The Story of Job Seeker and the Three Positions

Once upon a time, there was an unemployed man named Job Seeker. He went into an active job search, leveraging networks, careerbuilder,theladders,teamworkonline, LIMA, individual company websites, family friends, etc. Pretty soon, he came upon various opportunities (Note: this is a fairy tale. According to a recent NY Times article referencing the Labor Department’s numbers from July 2009, only 2.4 million full-time permanent jobs were open, with 14.5 million people officially unemployed ). He looked into the opportunities further and when he found several positions he was qualified for or felt confident he could succeed at, he applied.

On his list of openings, the jobs were grouped by Entry-Level, 4-6 Years of Experience, and 2-3 Years of Experience. Job Seeker was hungry for a job and he applied for the Entry-Level positions.

"You’re too experienced!" the employers exclaimed.

So, Job Seeker applied for the jobs looking for 4-6 Years of Experience.

"You’re not qualified enough," the employers said (I have 4 years of experience. I understand I do not have 6, but I do have 4, which fits within the “4-6” they listed. I also believe I have had opportunity to work on higher level projects than other people with 6 years of experience. So without interviewing me, how can they be sure I do not have enough experience? Is my resume that bad? I will find out tomorrow and let you know. I am meeting with a Career Counselor at my graduate school to fine tune my resume.)

So, Job Seeker applied to the last group of jobs, the 2-3 Years of Experience.

"Ahhh, you look like a strong candidate," the employers said, but we can only offer you half your former salary (So far, I have not taken an opportunity that comes with a severe cut to my former salary. I feel that if I do, it will take even longer for me to work my way back up to where I am now. But while I hold out for a better offer, I am making no money. So which is right? Hard to say.)

Everyone knows how the story continues, and below is how the real fairy tale ends:

Just then, Goldilocks woke up and saw the three bears. She screamed, "Help!" And she jumped up and ran out of the room. Goldilocks ran down the stairs, opened the door, and ran away into the forest. And she never returned to the home of the three bears.

How nice would it be to run away to the forest and never return to home of employment? Just live free like Goldilocks and not worry about the financial burdens that come with real world life. I imagine that is what it is like to be Spencer Pratt.

Oddly, “The Story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears” never addresses Goldilocks’ financial position. Does she have a home? If so, is her mortgage paid off? What are her property taxes? Does she have a pension plan or a 401K? Are her parents rich? Does she have a Sugar Daddy? Did she win a sexual discrimination lawsuit? One can only imagine.

THE END