Feature Article: Surviving and Moving Beyond Low-Wage Jobs:
Solutions for an Invisible Workforce in America
Special Feature: Low-Wage Worker Do's and Don'ts
Quintessential Site: Featured Career Web Site of this Issue
Quintessential Reading: QuintZine's Review of Career Books
The Career Doctor: Answering Your Questions
Q TIPS: Quick and Quintessential Tips to Guide Your Job Search
Notes from the Publisher: About this Issue...
In the eight years since I launched Quintessential Careers, including the last four
years as publisher of QuintZine, my focus has always been on developing
resources -- articles, tutorials, tests and quizzes -- that empower our visitors.
My vision has always been to have our site seen as a repository
of amazingly useful tools for college students and job-seekers --
and for the counselors and career professionals who help guide them.
But over the last several months, I realized we had ignored -- as much
of society seems to do -- a very large part of the job market. I am
talking about the 30 million or so folks -- about a quarter of the entire
U.S. workforce -- who labor in low-wage jobs.
And so with this issue of QuintZine, we change that. We have added
an entirely new section for low-wage job-seekers that includes our
new feature article, facts and statistics, links to other related
Websites, and listings of books and publications on the subject.
My journey into the horrible fate of low-wage job-seekers began when
my university, Stetson University, sponsored a reading of Barbara
Ehrenreich's best-selling book Nickel and Dimed. I have since read
several other books on the subject, and in this issue of QuintZine
you'll find my review of another powerful book on the subject:
Beth Shulman's The Betrayal of Work.
I am proud of all our accomplishments at Quintessential Careers,
and of my partner, Kathy Hansen's wonderful stewardship of
QuintZine. But mostly I am proud of the stories we receive
from job-seekers who have taken our advice and moved forward
in their careers. Please continue helping us spread the word
of our site.
Finally, with the recent addition of our job-hunting portal, I feel we
now offer job-seekers all the services you need -- from the career
advice to the job listings and resume postings, with everything
you need in between -- and the vast majority of it is free or at a
very low cost. So, if you are looking for a way out of a low-wage
job or just looking to switch jobs or change careers, why not
search our job portal
May you continue to be empowered to make the most of your
career...
--Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D., founder, Quintessential Careers, publisher, QuintZine
at randall@quintcareers.com
Feature Article: The Invisible Workforce
Surviving and Moving Beyond Low-Wage Jobs: Solutions for an Invisible Workforce in America
by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.
There's been quite a bit of buzz lately about the number of white-collar jobs leaving the U.S. over the next
decade. Forrester Research predicts as many as 3.3 million U.S. jobs that now pay combined wages of $136 billion
will transfer offshore by 2014. Everything from call-enter work to software development to accounting is shifting
to lower-wage centers in India, China, the Philippines, Brazil, and South Africa.
But what about the 30 million workers here in the U.S. stuck in dead-end, low-paying jobs?
How can almost a quarter of the U.S. workforce be invisible? Call them low-wage workers employed in
low-paying, minimal or no-benefit jobs.
Call them exploited or the working poor. Call them living (barely)
from paycheck to paycheck with no job security. Call them under-educated, under-trained, and under-respected. Call
them job-seekers stuck in dead-end jobs. But, whatever you do, do not call them low-skilled or lazy.
According to numerous sources, approximately 30 million workers between the ages of 18 and 64 earn less than $9
an hour in their jobs -- a full-time annual income of $18,800, assuming a full-time (40-hour week), 52-week
work schedule -- the income that marks the federal poverty line for a family of four. These are folks making somewhere
around the minimum wage ($5.15 an hour for nontipped workers, and $2.13 an hour for tipped workers).
The Betrayal of Work is one of the best books in a growing field that
examines the plight of one-quarter of the U.S. workforce -- some 30 million workers --
who are stuck in low-wage, low-benefit jobs. These jobs are described as low-skill jobs,
but as Shulman aptly points out, all these jobs require skills, whether the job is as a
retail clerk or a hotel maid. This book is about the workers who earn less than the
federal poverty level, currently about $9 an hour for a family of four.
This book is a comprehensive collection -- an amazing literature review -- of all the
studies on the working poor. Her footnotes alone cover 55 pages! But The Betrayal of Work
is far from dry, scholarly reading. It’s provocative and just a bit chilling, a myth-busting
examination of how we allow employers to treat these under-educated, under-skilled,
and under-valued members of the workforce. If you were to only read one book on this
subject, The Betrayal of Work should be the one.
