Free Advice for Job Seekers
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This is Your Money Matters from The Wall Street Journal. Welcome to Your Money Matters. I'm J.R. Whalen in New York. We enter 2018 with unemployment at a 17-year low. But despite that, there are many Americans struggling to land a job or finding it difficult to switch jobs.
What free hotline is Challenger, Gray & Christmas offering for job seekers?
The outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas is suspending its normal business operations this week to offer free advice to callers from around the country. CEO John Challenger joins us to discuss. So, John, we keep hearing the country is at near full employment, but there are still folks having difficulty finding a job.
There are always people who are losing their jobs and making transitions. There are people who get stuck in long-term unemployment and just have difficulties. There are people in jobs who it's just not what they want. It's not working out. It's hard to find a job while you're working. And so always there are people who just need extra support during this time.
That's John Challenger joining us via Skype here on Your Money Matters. Now, you're offering this service on December 27th and 28th until 6 p.m. Eastern Time on the 28th. People can call area code 312-422-5010. We'll repeat that number in a moment. But what kinds of advice and guidance have callers been asking for?
Well, each person, we try to zero in on what seems to be the Main obstacle that's getting in the way of their finding the job they want. For some people, it's how to answer a question like, why did I leave my last company that seems to keep tripping me up? Or how do I handle the issue of money when it comes up in the interview? For others, it's just I can't seem to find anybody to talk to other than just sending my resume out and I'm not getting any response.
And one of the things that the company points out is that just sending out reams and reams of resumes is really not the way to go about it.
It's so true. And today, especially, we're finding up to a third of people don't have updated LinkedIn, Facebook profiles. And today, that's so crucial, more than ever, because companies can always access their resume if that resume, that work history is online. not, often they go to the next candidate.
Who is John Challenger and why is he on the show?
The hotline number again that you can call for the free job advice is 312-422-5010. In past years, John, you've heard from people from a broad range of backgrounds who are seeking out some assistance.
We do hear from people who are long-term unemployed, sitting in neighborhoods in the middle of cities,
Why do people still struggle to find jobs despite low unemployment?
where it's just hard to get jobs from veterans who feel like they just can't seem to translate their skill sets from the military into the private sector, from people in small towns where there's just no jobs seemingly available. So with each individual, we try to figure out some solution to their problem.
And if folks aren't able to call the free job advice hotline in time, where else can they find some key information?
You can always go to our website, which is www.challengergray.com.
We're speaking with Challenger Gray and Christmas CEO John Challenger. And how's the 2018 outlook for jobs? We'll get to that in a moment. You're listening to Your Money Matters from The Wall Street Journal. Welcome back, everybody. So, John, as far as the hiring picture is concerned for 2018, it definitely looks like it's good news for job seekers.
It is a very strong job market right now. Unemployment this year has dropped from 4.6 percent last November to 4.1 percent this year. We expect more of the same, more jobs that will be created this This is an important time to land your job, to get your anchor in place. When the recession does hit, you want to have a solid, firm job that protects you against the layoffs that inevitably occur.
And the company has been surveying hiring managers. What are they telling you?
We're finding that hiring managers right now are in real need of people with skills, of course, technology skills, but also people who can speak multiple languages, people who are adaptable and can move from one part of the country to another.
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