Seattle job social draws big

I was at the Seattle Job Social event at Twist in Seattle yesterday. The event is organized by VerticalMove, a headhunting and Recruiting Outsourcing Process service provider. My friend, Michael Michaels, is the Business Development Manager there and had invited me.

When I arrived, the line extended outside the door, down the sidewalk south on 1st avenue. I was quite surprised by the turnout. Many were well dressed, somewhat formal for Seattle, carrying their resumes. I met an unemployed project manager recently of Washington Mutual, a web analyst formerly of Amazon, and so on.

It’s one thing to read the statistics: 9.2% unemployment rate in Washington state; 12.1% in Oregon; 12.6% in Michigan. It’s another to see so many looking for work in one place — in my industry of high-tech and online marketing.

Several local companies were also represented at the event, looking for possible candidates. Kudos to Seattle Job Social for putting recruiters and candidates together.

One definite casualty of the current economic crisis is labor. Microsoft’s ability to demand 10% cut for all a-dash (agencies temporaries) contractors is a sign of the times. Many companies are moving out higher-paid employees and replacing them by cherry-picking from the flood of highly-qualified workers in the job market willing to take lower pay. In Detroit with the troubles of the American auto manufacturers, UAW is becoming less and less relevant.

The price pressures throughout the economy will continue to force companies to find further cost savings. The squeeze for cost efficiency will especially hit service companies. Many will fail trying to adapt. Others, with new innovative approaches, will emerge and be successful. There will certainly be challenges and opportunities during today’s cold business climate. What will you focus on? The challenges or the opportunities? Be aware of the former, but focus on the later.

Meanwhile, the Seattle Job Social and other such events will continue to draw well, with lines spilling down the sidewalks.

Here is a great visual depiction of the job situation in the US over the past two-and-a half years. Sobering, but effective visualization.

3Comments

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1

Survive Unemployment on May 21, 2009 at 6:47 am

Unless you’re a recruiter with lots of jobs to fill, I don’t see how these big turnouts can be seen as anything but the bread lines of the 21st Century. 1,800 people turned out in New York to apply for 12 jobs waiting tables at some chain restaurant in Times Square. I was one of them, and I have an MA.

You’re right that businesses that survive will do well in the long term. I guess that’s the bright spot.
2

Paul Anderson on May 26, 2009 at 11:41 pm

Hi John,

Yes, the event drew a great crowd. I have partnered up with Vertical Move to provide career resources because I realized that many candidates simply “pitch” recruiters/hiring managers without actually bothering to build a relationship with them.

I’ve spoken to several top recruiting firms recently and they’ve all said that candidates that are “plugged into the network” are the ones getting jobs and everyone else is wasting time on job boards.

The Seattle Job Social’s heart is in the right place and with the free career seminars we’re providing, I think we’ll be able to put candidates on the right track.
3

Ana Sierra on August 18, 2009 at 10:03 am

This is a forward thinking event and am glad they are doing it, although it is outside my industry (health care). I think the unemployment estimates are way low. We have a 25% unemployment rate currently among my fellow church members (including myself), which represent a broad cross section of the population (i.e., SES, ethnically, geographically). Of course, quite a number of folks are under employed as well. I don’t say this to discourage or depress anyone, but just to point out that all efforts to put people together and help them find work is important as well as to help people develop businesses.