Burson-Marsteller

Coffee is for Closers

by Eduard Itkin on 9th February 2009 • The Cast Blog, Videos

Yesterday there was another article in USA Today about the weakening job market in the United States. Seeing that graduation is just on the horizon, this makes someone in my position nervous. Both for my future job security, and because I run the risk of hearing from my mother that this wouldn’t affect me had I gone to medical school.

With people being laid off and companies left and right implementing hiring freezes, it sparks the question of who makes up the real competition in the workforce. Upon graduation, it is assumed that you will be up against those in your graduating class, or even those with similar specialties in other locations. What changes in today’s market for employees is the high presence of the Shelley Levines. To those of you who have yet to enjoy the masterpiece that is Glengarry Glen Ross, Shelley Levines represent those people who have years of experience and are not in high competition with the Ricky Romas, a character who represents the spunky college grads.

Shelley Levines are the type who, in a good economy, have high job security and usually stay at their company for many years. However with jobs being cut everyday these experienced workers have to re-enter the job market and compete against graduates. I have spoken to hiring managers who have argued both groups have an edge on the other. The college grads are beneficial to companies because they require much lower salaries than their experienced counterparts, and have the potential to invest more years into a company. However those with experience are now in a place where they can no longer demand the salaries they were once given, so the experience per dollar ratio is at a better level for the employer.

For a soon-to-be college grad the question of which group is at an advantage remains unanswered, but the fact that the pool of employees is going to be approximately 2% bigger than usual is an intimidating thought.

Rick Moranis recently wrote an article in the International Herald Tribune where he provides a great satire of our current economic crisis. He seems to look down on those with financial backgrounds or business degrees, and implies that those with real skills, the ability to “build, fix, weld, paint, plumb, wire, polish, lift, mold, sew, knit, cook, cobble, darn and/or knead” will be fine in this bleak economy. It’s an interesting point. I have members of my family who are mechanics and those who work on Wall Street, and today it is the mechanics that still have their jobs. It definitely makes one think about what direction demand will shift in the workforce, and how one can be versatile enough to follow that demand.

While job prospects are scarce, the only things that there are a plethora of are opinions and advice. Students are being attacked on all sides by advisors and journalists with recommendations on their next step: continue your education, learn a trade, change majors, etc. At this point it seems that the best place to make a future is Vegas, at least it has better odds than the economy.

Maybe this video shows us where the job market is really going, and eventually the competitive advantage will be about being faster than the next person.

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