Employers be ware: the perils of hiring a free workforce

The affect of the current economic downturn is far greater on the Bay Area job market than the downturn of the "dot.com bust" era in the early 2000s. Living through the downturn of the "bust," I can remember being fairly optimistic that a job would pop up and I did some consultant work to make ends meet and to give my idle brain something to chew on. However, based on this news story on these Job Nob gatherings/happy hours, it seems high tech employees are now willing to "consult" for free in hopes of securing a full time job when funding comes around. Yikes...



I remember consulting at Excite.com in 1996 as a way to get my foot in the door...which lead to me eventually landing a full time job. Now it seems the new trend is to no longer consult, but to intern. Hmmm...if people with 10+ years experience are taking the internship type jobs...where does that leave our college interns? Now of course a 10+ years of experience intern will do the job of a well experienced professional, but this trend is adding a skills hierarchy to a now free talent pool.

I see this trend creating a precarious path for struggling, funded and established companies. Yes, the job market is extremely tight now and is so tight that a willingness for skilled professionals to work for free is now a competitive advantage. From a worker's perspective, it sure beats watching Regis and Kelly in the morning and shopping at "Social Safeway" in the Marina looking for the value card specials on a Monday afternoon.

When the economy changes, however, worker's desire will quickly disappear as they seek revenue generating opportunities to pay the bills. Companies who get funding or have a growth in revenue will hire the knowledge base away from the other less funded organizations. Maybe this is a competitive strategy to learn what the under-paid competition is doing?

Companies who are hiring a "free" workforce really need to think through this process carefully. This trend may seem great now...but remember, you get what you pay for. An uncompensated worker is patient for only so long and money talks...especially in the Bay Area. When the free employee leaves, he/she takes a knowledge base to the next job...and knowledge is a competitive advantage. Executive staff may consider re-balancing strategic initiatives and work flows to match current bandwidth...and consider building the team when revenue's grow like most companies do in a soft market.

As for the idle worker...well that's a tough one. I've been using my time to build my marketing "tool kit" to become a stronger marketer and leader. I've been reading books and visiting AMA type blogs. When my butt gets soar from sitting too long and I've listened to all my iTunes music, I've been going for some great runs on the Los Gatos trail in the afternoon. Cool.

Comments welcome.

Apply for the job even if it's not posted

I have heard from several career search resources to create a target list of companies that I'd "dream" of working for. After I created my list, I clicked on the "Jobs" link of each company's website...to unfortunately not find any marketing positions posted.

I am fortunate to know a few people at one of my "target" companies. I took the initiative and sent a cover letter and resume to touch base with my friends, inform them of what type of position I'm looking for...and to "fish" if my contacts may know of positions that are not posted or may become available soon.

Bingo...this strategy paid off.

My contact was quick to respond with a note informing me of a marketing position that is an internal posting and has not been made public. He advised me to quickly submit my resume to the hiring manager with a cover letter referencing my internal contact. This worked like a charm...within a few days I got a call from the HR team asking for my availability to come in for interviews.

The big lesson here is to understand that companies are always looking for good people. Take that chance and submit the resume and cover letter to the dream companies for one never knows what may be in the works behind the "vail" of the job boards.

Do your homework

This past weekend I was preparing for a job interview at a photo sharing, publishing and storage e-commerce company. I am excited about this opportunity for I've been a user for a few years now and understand the business and products. Deepening my knowledge, I spent time online searching for the latest news,financial reports and blog chatter about the service. I did this to not only deepen my knowledge, but to help develop and refine my thinking for strategic insights and business development recommendations to share during the interview. Given the competitive job market, it's more important than ever to bring to an interview thoughts on what can be done to build a business as opposed to just having deep knowledge of the present business. This may seem like a "well, duh" insight, but according to comments made in the "Where the Jobs Are: Special Report" on CNBC, this may not be a focus for many interview candidates.
So how does one do this? Do your homework! Get to know the industry the company plays in and most importantly, understand the forward looking trends. I ran several Google searches on industry related topics (opposed to company)such as "digital photgraphy," "photo printing" and "self publishing" to gain insights on where the industry is heading on a macro level. I also read through a few tech and photo blogs to understand the latest industry and consumer thinking about the industry and the company. Lastly, I took note of how I use the product, how I take pictures and share, what devices I use to take pictures with. There is no better way to gain insight than to USE THE PRODUCT.

Note that this process will take time. Don't start the night before the interview...an interview is like a mid-term and final exam, but the grade has a financial impact on you. Once you've digested the data, the trends, etc. brainstorm with your friends, spouses, significant others, etc. I found conversations with others about the product insightful. For example, I learned that many of us share the same frustration that there is no easy way to bulk upload and share all the pictures on our Smart Phones. I also learned that many people are using their Smart Phones to take pictures...and find themselves using their digital cameras less. I took these insights, gathered data on Google and formulated a recommendation to share during my interview. Cool.

I learned that I am one of 3 other candidates for this position. I know I've done my part in positioning myself as a valuable player for this organization. Now it's up to the company to decide who is the best "fit" for the job. That is completely out of my hands.

Turn off the pessimistic news...it's not that bad out there!

A week or so ago CNBC aired a special report called "Where the Jobs Are: Special Report" hosted by Erin Burnett and Carl Quintanilla. I was unable to watch the program, but was able to find the content online. I think the site is worth a review...and we all may want to find future airings and get it on the TiVo. I will focus my next several blogs on offering my point of view on this content from the perspective of a e-commerce/Internet marketing in the Silicon Valley.

I understand the fear of being unemployed that grips people. Not being employed and having an income is scary, but I think the pessimism within the market and country is exacerbating the problem. The CNBC report mentions that nearly half of all Americans FEAR of becoming unemployed and 90% say now is a BAD TIME to find a quality job. This language may reflect the sentiments of Americans...but is the fear warranted or does it inhibit us from finding the solution?

The unemployment rate in some states is hovering around 10%...but that means 90% of the people are employed. If I remember my econ policy class correctly, the unemployment rate during the Depression was roughly 25%....and capacity set idle for several years. Unfortunately too many politicians are saying "the worst economic environment since the Depression." These repeated statements reinforce the fear. Based on these data points, it sounds like we are NO WHERE NEAR that state of the economy during the Depression.

Now I am an optimist and see the glass half full. Since I've started my job search in early February I have found opportunities to explore. I've spoken to recruiters who have all said "there are jobs out there...just be patient." I've had phone screens, interviews...and have been doing A LOT of networking. But the opportunities are out there. All of us on the hunt must leverage our networks, apply new tools available like Jobaphiles or TwitterJobSearch and continue to do our home work for where opportunities may exist. Unlike the Valley in the mid 1990s where the jobs found us, we now must find the jobs.

I suggest that we all turn off the news for a while and get busy searching.

This too shall pass.