The New America: Socializing The Workforce

As an American who due to piggy-back financial reversals which have occurred during this U.S. economic tsunami (and even really before due to progressive legislation that has occurred at both the federal and state levels in the past 10-20 years), has been attempting for literally months to re-enter the job market to put my life back together in later middle age, the changes which have occurred in even the job search process have been an eye opening experience for this boomer.

I had been a semi-retired single mom who had started a small business with my savings mostly from a lifetime of working in the legal profession, and then travel and hospitality fields. I have been involved in at least three "start-ups" of small or family owned businesses personally (in the corporate law field, my ex-spouses new professional practice, and my own website-based retail business) during my working career.

But even having worked in the employment and corporate law fields, and I guess especially so, I have been literally taken aback by the process that is now utilized by most of the major employers and industries in all sectors of commerce at this point.

It isn't a jungle out there anymore and you really aren't competing with the user at the computer station next to you for that open position.

It's a network.

Hour long (and longer) internet employment applications, follow-up questionnaires, disclosure forms for drug, credit and background checks, "big brother" affirmative action forms requesting information on race, ethnicity, veterans status - yada, yada, yada.

No matter what is represented, HAL from 2000: A Space Odyssey is doing the hiring, that much is clear.

From checking your credit scores, investigating your personal history for those background checks through unregulated Internet security firms for infractions and the like, to crunching your resume into "key words" for filtering before it ever even gets to a human being, HAL is at the helm.

And some of the questions!

Here are a few, for those who have not gone through the "New Age" application process:

1. What percentage of politicians do you think are dishonest? (multiple choice: retailer)
2. If you were offered a position by another company at a greater salary, would you accept? (multiple choice: retailer)
3. How often do you use the Internet? (Survey after application and questionnaire, voluntary but would be appreciated)
4. How many rings before answering do you feel are a demonstration of good customer service ( multiple choice: secretarial position)
5. Have you EVER pled guilty or even no contest to a misdemeanor or felony offense (not even been convicted anymore?) (All applications)
6. Have you ever had a bad day (multiple choice: all)

You most likely will never know why you weren't hired, but it just might be that traffic ticket from three or four years ago or unpaid parking fine. Or an identity theft that has messed with your credit score, or losing a home, being unemployed itself and thus late with your bills just might prevent you from being able to secure employment to even attempt to rectify that situation in any respect at all.

Forget work experience. Only the past ten years or so matter in this "science based" hiring process. Even for those fast food restaurant jobs, or seasonal work positions.

As one who was employed for many years in the employment law field, experiencing this first hand at this stage of my life has truly been mindblowing.

It just may not be that there aren't enough jobs out there at all for the available workforce.

Maybe, there just aren't enough HALs that match HALs formula.

Seems maybe our discrimination laws have missed the mark in 21st Century America and may need updating.