I have applied online during the weekend to some of these job postings and received an email with responses similar to this; “Upon reviewing your application, we regret to inform you that we have other candidates that more closely match.” Really? Did anyone actually look at my information? You know that resume that you either worked on for a long time yourself or paid someone to make for you. Well most of the time you can’t even get it into the system. No, you have to spend hours typing everything in.

I know the economy is bad. Must people are aware of this. But I as well as others are stressed out to the max. I have a family to provide for. Unless you are personally experiencing it yourself, you can not truly understand the feelings that one goes through. To worry about being able to take care of your children is the scariest feeling I have ever faced. You’re desperate for work. You know you need to do something. You are also smart enough to know that you could very well ruin your family and yourself for many years taking the low paying, no real benefits job.

Now to those out there that will say I’m spoiled, I’m selfish, I should be thankful for any job and just roll up my sleeves and deal with it I have a response. The reality to this side of the fence is; I have rolled up my sleeves, busted my butt, sacrificed, worked for low pay and built myself up. Along the way, I got married, have children, a house, cars. As your income grows, so do your expenses. When you go from say $30k/yrly to $50k/yrly, you are able to live in a slightly better area for your children. This in return provides more safety, less crime, better neighbors. You’re able to actually able to buy your children something nice once in awhile. You save a little because you know child expenses are always in-front of you. Then boom! It all falls apart. If you have never moved up the economic scale, then you may not understand. If you have and now experience the loss on not just you but your loved ones, it’s depressing.

Another option is that sometimes job seekers can take a lower paying job and work in way that makes them hard to replace. Going beyond the job description can make an employee too valuable to let go and when that employee starts looking at the competition in order to grow, the company has to re-evaluate their own road to success. Good companies want good employees. It is how they survive and flourish. Bad companies with poor ethics do not attract loyalty and quality – two essential ingredients for long lasting success.

It pains me that companies will exploit their employees tossing them aside like replaceable shoes. Realize that many times the company has been hard hit as well being forced to downsize in order to exist. With this understanding, if it is true that is – going into the job market with a business partner’s attitude and making the company’s goals your goals can be very attractive to a hiring manager.

All in all it is indeed an employers’ job market right now. The competition is much tighter and learning to sell our value is absolutely crucial in this crazy economy.