Another day, another fruitless fish-net trawled from the sea of online jobs postings. Along with the floating rubbish that comes with it: unpaid internships. Gah!
They're part of the furniture now in the jobseeker's environment. They can be dressed up as fancy schemes or with decorative language - JobBridge, traineeship, pseudo-slave, whatever - but it's more or less like fishing for junk: you might pull one in for closer inspection, but the majority of the time, it's just what you expected.
It would appear that with the decline of the global economy came the simultaneous decline in the ethics of employment. Yes, it is capitalist at its core for the employer (free labour? Yes please), but for it to be sanctioned - and in the case of JobBridge, paid for - by the government is disappointing, to say the least. The private sector has really had the government bent over a chair with this scheme - apparently without even asking. "So we'll pay for your workforce for a while, but you're probably going to give them a real job and start paying them after a few months, right?", says Gilmore, red in the cheeks, but not in the idealism. "Eh, yeah, sure. We'll sort something out." says the private sector, and then changes the subject.
'Something' turns out to be a reference and a pat on the back six months later, as you scurry out the door - to your next unpaid internship.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Day 35
On Monday, I went to a recruitment agency. I've dealt with this particular agency before, and the kind of jobs they hook people up with is the kind of work that 30 years ago, they would have thought we would have robots doing by now.
I don't really mind this. Maybe it's not ideal, but, as the recruiter at the agency was told, I'm not really sure what, exactly, would constitute 'ideal'. "Does it pay in money? Then yes."
I was in the office for about 45 minutes, and I was the only person to enter the premises during that period. This could mean a) a lack of jobs at the agency, or b) a lack of people looking for work. There were plenty of positions advertised in the window, so to the casual observer, human beings would appear to be the rate-limiting factor in this particular case.
I'm certain, in the 21st century, much of a recruitment agency's business is conducted online, rather than in blink-and-you'll-miss-it offices in obscure suburban towns, but perhaps this has an inhibitive effect on job seekers: if there's no personal contact, the overall effort that goes into a job application will likely be lessened. Standard CV. Template cover letter. Really, there's little difference between applying for jobs in bed and not applying for jobs in bed. For employers, I'm sure it's difficult to shortlist a selection of candidates from a pile of CVs belonging to a group of faceless somebodies. Even an applicant that's been annoyingly calling the employer for five consecutive days asking about the status of their application has a voice to put to the name. Getting a face, or even a voice, known to the employer is definitely a plus.
Of course, if it's already known to them, even better. There's probably a bit of an onus on Irish people to move away from the whole 'jobs for the boys' approach to employment. Having said that, while it's not quite nepotism, 'networking' seems to be an appropriation of the spirit of this culture. It's even been internetified, through LinkedIn and other similar sites. But really, I suppose despite all sorts of legal measures to impose some sort of objective structure on the process of interviewing and hiring, being closer to the employer puts an applicant at a higher likelihood of getting the position, and this is only natural. Having some sort of connection to a potential employee acts as both a reliable referee and an incentive for the employee to carry out the tasks of the job well.
Still, unless you've been clicking 'yes' to every friend suggestion thrown your way on facebook, there's obviously going to be dark corners of your contacts cupboard. No harm in the odd cold call every now and then.
I don't really mind this. Maybe it's not ideal, but, as the recruiter at the agency was told, I'm not really sure what, exactly, would constitute 'ideal'. "Does it pay in money? Then yes."
I was in the office for about 45 minutes, and I was the only person to enter the premises during that period. This could mean a) a lack of jobs at the agency, or b) a lack of people looking for work. There were plenty of positions advertised in the window, so to the casual observer, human beings would appear to be the rate-limiting factor in this particular case.
I'm certain, in the 21st century, much of a recruitment agency's business is conducted online, rather than in blink-and-you'll-miss-it offices in obscure suburban towns, but perhaps this has an inhibitive effect on job seekers: if there's no personal contact, the overall effort that goes into a job application will likely be lessened. Standard CV. Template cover letter. Really, there's little difference between applying for jobs in bed and not applying for jobs in bed. For employers, I'm sure it's difficult to shortlist a selection of candidates from a pile of CVs belonging to a group of faceless somebodies. Even an applicant that's been annoyingly calling the employer for five consecutive days asking about the status of their application has a voice to put to the name. Getting a face, or even a voice, known to the employer is definitely a plus.
