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Should you always take the job?
The employment news is improving: the national unemployment rate fell to 8.3%, the lowest it has been in nearly three years. Of course, much publicity has been given to the difficult time veterans have had finding employment, and fortunately, that has also improved. Army Times reported that the latest unemployment figure for post 9/11 veterans has decreased dramatically, to 9.1%, down from 15.2% only a year ago.
Undeniably, this is good news, but it does bring about some questions. First is where did all those jobs come from and how did veterans suddenly start getting hired for them? As the old saying goes, what goes up must come down, and this applies to economic cycles as well. Economic cycles also have a bottom to bounce back from, and basic numbers seem to indicate that we are finally crawling out of a long decline. However long and high a recovery goes is unknown, but the fact is there are more jobs available; employment in the private sector grew by over 250,000 jobs in January. Additionally, there has been a well-documented push to hire veterans. Veteran Job Fairs are occurring across the country; Louisiana benefited from two such employment expos in a period of three weeks. On January 19, the VA hosted its first Veterans Career Fair in Washington, DC, drawing more than 4,000 veterans and resulting in 500 “tentative” job offers. There have been many organizations, including the VA and a variety of non-profit organizations that have promoted the cause of hiring veterans. When businesses such as Chase and Entergy embrace the cause, it is a winning proposition for veterans.
A second question is will the veterans’ unemployment rate creep back up as troop draw-downs begin to impact the labor market? That is a valid question and the answer is we’ll have to wait and see, as it depends on how durable any economic recovery continues to be and how responsive employers continue to be to veteran labor. However, given the continued increase emphasis on hiring veterans, there is reason for optimism.
I’ve talked to many veteran supporters over the past six months and I have discovered an interesting common theme: reluctance on the part of a few veterans to take on certain types of jobs. This seems to cut across all services and ranks and I have wondered why anyone facing – or experiencing – unemployment would be hesitant to pursue certain types of jobs. One person who works with veterans noted that he has no shortage of businesses wanting to fill their openings with veterans, but many veterans won’t consider them. He senses that they don’t want to do them because they are not at the level of work they performed at in the military. He mentioned a national snack distributor who simply wanted someone to drive a truck and re-stock grocery shelves – a job he cannot generate interest in. He didn’t have a reason why; he just knew it was a job that wouldn’t go to a veteran because a veteran wasn’t interested in doing it.
Someone forwarded me an article that may shed a little light on that trend. According to a Review of Military Compensation (RMC) by CNA Analysis, compared to their civilian counterparts, military officers and enlisted personnel have enjoyed growing compensation, while private sector compensation has remained relatively flat. The article stated:
“We estimated average RMC for enlisted personnel in 2009 at $50,747 and for officers at $94,735. These amounts corresponded to about the 90th percentile of wages for enlisted equivalent civilians and to about the 83rd percentile of wages for officer equivalent civilian wages. RMC has trended up over the last decade, both in real value and in terms of the corresponding percentile of civilian wages. Conversely, we found that real wages have been flat or have even fallen for civilians at all education levels.”
After reading the story, I wondered if veterans are reluctant to take the decrease in salary that seems to be inevitable in the current job market. It’s certainly understandable that no one wants a pay cut, but is it practical?
Conventional wisdom holds that if someone offers you a job, you should take it. However, there are some situations when enough red flags go up to make you think twice. These include:
– You get asked strange questions in the interview process (how do you feel about cursing? how do you work with micromanagers?) which can indicate daily working conditions that may be difficult to cope with.
– You cannot get a straight answer about the position’s responsibilities – this can indicate that there is disagreement about what the job requires or that there has been no real thought given to the position, which can put the best of employees in a no win situation.
– High turnover in the position can indicate that something is not right – either with the manager or the position itself – and that you could be yet another placeholder.
– Corporate culture is important. Often you can tell just by walking in the door how the atmosphere in a business is. If people are smiling and helpful, it can indicate that it’s a place people enjoy coming to work. It is easy to sense dissatisfaction in a work environment – it can range from not being acknowledged, to airing the company’s “dirty laundry,” or a disinterested interviewer. Work environment is important and it must be one that you are comfortable in.
– Your gut instinct tells you that it is not the right job or the right place. There is no “logic” behind this, other than sometimes your gut knows best.
These are all good reasons to pass on a job. But what about if you feel the job simply isn’t “good enough” for you? Do you pass on an opportunity that is not what you envisioned for your future or is less money or stature than what you are used to doing? There is no correct answer for that and it is really something that is dictated by personal circumstances. Each of us has personal responsibilities to meet, and sometimes, holding out for the “dream job” isn’t practical, particularly if you have bills piling up or other people depending on your income.
People will sometimes rationalize the choice to not take or – even apply for – a job that is not in their field of interest by saying it doesn’t meet their employment goals, that it’s not worth their while, or that it may actually hurt their resume. Those can be sound reasons for not taking a job; however, if unemployment is becoming a chronic condition, there is a point where prospective employers are going to wonder what you’ve done with your time. A large gap in employment can be just as damaging as doing a job of lower stature or pay.
It’s important to look at your situation honestly. Are you passing on a potential opportunity for practical reasons, or is there more to it than that? It may be that the job working as an office assistant or driving a truck is not really the ideal job, but it has potential benefits, including income, the chance to do well at something (and cultivate a reference for future use), and something constructive to do with your time. If it turns out that there are good, legitimate reasons for not pursuing opportunities, then consider volunteering with an organization that has a mission you support. It will help you fill a gap on your resume and it will help someone out who could use a hand. And who knows – you may learn something new and valuable to your career in the process!
Louisiana Armed Forces Foundation
Sources:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/03/us-markets-stocks-idUSTRE80T0J120120203
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-2401-Job-Search-5-signs-you-shouldnt-accept-this-job-offer/
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