Working Poor Picnic was named to underscore a bitter irony, and to reclaim a holiday (Labor Day)
that has lost all meaning in recent years, according to the site.
The site is currently mounting four ambitious projects designed to unite and
promote organizations for maximum impact on shared issues of the working poor.
One project is a mobile resource center that plans to visit dozens of cities each year.
This expo-on-wheels will connect people with local jobs and services, and keep the focus
on working-poor issues during the 2004 campaign season.
At these day-long events, visitors will find a wide range of tools to improve their standard
of living, individually and collectively, such as:
Political-action opportunities
Union and labor-action opportunities
Job recruiters offering a living wage
Career counselors
Free Local Resource Guides, prepared for each host city
Free or low-cost medical clinics
Public transportation
Vo-tech schools, community colleges, GED courses
Tax preparers, money managers (debt relief)
Daycare providers and "care sharing" cooperatives
Included on the site are links to sites that enable the working poor to engage in activism in efforts to
improve their situation.
Kellie writes: "In your opinion, in what ways are low education related to low-paying jobs? If someone is stuck in a
low-paying job with no benefits and little chance of promotion what can she do?"
Kristin writes: "After teaching in public schools full-time for five years, I have completed my MBA
and am ready to change fields. Unfortunately, I am finding that the business world does not value former
teachers. It seems that the fact that I have received an MBA doesn't really catch employers' eyes since I do
not have any work experience in business. Do you have any suggestions as to what types of companies I should
target when searching for a job or how I might word my cover letter and resume to better attract the attention
of potential employers?"
Nicole writes: "I am 21, and I am going to enter the workforce in about a year. I am completely stressing out
about my future as well as my major. I received my AA in communication studies. Communications is what
I intended to major in for my bachelor's, but instead chose sociology. The reason I am so concerned is
that many people have told me that there is virtually nothing you can do with a degree in sociology. I am not
sure yet what I would like to do, but my interests sway toward marketing, advertising, or public relations.
My question for you is if it is possible for me to still have the opportunity to get into these fields with a sociology
degree? I plan on interning at a public relations firm this year."
Edward writes: "I applied to three MBA programs, Thunderbird, University of Rochester, and Columbia University. Although
Columbia is my first choice, I am not quite sure whether I should go to Thunderbird or Rochester if I get a negative
answer from Columbia. How do I know which of these programs is the best for me?"
Have you read the Quint Careers Weblog (Blog)?
It consists of career and job-search news, trends,
and scoops for job-seekers, compiled by the staff
of Quintessential Careers.
The blog is a great way to stay posted on the most
recent events occurring in the career and employment fields.
Q TIPS: Quick and Quintessential Career & Job Tips
Are you ready for stealth hiring, dry hiring, and deep hiring? With the employment scene picking up, experts are
seeing these trends:
"Stealth hiring" is defined as recruiting quietly so your competitors won't know you're building your talent strength.
Employers watch what their competitors do in the employment market, since it is a good indicator of how they see the market
and how they position themselves for growth.
"Dry hiring" is taking a candidate through all the steps of the recruitment and selection process, but not actually completing
the hire. It is a technique used to identify desirable and available talent to build bench strength.
"Deep hiring," occurs when employers fill jobs that have been closed for a long time. Now those positions are
being opened and filled, with the staffing process often going deep into the organizational
chart to bring in people to do jobs that had been left vacant during the economic slowdown. Some of these
people are new hires; some are employees returning from layoff. Sometimes, employees
are promoted into these positions, and the resulting vacancy is then filled.
From "Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman
and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists, copyright 2004.
(800) 227-3566 or The Herman Group.
Increasingly employers are conducting credit checks on prospective
employees. But a recent survey by the University of Florida found
that there was no direct link between a person's credit history and
his or her ability to get the job done.
Read about the study.
Are you an employer who would like to help in the career development of others? OfficeTeam, a staffing
service specializing in highly skilled administrative professionals, suggests serving as a career resource.
