Showbizjobs Blog

With last week’s unexpected unemployment report of 10.2% analysts predict the number to go to 11% by mid-2010.  Those are government average stats so California trends even higher.  You would think these pressures would boil over into a daily Peter Finch meltdown somewhere, right?  Causing us to smoke, eat, and drink ourselves right into depression and perhaps an early grave.

As odd as it seems, economists are finding the exact opposite to be the case. 

University of North Carolina economist Christopher Ruhm has found that every one-percent rise in unemployment drives down the death rate by .5%.  This holds true for the US and some 25 other countries studied in the midst of this protracted recession.  Arguments are that with more time on their hands, underemployed Americans are hitting the gym more, smoking less, walking more, going out to eat less, and getting more sleep.

So you see, there is a silver lining.  Just not for those who are working at a frenetic pace, keeping things going in the absence of those who have been downsized.  Maybe that’s what the economists are working on next.  They too, have job security to think about.   

More reading on this can be found here.

As recruiters who deal with the daily logistics of staffing, we are prone to become oblivious of just how stressful the process is for candidates.  Whether they are being pursued or are underemployed, or simply in love with the thought of being part of your team.  Gaining the coveted interview can throw these tensions into a Deal or No Deal style nerve grinder, with each day feeling like dog-year equivalents in length.  Many of you know what I’m talking about.  

Having an early dose of front-line customer service indoctrination Disney style, one of the key nuggets I took away was that quick (if not instant) communication dissolves 75% of authentic stress or hostility in any situation.  Even if the message you carry is the fact that you have no message.

Left in a vacuum, people invent worry compounded upon worry.  Be mindful of the distress undercurrent as you wade through applicants in your recruitment process.  Imagine your ‘A’ grade candidate out there in the void.  The guy who could ultimately get your hiring manager out of hot water.  That guy’s out there wondering if you even check your email of voice mails, much less thinking about being a rainmaker for your organization.  All because of the silence (cue chirping crickets).

Have a system and use it.  Confirm resume submissions via email responders, follow with a note after an interview, provide a ten-second update to the candidate who calls two weeks after an interview.  We have clients who are getting 600+ responses for a single job ad.  If they don’t have a system in place for simple messaging, imagine the aggregate stress that floods the streets from the feedback void.

If you read many of my messages you might say they all seem to sound the same…and you are right.  It always comes back to basic professional practices.  The same business and social practices that our culture places diminishing value on, but somehow come to the forefront for the talented-yet-unemployed guy sitting by the phone.