Finder's fee for a suitable job?

[ziggy29]

Is it wrong that I'm strongly considering this?

My wife has been looking for a job here for a few months -- not a ridiculously good job, just $20K with mediocre medical benefits would be fine -- and it seems like even what she's totally qualified for is getting NO response; no call back for an interview, let alone a job offer.

I'm getting desperate. I'm considering a local advertisement offering a $1000 finder's fee for the person who is first to provide a lead that leads to getting her a suitable job. At this point I'm at my wit's end and wondering what else to do. (I don't think we have any professional "headhunters" to work with here.)

It seems like other than that, if you're not kin to a business owner or a hiring manager, you have little chance in a small town for a halfway decent job. The only thing I can think of that might overcome that is a showing of the green.

Can someone talk me off the ledge? On one hand it seems like a terrible idea, one of desperation and worse. But on the other hand, nothing else seems to be working and maybe this could reveal the "hidden job market" that isn't ever advertised or posted.

 

[KB]

Have you tried putting an ad in the local paper or on Craigslist advertising that she's looking for whatever type of job she's looking for? I did find a job that way years ago. And it would cost less than paying a finders fee.

 

[ziggy29]

Have you tried putting an ad in the local paper or on Craigslist advertising that she's looking for whatever type of job she's looking for? I did find a job that way years ago. And it would cost less than paying a finders fee.

I thought about it, but Craigslist is pretty concentrated on the big city and its suburbs, and we're 70+ miles away from the city.

 

[KB]

Why not try it. People from your area probably ready Craigslist too. Besides, it's free. You can always go to the next step of putting an ad in a newspaper before trying to hire a headhunter type.

 

[ziggy29]

Why not try it. People from your area probably ready Craigslist too. Besides, it's free. You can always go to the next step of putting an ad in a newspaper before trying to hire a headhunter type.

The money given up is the least of my concerns. I'd rather give it up today and know she has a job starting next week than wait an indeterminate amount of time praying no pink slip comes my way which ruins us. To me that is cheap peace of mind relative to what could happen down the road.

I just worry about the tackiness factor that could work to our disadvantage. It's not the money that worries me. I just feel like this might be the only way to reveal the "hidden job market" in a small town.

But yeah, I guess it wouldn't hurt to put something in. Commuting ~30 miles to adjacent towns is fine, but for that level of expected pay a 150 mile round trip every day is out of the question. Of course, we may have to move at some point if nothing comes up, and this would be a LOT cheaper than moving.

 

[unclemick]

Is it wrong that I'm strongly considering this?

My wife has been looking for a job here for a few months -- not a ridiculously good job, just $20K with mediocre medical benefits would be fine -- and it seems like even what she's totally qualified for is getting NO response; no call back for an interview, let alone a job offer.

I'm getting desperate. I'm considering a local advertisement offering a $1000 finder's fee for the person who is first to provide a lead that leads to getting her a suitable job. At this point I'm at my wit's end and wondering what else to do. (I don't think we have any professional "headhunters" to work with here.)

It seems like other than that, if you're not kin to a business owner or a hiring manager, you have little chance in a small town for a halfway decent job. The only thing I can think of that might overcome that is a showing of the green.

Can someone talk me off the ledge? On one hand it seems like a terrible idea, one of desperation and worse. But on the other hand, nothing else seems to be working and maybe this could reveal the "hidden job market" that isn't ever advertised or posted.

Didn't work too well for the Illinois Gov. - but the guy looks like he may get seated.

You are only kidding. Right?

heh heh heh -

 

[W2R]

My wife has been looking for a job here for a few months -- not a ridiculously good job, just $20K with mediocre medical benefits would be fine --

Now I could be totally wrong, because I am pretty far out of touch with the job market these days.... but with medical benefits skyrocketing in price and becoming so far out of sight for the average American, isn't it becoming less and less likely to find a low paying job in which medical benefits are included? Sure, I would imagine you can still find medical benefits in a job that pays $45K, but $20K? From what I understand, those that offer medical benefits for such low pay are so uncommon that we all know their names - - Starbucks, Home Depot, and so on.

I wonder if perhaps you may be sending her out on a nearly impossible quest. Jobs at that low pay rate with medical benefits probably ARE going to the boss's daughter in law, and so on. But then, what do I know? I haven't looked for a job for a long time.

I don't know about a finder's fee. I think that may be sending your wife the message that "although I can find a job, you are so inferior that nobody would hire you unless I pay them to do it". When in fact, it may not be her so much as the type of job she is searching for, that is at fault.

