Many of Today’s Job Seekers are Stuck in Contractor Hell
Far too many baby boomers in the job market have encountered age bias (aka, age discrimination), but discrimination comes in many forms including racial, religious, and gender-based discrimination, to name a few. In today’s job market, many are experiencing a new form of discrimination tied to short-term, work assignments that appear to self-perpetuate.
This “terminal” contract work cycle has become a common theme and is so frustrating to job seekers and the cause of despair for many. Yes, it’s valuable, and what is more maddening is that from 2019-ish to 2013-ish, this was the norm and moreover, being a Jack or Jill of many trades was in vogue. Now the trend seems to be towards those who specialize in a function or industry sector. Many predict a recession towards the end of next year, and the cycle likely will repeat and those with many interests and skills will likely be back in style.
What I believe is inherent in a large percentage of today’s emerging workforce (especially Gen X, Y, Z and to a seemingly lower percentage of Millennials), is that many witnessed a workforce that went job-to-job to pay the bills/feed their families, and when the economy came back around, landed in roles providing higher pay, more gratifying work, and higher-level work than they would have had if the economy had not taken the severe downturn that it did in 2008. Bottom line: Today’s workforce tends to be more fearless/takes more risks and moves on to more stimulating (or “sexy”) work more quickly than baby boomers (like me).
I find it ironic that some of the same generation are in hiring capacities and have a different standard for those (like them), who purposefully or in some instances, may have desperately” taken on short-term roles (aka, ended up with short work tenure). My hope is that this is the exception and not the rule in terms of the emerging workforce vs. baby boomers.
As a baby boomer, I have spoken to many other baby boomer hiring managers and recruiters, and the majority tend to view candidates with “baby boomer eyes.” This is neither fair, nor prudent, as younger generations bring so much to the table and both “factions” can learn a lot from each other. This represents a paradigm shift for all, but many decisions today are made by baby boomers with a different barometer who view/evaluate this mixed workforce with one set of standards. We are not all that way, but I’m wondering whether targeting companies (1) with baby boomers who understand the true value of today’s emerging workforce, (2) targeting companies with cultures that have a reputation of embracing differences and “cohabitating” successfully, and (3) targeting companies run by emerging workforces may yield quicker landings for folks who have work histories with patterns of short tenure.
By the way, I also recognize that a very large percentage of candidates requiring visa sponsorships are left with few options other than starting out in roles that are short term. This is another issue that is tremendously frustrating. In these cases, the very employers who will only hire short term and value the work performed will not in many instances, absorb the risk and associated costs (in some cases) of hiring the very same individuals longer term.
I suppose this is as close as I’ve come to a rant, which I typically don’t do. My “MO” is to espouse optimism, but I truly empathize with the job seekers experiencing hiring bias due to short tenure.