Of course, if it's already known to them, even better. There's probably a bit of an onus on Irish people to move away from the whole 'jobs for the boys' approach to employment. Having said that, while it's not quite nepotism, 'networking' seems to be an appropriation of the spirit of this culture. It's even been internetified, through LinkedIn and other similar sites. But really, I suppose despite all sorts of legal measures to impose some sort of objective structure on the process of interviewing and hiring, being closer to the employer puts an applicant at a higher likelihood of getting the position, and this is only natural. Having some sort of connection to a potential employee acts as both a reliable referee and an incentive for the employee to carry out the tasks of the job well.
Still, unless you've been clicking 'yes' to every friend suggestion thrown your way on facebook, there's obviously going to be dark corners of your contacts cupboard. No harm in the odd cold call every now and then.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Day 31
Day 31 is an odd milestone to start an account of something. I signed on for Jobseeker's Allowance on Friday the 1st of February, 2013, four weeks and three days ago. Today, Sunday the 3rd of March, is day 31. I could have started writing about it straight away, but I hadn't really settled in to the role. Honestly, I'm setting an 80 day time-margin to sign off the dole because it works well as a title for a blog, but ideally, I'd like to get a job a bit sooner - the longer you're out of the game, the harder it is to get back in.
This is not the first time I've signed on, but it is the first time that I have done so without any clear idea of what was next. The previous occasion, I had finished a stint working overseas, and was starting a master's course the following month. Now, I've finished an internship in the same subject area as the master's, and am trying to work out my next step. Stay in Ireland, and try and get something consistent while paying off the debt worked up during university, or try to get a position abroad somewhere? I think it's not an uncommon predicament for young people in Ireland.
There seems to be quite a consensus in Ireland at the moment that there are very few jobs going for recent graduates, or for young people in general, and that the main options for these people are either to emigrate or to claim welfare payments for seemingly endless periods of time. While the unemployment figures are relatively high, and the numbers leaving likewise, I'm sceptical of this view, for a number of reasons.
Firstly, the generation of young people in Ireland is one of the best educated cohorts ever. Yes, there are early school-leavers as with any society, but the accessibility of education in Ireland is world-class, and this has definitely been a factor in the investment by foreign organisations and companies in Ireland, albeit aided by an enticing corporate tax rate. So even recently, with hikes in dubious 'registration' fees charged by third level institutes hindering the accessibility for some, the massive turnout of a well-educated graduate cohort seeking employment is a major incentive for companies and organisations to conduct business in the country. And they are still arriving.
Secondly, the narrative of 'hard times' dominates the collective concious of Ireland, making inactivity or stagnation the norm. This has consequences for everyone in many aspects of everyday life, but no area more so for young people than in employment. There are of course the ramifications of the global economic downturn for employers, resulting in the loss of employment for many, purely because of the lack of expenditure available to these employers. But the narrative of hard times has meant that cessation of employment, or reduction in numbers recruited, has become an easy strategy to reduce expenses for companies and organisations that previously may have been less inclined to resort to these options. In practice, this doesn't mean there are any more jobs out there, but workers and their unions are more accepting of cuts and forced redundancies because the environment would suggest that it's the done thing. Similarly on the employee end, whereas prior to the downturn it was perhaps less socially acceptable to claim unemployment benefit for extended periods, nowadays being on the dole is a product of the times in which we live, and the social pressure to rapidly seek new employment is not absent, but certainly less present. There remains the same financial pressure of course, particularly for the generation before, those who may have invested in property or started a family, but for those without any major financial commitments, €180-odd a week isn't too bad. I'm not sure I have the gumption to call this an incentive to be unemployed, but it is hardly conducive to filling the gaps in the workforce.
