It’s a Job Seekers’ Market but…

By Janice Davis Richardson, MPA  |  LinkedIn: JaniceRichardson

While scrolling through Facebook, I stumbled across one recent post from a recruiter looking for people to work as Flaggers. This job requires reporting to work at 6 a.m. to hold up signs and direct traffic while road work is being done. The position pays $16 per hour. Sounded simple to me, and if I didn’t already have a job, I would have considered it myself. The recruiter shared screenshots of some of the requests that job seekers made before they would be even willing to consider the job. The requests ranged from, “Can you provide housing?” to “I’ll need at least $23 per hour to start because I’m worth it.” My favorite was, “I like to hang out all night and have a good time with my friends, so I’ll need to start 11 a.m.” The recruiter handled his denial of these requests much better than I probably would have.

In a recent article from SHRM.org, Roy Maurer writes, “The U.S. labor market is facing an abnormal summer: Millions of open jobs and nowhere near enough applicants have created a shift in power that has given job seekers the upper hand in recruiting and hiring.”

However, job seekers need to understand that that the sky is not the limit. It’s acceptable to make a reasonable counter offer, but come to the table with a level of respect for the person you are interviewing with, and I think that will make your job search much more successful.

Janice Richardson, MPA is the Career Connections Coordinator at Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina’s Workforce Development Center in Davidson County.