{"id":12898,"date":"2013-01-14T11:38:35","date_gmt":"2013-01-14T16:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/?p=12898"},"modified":"2013-01-14T11:38:35","modified_gmt":"2013-01-14T16:38:35","slug":"are-job-seeker-open-threads-worth-reviving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2013\/01\/14\/are-job-seeker-open-threads-worth-reviving\/","title":{"rendered":"Are job-seeker open threads worth reviving?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/iframe>\n<\/p>I ran \u201cjob-seeker open threads\u201d regularly for several months as a quixotic, try-anything response to our ongoing jobs crisis.<\/p>\nMy thinking was that even the longest of long-shots was worth a try, so why not offer the comment section of this blog as a networking forum for those looking for work? There was a slim chance that someone might post, \u201cI\u2019m a research librarian looking for a job in Dubuque\u201d and someone might respond \u201cMy cousin is a head librarian in Dubuque and she\u2019s looking for help, here\u2019s her email.\u201d<\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/52\/2013\/01\/Help1.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-12899\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/52\/2013\/01\/Help1-300x202.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"202\"><\/a>You never know, it could happen.<\/p>\nBut then it didn\u2019t happen. And even though I\u2019d thought of this as like a no-cost lottery ticket \u2014 slim odds, but why not? \u2014 I eventually came to think that those open threads did<\/em> have a cost. Losing ticket after losing ticket contributes to the sense that you\u2019re losing, or maybe even that you\u2019re a loser. There\u2019s an emotional toll from every click, every resume sent into the void, every application for a less-than-ideal position, where even applying seems like a compromise, like settling, only to find that you\u2019re not allowed even to settle or to compromise.<\/p>\nSo I stopped posting these job-seeker open threads, because a fruitless, head-against-a-brick-wall job search is disheartening enough without periodic reminders from me.<\/p>\nBut the jobs crisis is still with us. People need work. The ratio of job-seekers to job openings has improved slightly, but it\u2019s still at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usnews.com\/news\/business\/articles\/2013\/01\/10\/us-job-openings-barely-grew-in-november\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">3.3 people for every open position<\/a>. And <a href=\"https:\/\/prospect.org\/article\/what-economy-needs-growth-washington-isnt-talking-about-it\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">the response from Washington is still to focus on budget deficits<\/a> \u2014 ignoring the fact that mass unemployment is a huge contributor to those deficits, and that job growth is the best and fastest way to end them.<\/p>\nSo let me ask: Are those job-seeker open threads worth reviving? Is the long-shot chance provided by one more venue for \u201cnetworking\u201d worth the deflating emotional cost of one more venue for disappointment?<\/p>\nLet me know what you think.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Are those job-seeker open threads worth reviving? Is the long-shot chance provided by one more venue for “networking” worth the deflating emotional cost of one more venue for disappointment?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":141,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[36],"class_list":["post-12898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-class-warfare","tag-work"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>Are job-seeker open threads worth reviving?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Are those job-seeker open threads worth reviving? Is the long-shot chance provided by one more venue for "networking" worth the deflating emotional cost of one more venue for disappointment?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2013\/01\/14\/are-job-seeker-open-threads-worth-reviving\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are job-seeker open threads worth reviving?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Are those job-seeker open threads worth reviving? Is the long-shot chance provided by one more venue for "networking" worth the deflating emotional cost of one more venue for disappointment?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2013\/01\/14\/are-job-seeker-open-threads-worth-reviving\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"slacktivist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-01-14T16:38:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/files\/2013\/01\/Help1-300x202.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Fred Clark\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Fred Clark\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2013\/01\/14\/are-job-seeker-open-threads-worth-reviving\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2013\/01\/14\/are-job-seeker-open-threads-worth-reviving\/\",\"name\":\"Are job-seeker open threads worth reviving?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-01-14T16:38:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-01-14T16:38:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/#\/schema\/person\/32666545e535b697afb93d9848dcfc47\"},\"description\":\"Are those job-seeker open threads worth reviving? 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A former managing editor of Prism magazine, Fred worked in the parachurch nonprofit world for a decade and then for a decade in the newspaper biz. He began blogging in 2002. In 2003 he began writing a review of the best-selling Left Behind series. Eight years later he still hasn\u2019t finished reviewing the second book of that series and the experience has left him a broken shell of a man. Fred knows the difference between the possessive \u201cits\u201d and the contraction \u201cit\u2019s,\u201d and he is acutely bothered when others mistakenly confuse the two, yet he himself just kind of instinctively types the apostrophe whether or not it belongs there. Some feel this is his greatest hypocrisy, but those who know him better know better. He\u2019s guilty of much greater hypocrisies. Jesus loves Fred far more than Fred loves Jesus, but he at least has the decency to recognize the unfairness of that lopsided relationship and he has long wished that he were better at maybe kind of sort of doing something more to correct that some day. A Baptist, an amateur, a Gen-Xer, a Gemini and a Mets fan, Fred lives in Southeastern Pennsylvania with his wife and two teenage daughters. You can reach him via email at slacktivist at hotmail dot com.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/author\/fredclark1\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Are job-seeker open threads worth reviving?","description":"Are those job-seeker open threads worth reviving? 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A former managing editor of Prism magazine, Fred worked in the parachurch nonprofit world for a decade and then for a decade in the newspaper biz. He began blogging in 2002. In 2003 he began writing a review of the best-selling Left Behind series. Eight years later he still hasn\u2019t finished reviewing the second book of that series and the experience has left him a broken shell of a man. Fred knows the difference between the possessive \u201cits\u201d and the contraction \u201cit\u2019s,\u201d and he is acutely bothered when others mistakenly confuse the two, yet he himself just kind of instinctively types the apostrophe whether or not it belongs there. Some feel this is his greatest hypocrisy, but those who know him better know better. He\u2019s guilty of much greater hypocrisies. Jesus loves Fred far more than Fred loves Jesus, but he at least has the decency to recognize the unfairness of that lopsided relationship and he has long wished that he were better at maybe kind of sort of doing something more to correct that some day. A Baptist, an amateur, a Gen-Xer, a Gemini and a Mets fan, Fred lives in Southeastern Pennsylvania with his wife and two teenage daughters. 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