Looking for work
18 June 2024
I occasionally hear stories about people unable to find a job, even in today’s hot U.S. job market with the lowest unemployment rates in the past 50 years (see above chart).
I hope that these thoughts are useful. They are based on my experience as a pathologist and attorney over the past 40 years. I changed some facts to preserve privacy:
I worked for a small group filling in for a pathologist on vacation. Another pathologist pulled me aside (I don’t remember why), and said: “You have to make yourself valuable to the people here. They are only hiring you to make their life easier. If you are not doing that you won’t be invited back.”
My pathology website posts ads for pathologist vacancies. One pathologist asked me to remove an ad from an institution that terminated him after a few days for “no good reason”. I asked him what happened. “All I did was tell them that the quality of the slides was not up to my standards.” Most CEOs agree that a new employee should not criticize working conditions the first week or even the first month (unless they are unsafe); they should not complain about the wages they agreed to or make fun of other employees on social media (all of this happened).
One pathologist asked me for help looking for a job. I could not find any reason why nobody wanted him. But he worked for a prominent pathologist whose recommendation should have landed him many jobs. Obviously (to me), he was not being recommended. Why not? I am not sure he ever asked. It may be difficult, but it helps to ask your boss what shortcomings you have so you can try to fix them. Of course, you have to try to fix them.
We test prospective employees to ensure they can do the work. One prospect disagreed with every test question and answer and insisted he knew better. Most employers will not like this.
Finally, when I was practicing law, a friend approached me at a party to help her boyfriend find a law job. After talking to him for a few minutes, I gave her the bad news - she wanted him to get a job but he did not want a job. His requirements for work were simply unattainable in any realistic universe!
If you cannot find a job in this market, despite many attempts, and truly want one, you should consider talking to a counselor or someone else to get feedback about why employers may not want to hire you. If you think you know everything and are never wrong, that’s another issue!
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