"Finding a job isn't a solitary process; candidates rely on a number of personal and professional contacts to assist
them throughout the search," said Liz Hughes, OfficeTeam's executive director. "People who receive help during this
critical time are likely to remember it, and offer the same type of guidance for others moving forward."
Hughes notes that you don't need to be in a position to hire people to be of assistance. She offers these suggestions:
Give an informational interview. Offer to spend 15 minutes talking with a job-seeker about your career or industry. You
can provide valuable insight from your professional experience that could point the candidate in a new direction.
Be a second set of eyes and ears. Volunteer to proofread someone's application materials and role-play interview scenarios
to help him or her make the best impression.
Return to your alma mater. Many college career centers are stretched thin, trying to provide guidance to both current
students and recent graduates looking for work in a competitive job market. Offer to participate in a career day or mentor someone
in his or her job search.
Serve as a reference. The reference check is often the last step in securing a position and it's also one of the most critical.
If you have direct knowledge of a job-seeker's skills, experience and work ethic, offer to be a reference.
Call your local professional association. National business organizations often have local chapters that may need resources
to assist unemployed members. Contact the local chapter and get involved.
Keep in touch. Looking for a new position at times can be an isolating, discouraging experience. Call or e-mail the job-seekers
you know to check in, offer your encouragement or invite them to lunch.
Hughes added that people who assist job seekers help themselves in the process. "By reaching
out to others, you expand your own network and build communication and mentoring skills, which are
critical to your own professional development."
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Find programs from all the best schools in the country
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If your school, organization, business or other
entity has a Web site, we welcome you to link to Quintessential Careers.
If you already have a link from your site, we want you to know we
appreciate it. If you don't have a link to us, please
send a request to your site's Webmaster to establish a
link to Quintessential Careers. Thanks so much!
For more details (including sample HTML copy), see our
Link to Us page.
Ad: Electronic Versions of Documents Included Free
Electronic versions now included with all resume and cover
letter products at Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters at
no extra cost!
An electronic version of your resume for sending via e-mail and posting to Internet job boards
is an absolute must these days because 80 percent of resumes are now placed directly into keyword-searchable databases.
Read more here.
That's why electronic versions are now included at NO EXTRA COST with all our resume and cover letter
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WATCH FOR feature articles on these topics in upcoming
issues of QuintZine:
* Dining etiquette
* Career Focus Quiz
* Pre-Employment Testing
* 10 Things for High-School Students to Remember
* First in a Series Tracking College Plans of a High School Student
* Importance of Junior Year of High School
* How to Make a Temp Job Permanent
* Temping Your Way to Career Change
* Mastering Second (and Subsequent) Interviews
* Interview Damage Control
* 10 Interview Mistakes
* Exude Confidence in Interviews
* Job Satisfaction Quiz
* Job-search Time-Management Skills
* Reinvent Your Career at Midlife
* Working Beyond Retirement
* Workaholic Quiz
* Building Your Brand
* Pros and Cons of Nontraditional Careers
* Nontraditional Career Paths for Men and Women
* Make Your College Application Shine
* Changing Landscape of College Admissions
* College Admissions Annual Report/Panel Discussion
* Internet Jobhunting Annual Report
* Top 5 Networking Strategies
* Quintessential Career Profiles of YOU, our readers
* Q&As with well-known career experts
* Book reviews
. . . and much, much more!
Don't ever want to miss another issue of QuintZine? Get a free subscription to
the email version of QuintZine by completing our
subscription form.
Quintessential Careers Announces Career Coaching
We now offer two types of career-coaching services!
Are you...
feeling stuck in an unsatisfying job?
facing a major change in career or job status?
searching for your ideal career or job?
seeking help in developing a job-search plan?
looking for a solution to job-search obstacles?
desiring to bounce ideas off of a career expert?
trying to discover the keys to career success?
Let Dr. Randall S. Hansen, The Career Doctor, help you work through all your college, career, and job-search concerns,
issues, and problems. He has helped hundreds of teens, college students, and experienced job-seekers identify obstacles, develop
action plans, and achieve success -- and he can help you!
And for an economical online-only career-coaching alternative,
visit The Career Clinic.
Quintessential Careers Advertisements
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Quintessential Careers also offers writing services
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Need a speaker for your career-oriented conference or
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Are you ready for stealth hiring, dry hiring, and deep hiring? With the employment scene picking up, experts are
seeing these trends:
