The Job Market

The job market today is terrible. Landing a good job is a hard task to accomplish in this economy. Companies take advantage of the fact that there's a surplus in people looking for work. People looking for a job are desperate to apply for anything. Many us are still putting out the effort to attempt to find something that we'll be happy with and continue to be a productive part of society.

Expectations From Companies

There seem to be a lot of companies out there with high expectations. They want people who can do everything for little pay. I've seen ads where companies are looking for someone who is going to do work that is above and beyond (or below) the job title. They need someone is not only going to manage a project, but someone is going to do some development, art, marketing, testing, and whatever else they need someone to do. There's nothing wrong with doing more than your title asks, except when it's too excessive and the pay isn't there to back it up. As with any job you'll always be doing more than what your job title should entail. There's a point where the line must be drawn. It's physically impossible to do the job of 5 people at the same time. The second issue I've seen is that companies are looking for a lot of experience without the proper job title or pay. For example they might be looking to fill a Jr. position with someone who has 5 years experience. Most people with 5 years experience would be looking for something better. Most people who are quality employees move up to better positions. (This isn't always the case. It depends on the position and the company.) Aside from looking for specific years of experience they may want specific experience for the job. They may want someone who knows how to use a certain program or knows how to do a certain task. When these are recommended traits it's not a problem, but when they are required it can be concerning. It plays a bigger part when it's not something someone in that particular position would use or if it's something that most people wouldn't be familiar with.

The expectations that companies have aren't always as stern as they appear on paper. Yes they might be looking for someone who has 5 years experience, but someone who only has 3 and can prove themselves will do. It's hard to tell by ads if they are willing to be flexible or if they are hard set on their requirements. There are also people that get in desperate positions and despite being worth more will take whatever job they need to survive.

Standing Out From the Crowd

The biggest issue facing those looking for jobs are all the other people looking for jobs as well. How do you grab the attention of someone who has a couple hundred resumés? How do you prove your worth and experience? How do you tell them that despite not having the exact experience they are looking for that you are still qualified and have the drive to learn anything new? If you get an interview, how do you stand out without looking strange? These are questions that I wish I knew the answers to. The point is that there are a ton of people applying for jobs. A lot of them don't have experience and you may get passed up with them.


The whole process of looking for a job is a hard. For someone, like myself, who spends 1 hour+ dedicating each cover letter it's such a let down to not hear back from someone. If you get lucky enough to get an interview it is more stressful than it seems. Everything matters. You need to be dressed properly. It's not just a matter of throwing on a suit. For certain jobs you might need to be more fashionable or have a little more casual and less of a "stuffy" appearance. You also need to be mentally prepared. You have to be ready for any questions they throw at you. You can practice all of the questions you may expect, but usually something you weren't ready for gets asked. Sometimes you may not understand what they are asking for, they'll question something that is obvious to you, they'll ask you to elaborate on something that you can't really elaborate on, or they'll ask you questions that you don't feel comfortable asking. You need to be prepared to ask the questions that you have. Sometimes you may forget them and it may be awkward for you to pull out a notebook with the questions you had. Sometimes all of your questions have been answered previously and you struggle to come up with something else. You need to be able to handle unexpected situations. Maybe you are left in a conference room for 20 minutes waiting for the interview to start. Maybe the job isn't what you expected it to be. Maybe you will interviewing with someone you know who may know your weaknesses or get stuck playing catch up rather than proving yourself. There's many situations that can have a negative affect on your chances of being hired if you don't re-act properly.

It is a hard time for those of us looking for jobs. You have to keep trying and eventually someone will see your talent and passion.