happy....turns out getting laid off was the best thing to happen to me all year, as I am really enjoying what I am working on finally.

-D

[The Flayed One]

What really amazes me is how many people in these hard times get themselves fired or just quit showing up. Amazon treats its employees pretty well and the wages aren't bad at all. I see these people all of the time. Come in really wanting a job. Then all of the sudden, they have all these days that they have to take off for 'something really important' I'm talking about their initial 90 days. These aren't bargain contract workers; these are people who pack boxes who need a job to supposedly make ends meet. There are people losing their jobs by the thousands right now, and these people can't show up consistently for three months. It makes me sick, really.

I think back to stories I've heard from great grandparents about the great depression. Their fathers washing the coal cars of trains from top to bottom for less than livable wages just to try. Because it was something. Because they got it, and even though they knew they were getting shafted because there were 100,000 people behind them that could replace them at the drop of a dime, they busted their ass. Because they had a sense of responsibility.

I don't understand why these people think they're too good for some of the available jobs. If you get something for above minimum wage right now without a college degree or several years as a specialist, you're lucky. You're lucky you're not sweating your ass off shoveling pig shit for 12hrs a day at less than minimum wage under the table in the bitter cold. Do what you will with your life, but don't expect me to throw a quarter in your cup because you thought you were too good to cook french fries at a stable job when you were offered.

/rant off

[_____V_____]

Nicolas Cage took just a minute to vanish away with one car in the 2000 Hollywood blockbuster Gone in 60 Seconds, but the jobs seem to be disappearing at a faster rate, with companies laying off at least one employee every 10 second to cut costs and fight the economic crisis.

So far in December, companies across the world have announced at least 115,000 job-cuts -- a figure which translates into an average of more than 8,200 people being laid off a day or about six every one minute (60 seconds).

In reel scenes, the plot might have been thrilling but in real sequences, the story is getting gloomy, with lay-offs happening across diverse sectors -- right from finance to electronics to mining, to name a few.

While the financial crisis cost more than 30,000 jobs in the first week of December, the number nearly trebled to touch about 85,000 in the following seven days.

More than one-third of the layoffs happened in the United States, which has already seen a stunning 5,33,000 job losses in November alone.

Last week's layoff wave was led by banking firm Bank of America, which announced plans to axe 35,000 jobs in the coming months.

In terms of sheer numbers, Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp came next with 16,000 layoffs followed by mining major Rio Tinto, which is all set to trim its headcount by 14,000.

Adding to the global market woes, Swedish auto components maker SKF would be reducing its workforce by 2,500 employees and French telecom entity Alcatel-Lucent would be slashing 1,000 jobs.

Both the world's first and second largest economies -- the US and Japan -- already in recession, are bearing the brunt of the worsening labour market.

Other companies which announced layoffs include Abx Air (1,900 jobs), International Paper(1,500), Delta Airlines (1,000), Fairchild Semiconductor (1,100) diversified consumer business group Sara Lee (700 jobs) and world's largest steel maker ArcelorMittal has said it would cut 650 positions at its largest plant in Belgium.

All the firms have cited cost cutting measures amid the ravaging financial turmoil as the prime reason for layoffs.

"Bank of America expects to have a final plan early in 2009 and estimates it will project reduction of about 30,000 to 35,000 positions over the next three years," the company said.

Sony would be axing 8,000 full-time positions and 8,000 temporary jobs. Further, the company plans to reduce the total number of manufacturing sites by 10 per cent from the present 57 by March 2010.

Rio Tinto would trim its global workforce by 14,000 employees as part of a slew of measures to reduce its debt of $10 billion by the end of 2009.

In the first week of December, the telecom giant AT&T said it would slash 12,000 jobs or about 4 per cent of its total workforce.

Further, Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse would be axing 5,300 jobs, accounting for 11 per cent of its global workforce, by the first half of the next year.

Other major job cuts have been announced by ArcelorMittal (over 9,000 jobs), American car rental firm Avis Budget Group (2,200 jobs), Japanese financial services major Nomura (about 1,000 jobs), General Motors (2,000 jobs) and chemical company Dupont (2,500 jobs).