Internal job postings

Today, finally, I regained access to our internal jobs web site. I've been locked out for all of May, thanks to the April 30th premature termination fiasco. But now I can once again apply for Bank jobs.

With great enthusiasm I whizzed through a number of openings and applied for two. There are still a number more job postings I need to review, and no one can say there's not plenty of openings.

However, it's upsetting that here I am facing termination in 30 days, yet the Bank has dozens and dozens of technical open positions. Does this make sense?

Also, there was a time when those facing imminent layoff had first priority on any open position they were qualified for. Those were the good old days (although not as good as when we had a "no layoff" policy!). Personnel distributed a list that hiring managers could review as part of the posting process. Unfortunately, these days you are on your own, and "welcome to apply to any open position". But you have no priority over Joe Smith that is not facing job loss, and no hiring manager knows of your availability. It's hard not to feel you're just a number.

To add insult to injury, my friend back East told me that everyone she knows that found a new position lately did it the old-fashioned way: they knew somebody. You can't put a price on having an "in" - you gain credibility from a trusted referral, and the hiring manager sees you as lower risk.

So it's good to be able to apply online again. It's better than where I've been all month. But applying blindly to new positions across the country - where they know nothing of me or my track record - it's still far from ideal.

Technorati Tags: layoffs, outsourcing