One of my favorite songs of all times is from The Offspring's 1998 album "Americana" called "Why Don't You Get A Job?" Why? Well, honestly, for me, it's all about the music. However, one line always stands out. Obviously, it is its title's namesake, "na, na, why don't you get a job?" The premise of the song is to basically tell your boyfriend or girlfriend who is constantly taking money from you to back off, and, well, get a job. The line stood out to me so much that I decided to do a little investigating.
WHY don't we get jobs?
I'm a sophomore in college and until now, I have never had job. Part of the reason was because of my high school schedule, I wouldn't have had time to get a job, plus bowl, plus do choir, and get all of my homework done, especially senior year when I was taking college classes. In college, my reasoning, again, was between school work and bowling.
Once I had decided to transfer to a smaller university, one that would allow me to have more days off from school, I decided that I would try to get a job.
This past summer, I applied to over 40 jobs, and within the last week I have applied for 8 more on top of that. Out of about 50 jobs I applied to, I've only interviewed for two. TWO. I also had one company flat out tell me that they weren't going to move forward to the interview with me (which was a relief, because at least I wasn't waiting for a response for three weeks after the initial interview). It wasn't as though I wasn't qualified for any of these jobs; no, I only applied for jobs where the requirement was that I had graduated from high school.
So why wasn't I landing more interviews than what I had? Why am I, along with so many other college students, not getting jobs? Well, I can narrow it down to about 5 possible reasons:
1. There are simply not enough jobs.
I don't think this is true, not because of the economy we live in, but because there is this attitude that we shouldn't have to work jobs that aren't in a certain, business-like environment.It kind of goes toward the notion that we're entitled or privileged, but I don't even this THAT is true. So, that can't be it.
Plus, the number of jobs created grows more and more each month. In fact, according to CNBC (posted August 5, 2016), the US created 255,000 jobs in July 2016, up from the 180,000 jobs that were expected to be created. So, the jobs are there.
2. The jobs that teenagers and college students typically take are being given to older folks.
This one gets a little warmer.It's true that there are more and more senior citizens taking up jobs like fast food, Walmart, Goodwill, etc. However, though, according to Pew Research, who conducted a study in 2015, Millennials have surpassed the Gen X and Baby Boomers as the largest sectors of the job market. So, that can't be right.
3. There is a lack of communication between employer and potential employees.
(Blog.artistsmarketonline.com)
Now, THIS is something that could happen, because, well, it has. From a job-hunter's perspective, when an employer doesn't tell an applicant if they're being moved on to the next step, it can get frustrating. Applicants should also follow up with employers (which sounds easier said than done).
4. We don't meet the qualifications of many jobs.
THIS is a thing that happens. A lot of times, employers want applicants to have certain qualifications, like work experience. This can be good fr the hiring manager, but not so good for students who are trying to gain work experience.
5. A combination of all of the above.
All of these reasons are probably why we aren't getting jobs. We aren't being taught all of the steps to ensuring that we land the job we want, even if it is fast food or waitressing, laundry aides or CNA's. We have to work hard in order to land the job we want. If we really want those jobs, we'll do whatever we can to get them.
man running in forestPhoto by 