 

[dex]

Now I could be totally wrong, because I am pretty far out of touch with the job market these days.... but with medical benefits skyrocketing in price and becoming so far out of sight for the average American, isn't it becoming less and less likely to find a low paying job in which medical benefits are included? Sure, I would imagine you can still find medical benefits in a job that pays $45K, but $20K?

I'd have to agree with you on that .
$6.55 is minimum wage it would take about $10/hr to earn 20K/year - That is a tough wage area - a lot of competition for jobs - depending upon the part of the country.

 

[LOL!]

C'mon there are jobs, but there are also lots of people looking for jobs. Without posting her resume' I can't imagine that we can really help. Things like when was the last time she worked and what did she do would be helpful. She can probably work in a gas station or convenience store, a burger flipper, a busboy, retail clerk, grocery store clerk, etc to start with. Anyways, what are her qualifications that make it hard to find a job?

Of course, employers know when you don't really need a job and that you will quit after 2 weeks or less, so why would they want to hire you in that case?

 

[Martha]

It is tough getting back into the job market. I applied for a part time law job in an area I am interested in moving to. I am more than qualified as it is in my area of expertise. I didn't even get a call back. Odds are it is age or "over experience" discrimination.

How small is your town? Is she doing personal visits? Calling up business owners and talking to them not just about working for them but for anyone else?

 

[FinanceDude]

It is tough getting back into the job market. I applied for a part time law job in an area I am interested in moving to. I am more than qualified as it is in my area of expertise. I didn't even get a call back. Odds are it is age or "over experience" discrimination.

How small is your town? Is she doing personal visits? Calling up business owners and talking to them not just about working for them but for anyone else?

I'm convinced that age discrimination is alive and well in the USA.......

 

[CuppaJoe]

Um, an outsider in a small town? She might consider volunteer work until she is accepted. I've seen it happen very quickly in other contexts. For instance, a friend was a member of an art organization for many years, every year she submitted a painting to show, every year her painting was rejected until she started volunteering. In fact they showed a painting that had been turned down for a previous show. BTW, her volunteer work consisted of helping hang the pictures for the shows and doing some greeting.

It's a tough one, Ziggy.

 

[REWahoo]

I second Joe's suggestion she try volunteering as a way to get a foot in the door. Although it may take more time than you would like, it is an excellent way to get some doors to open and lead to job opportunities. I grew up in a small town and know it can be difficult if you move there and are an "outsider".

 

[ziggy29]

Actually, she has been pretty active in volunteer work in the community and surrounding areas for the last couple of years. (One of them led to what really left us feeling burned and hung out to dry last year.) She's chaired a couple of volunteer organizations and is the regional volunteer coordinator for a fund raising effort by the ACS.

The thing is, I still get the feeling even in this lousy economy there is a considerable "hidden" job market -- stuff that's never advertised, that people "inside" the business know, and they privately may tell friends and family that it's open. We need a way to crack that hidden market so we can know about the openings that may be coming up.

It might be part being overqualified (mostly looking for admin/clerical/retail supervisory work in a place where only about 15% of the population has a four-year degree), it may be a matter of being an "outsider" or not in the right families long-established in the community, it may be a matter of using "big city" search tactics in smaller towns (not just here, but communities within 30-35 miles of us in all directions).

And to address an earlier reply, in a small town like this one the entry-level "career" oriented jobs (full time with benefits) DO start in the $9-12 per hour range. Thus a $20-25K full-time, career-oriented job is not unusual here. In the cities there wouldn't be much like that, but out here where labor is "cheap," it's about typical. Many entry level full-time state and county jobs for people with degrees may not even pay $2000 a month.

 

[Moemg]

Ziggy , Has she considered local hospitals or medical buildings ? They have lots of clerical positions and they usually offer health benefits .

 

[Moemg]

It is tough getting back into the job market. I applied for a part time law job in an area I am interested in moving to. I am more than qualified as it is in my area of expertise. I didn't even get a call back. Odds are it is age or "over experience" discrimination.

Several years ago I applied for a position that I had eleven years experience in and it was a highly specialized field so not a lot of experienced people . I was also never called back . Age discrimination is alive & well .

 

[ls99]

When DW and I moved to the itty bitty town a few years ago, we knew that here there is a line of locals waiting for relatives to die in their jobs. Outsiders have a snowballs chance in hell for any sort of paying w*rk.
That is just the way it is, and has been for the last hundred or so years.
Volunteers though, are constantly sought after.

 

[FinanceDude]

Is it wrong that I'm strongly considering this?

My wife has been looking for a job here for a few months -- not a ridiculously good job, just $20K with mediocre medical benefits would be fine -- and it seems like even what she's totally qualified for is getting NO response; no call back for an interview, let alone a job offer.

I'm getting desperate. I'm considering a local advertisement offering a $1000 finder's fee for the person who is first to provide a lead that leads to getting her a suitable job. At this point I'm at my wit's end and wondering what else to do. (I don't think we have any professional "headhunters" to work with here.)

It seems like other than that, if you're not kin to a business owner or a hiring manager, you have little chance in a small town for a halfway decent job. The only thing I can think of that might overcome that is a showing of the green.

Can someone talk me off the ledge? On one hand it seems like a terrible idea, one of desperation and worse. But on the other hand, nothing else seems to be working and maybe this could reveal the "hidden job market" that isn't ever advertised or posted.

What is here experience and in what field. I am sure we could help you if we had some more info......

 

[freebird5825]

When DW and I moved to the itty bitty town a few years ago, we knew that here there is a line of locals waiting for relatives to die in their jobs. Outsiders have a snowballs chance in hell for any sort of paying w*rk.
That is just the way it is, and has been for the last hundred or so years.
Volunteers though, are constantly sought after.

Been there, done that...and can you believe I was turned down for volunteer work at a local senior center, unless I was willing to just answer phones. I wanted to be with people - reading, playing cards, writing a letter on my laptop for them if vision impaired, what not.
I wasn't that desperate to volunteer there.

 

[FUEGO]

Are you networking? Sounds like it, since she is volunteering everywhere.

If she is overqualified, then change her resume to make her look adequately qualified. Don't list college education. Make past experience seem less important than it really is. Do the opposite of embellishing the resume.

She needs to come off as someone who wants to work in that particular job and is willing to be devoted to it, and not quit in 6 months. They probably assume an older lady with good education and experience wouldn't stay long in a position that pays more in line with what a 20-something would expect.

If I was hiring someone for an entry level "pink collar" position at $20-25k a year, I'd be looking at a less experienced person that would probably be younger and more reliant on the job and the income instead of someone with much more experience and options available, that might quit at a moment's notice.

I wonder if they fear your wife may quit if you change jobs as well.

 

[ziggy29]

Are you networking? Sounds like it, since she is volunteering everywhere.

Yeah, quite a bit. In at least three or four places regularly.

But it feels like a double-edged sword to me, because I can't shake the feeling that if people like the volunteer work she does, they won't want to help her find a paying gig because they'd fear losing her as a volunteer...

 

[Bestwifeever]

I don't know where you live, but are there agencies, including temps? She could start doing that perhaps.

 

[youbet]

I'm considering a local advertisement offering a $1000 finder's fee for the person who is first to provide a lead that leads to getting her a suitable job.

I wouldn't do it, at least not in the manner you describe. In a small town, the advertisement will become common knowledge among prospective employers. She'll appear desperate. People with hiring responsibility for an employer who could not, due to company policy, accept the payment might feel negative about hiring her but not receiving the reward. People who could accept the fee, such as an owner doing his/her own hiring, might hire her for the wrong reason. It just seems like there are more negatives than positives, especially in a small town environment.

OTOH, if there is an employment agency in town, I wouldn't hesitate to pay them a commission for successfully placing her in a good position. My DW retired after 35 years in a position she paid a hefty commission to an employment agency to get. Seemed like a ripoff at the time. Turned out very well in the end. If I recall correctly, it was 10% of her first year's pay.

 

[Martha]

If I was hiring someone for an entry level "pink collar" position at $20-25k a year, I'd be looking at a less experienced person that would probably be younger and more reliant on the job and the income instead of someone with much more experience and options available, that might quit at a moment's notice.

Problem is that there is no evidence to back this up. Young people quit jobs too on a moments notice.

 

[CuppaJoe]

....

I wonder if they fear your wife may quit if you change jobs as well.

--

Exactly! How does the local community perceive your (mega?)company? Do they constantly rotate people?

Ziggy, are there people you work with who are well established in the community? It may be helpful to develop those relationships. However, it could take years to pay off in a job offer. I grew up in a small town and my first job during high school was at a company founded by a guy my dad had worked with 15 years earlier; they remained friends forever. I still send x-mas cards to his wife.

My parents were city slickers in a small town and slowly joined the community. Dad was on the (volunteer) water commission. Mom appointed herself neighborhood welcome wagon to greet newer arrivals with a cake. Those relationships paid off, but again, slowly.

I don’t know, is this the added cost of relocating?