Finally, a point that I think stems from the first two. Partly given the highly-qualified position of the generation coming onto the jobs market, partly because of the limitless aspirations of the Celtic Tiger mindset, an attitude of finding 'a job' has become finding 'the ideal job'. This is really the first generation that have been told from the get-go that they can do anything they please with their lives. So why do something you dislike, when you can bide your time until the perfect job falls into your lap? This is not necessarily a bad thing, but when things are the way they are economically, not everybody gets to do something they love for a living. There are jobs out there in Ireland. Good jobs, that may not be the best-paid, or be the most direct path to the top, or even sound impressive or interesting. But they are there, and for a large portion of the population, they are good enough or better, but for many of those who are unemployed, these roles, although many of them respectable jobs and careers, just don't cut it, and so are dismissed.
These are just some things that have struck me about the jobs market of late in Ireland. Obviously there are multiple other factors at play, but these, I think, are the ones that don't tend to be spoken about.
This is not the first time I've signed on, but it is the first time that I have done so without any clear idea of what was next. The previous occasion, I had finished a stint working overseas, and was starting a master's course the following month. Now, I've finished an internship in the same subject area as the master's, and am trying to work out my next step. Stay in Ireland, and try and get something consistent while paying off the debt worked up during university, or try to get a position abroad somewhere? I think it's not an uncommon predicament for young people in Ireland.
There seems to be quite a consensus in Ireland at the moment that there are very few jobs going for recent graduates, or for young people in general, and that the main options for these people are either to emigrate or to claim welfare payments for seemingly endless periods of time. While the unemployment figures are relatively high, and the numbers leaving likewise, I'm sceptical of this view, for a number of reasons.
Firstly, the generation of young people in Ireland is one of the best educated cohorts ever. Yes, there are early school-leavers as with any society, but the accessibility of education in Ireland is world-class, and this has definitely been a factor in the investment by foreign organisations and companies in Ireland, albeit aided by an enticing corporate tax rate. So even recently, with hikes in dubious 'registration' fees charged by third level institutes hindering the accessibility for some, the massive turnout of a well-educated graduate cohort seeking employment is a major incentive for companies and organisations to conduct business in the country. And they are still arriving.
Secondly, the narrative of 'hard times' dominates the collective concious of Ireland, making inactivity or stagnation the norm. This has consequences for everyone in many aspects of everyday life, but no area more so for young people than in employment. There are of course the ramifications of the global economic downturn for employers, resulting in the loss of employment for many, purely because of the lack of expenditure available to these employers. But the narrative of hard times has meant that cessation of employment, or reduction in numbers recruited, has become an easy strategy to reduce expenses for companies and organisations that previously may have been less inclined to resort to these options. In practice, this doesn't mean there are any more jobs out there, but workers and their unions are more accepting of cuts and forced redundancies because the environment would suggest that it's the done thing. Similarly on the employee end, whereas prior to the downturn it was perhaps less socially acceptable to claim unemployment benefit for extended periods, nowadays being on the dole is a product of the times in which we live, and the social pressure to rapidly seek new employment is not absent, but certainly less present. There remains the same financial pressure of course, particularly for the generation before, those who may have invested in property or started a family, but for those without any major financial commitments, €180-odd a week isn't too bad. I'm not sure I have the gumption to call this an incentive to be unemployed, but it is hardly conducive to filling the gaps in the workforce.
Finally, a point that I think stems from the first two. Partly given the highly-qualified position of the generation coming onto the jobs market, partly because of the limitless aspirations of the Celtic Tiger mindset, an attitude of finding 'a job' has become finding 'the ideal job'. This is really the first generation that have been told from the get-go that they can do anything they please with their lives. So why do something you dislike, when you can bide your time until the perfect job falls into your lap? This is not necessarily a bad thing, but when things are the way they are economically, not everybody gets to do something they love for a living. There are jobs out there in Ireland. Good jobs, that may not be the best-paid, or be the most direct path to the top, or even sound impressive or interesting. But they are there, and for a large portion of the population, they are good enough or better, but for many of those who are unemployed, these roles, although many of them respectable jobs and careers, just don't cut it, and so are dismissed.
These are just some things that have struck me about the jobs market of late in Ireland. Obviously there are multiple other factors at play, but these, I think, are the ones that don't tend to be spoken about.
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