While more and more New Yorkers are losing their jobs, a growing number of unemployed people are gathering during the day for networking, socializing, enjoyment and using WiFi at Starbucks.
But shouldn't these jobless folks be at home, slaving away on their laptops scanning the job boards and making phone calls, only to be told the company doesn't accept calls in regards to jobs? "Emails only, please."
Apparently not. New Yorkers are taking a more fresh and proactive approach to landing their next position. They are hunting in the concrete jungle.
Is it easier to find a job while you're out on the scene meeting potential connections and employers, rather than sitting solo in your apartment on CareerBuilder.com? According to this New York Magazine article, that's what most unemployed people are doing to find their next paycheck.
The unemployed are a quiet army taking over the city. We're everywhere. Making copies of resumes in Kinkos, at the movies at 3PM, running in central park on a week day, hanging out in book stores for hours. Many of my employed friends tell me their jealous of my life right now. They sit all day in an office while I make my own schedule and have unlimited vacation time. (I always reassure them that they are better off.)
When I'm out in the city during the day and see people not dressed for work, I wonder what their stories are. Laid off? Company closed? Quit? Fired? Student? Tourist?
If you listen closely, so many people around the city are talking about how they have lost their jobs. They are exchanging information, swapping contacts, giving each other tips. Everyone is their own PR person, their own head hunter, their own agent - pushing themselves on prospective networks back into the working world.
Are we the new hipsters? Traveling in packs and lounging in coffee houses instead of working. Or maybe the new socialites, partying every night and trying not to pay for anything.
Either way, I know I'm on the guest list.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment