Career or Bust?

Today's Wall Street Journal would like you to know that "Some Employers See Hiring Opportunity." The article is full of stats outlining the amazing surplus of applicants for open positions and cheerily notes that some employers feel it might be a good time to over-hire in order to bolster weak spots in their organizations, deepen their talent pools, etc. Also, a reminder to keep checking in with healthcare, government, and utility sectors--they're still adding jobs.

But at the end of the article comes this:

"Some employers are trying to screen out applicants who are merely seeking a paycheck until the economy recovers...Defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. expects to receive a record 1.5 million applications for around 20,000 positions in 2009, up from 1 million for between 12,000 and 13,000 openings in 2007, says Ken Disken, senior vice president of human resources...He says interviewers have been instructed to pay closer attention to candidates' career goals than in the past. "We want to make sure they want to come to Lockheed Martin to pursue a career, not a job," Mr. Disken says."

I'm sorry, but this irks me. Steve, in an earlier post, mentioned ridiculous interview questions and their honest answers, one being "What interests you about our company?" Well, gee, how about "You have job--I need job". Look, I realize companies have the upper hand here and absolutely should hire people that will best benefit their company. But let's not forget that for a lot of people, career concerns are of necessity taking a backseat to putting money in their pockets in any way they can. Let's try to reconcile these facts without putting on airs, shall we?

--Posted by Linda Petock, Vault News & Commentary