An anecdote about the job market and the "there are no skills!" complaint.

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At the time, I happened to be contracting with a company that I'd worked for in the past, and one of my coworkers knew people at this niche company, both as long-time friends and by contracting with them for some small stuff in the past. In this regard, I already had an in with the company because he put me in touch with them and we talked beforehand, and he also gave them a "he's good people" mention.

I took their test, passed it 100% (would hope so!) and did really well at their interview. It was a fascinating product, developed by the (then, still alive) owner of the company. I was offered the job, but when I received the offer I turned it down.

They had offered me just a bit more than what I was making then, something like $500 a year. True, it was MORE, but the job I had then offered some things. We could reasonably expect a $1000 year-end bonus (sometimes more, one year it was $5000) and the company offered almost $2000 a year in HSA kickers. There was also the shorter commute and the fact that the insurance, however crappy, was paid almost 100% by the company. This new company didn't offer any of that, and you were expected to cover quite a decent percentage of insurance. (Don't know how they'd do that now, you couldn't.) It was a longer drive during normal business hours, and required going through some heavily congested areas. I told the recruiter it just wasn't enough, and that was that. There was no argument or anything, and looking back that tells me the recruiter knew there wasn't any wiggle room - it was what it was.

Today, on the way back from the Cincy Hamfest, I had that same person in the car with me as we go to shows all the time. We were talking about the job market in general, and he mentioned this particular place. He said the company was really unhappy that I didn't take the job, and that they were like that because I was the perfect fit of skills for what they needed. He told them straight up that it just wasn't enough money and that I made more than that. He said they did the "well shucks, that's what we pay to start" thing. He just said "yeah well that's why you didn't get him."

The moral of the story is that this simply confirms what we know about the job market. It's not a skills gap, it's a skills gap AT the price these companies want to pay. Perfect, can't live without you, but we're unwilling to pay you what the thing is worth.

(I know they eventually got someone because other positions in the area pay less, so someone did get an upgrade or just needed new work. No idea.)

About 8 years ago, I was looking for new permanent employment. I was contacted by a recruiter that had a position with a niche company that served the scientific community with measurement devices. It was actually a good lateral slide, going from calibrating product A to calibrating product B, using some of the same methodology. At the time, I happened to be contracting with a company that I'd worked for in the past, and one of my coworkers knew people at this niche company, both as long-time friends and by contracting with them for some small stuff in the past. In this regard, I already had an in with the company because he put me in touch with them and we talked beforehand, and he also gave them a "he's good people" mention. I took their test, passed it 100% (would hope so!) and did really well at their interview. It was a fascinating product, developed by the (then, still alive) owner of the company. I was offered the job, but when I received the offer I turned it down. They had offered me just a bit more than what I was making then, something like $500 a year. True, it was MORE, but the job I had then offered some things. We could reasonably expect a $1000 year-end bonus (sometimes more, one year it was $5000) and the company offered almost $2000 a year in HSA kickers. There was also the shorter commute and the fact that the insurance, however crappy, was paid almost 100% by the company. This new company didn't offer any of that, and you were expected to cover quite a decent percentage of insurance. (Don't know how they'd do that now, you couldn't.) It was a longer drive during normal business hours, and required going through some heavily congested areas. I told the recruiter it just wasn't enough, and that was that. There was no argument or anything, and looking back that tells me the recruiter knew there wasn't any wiggle room - it was what it was. Today, on the way back from the Cincy Hamfest, I had that same person in the car with me as we go to shows all the time. We were talking about the job market in general, and he mentioned this particular place. He said the company was really unhappy that I didn't take the job, and that they were like that because I was the perfect fit of skills for what they needed. He told them straight up that it just wasn't enough money and that I made more than that. He said they did the "well shucks, that's what we pay to start" thing. He just said "yeah well that's why you didn't get him." The moral of the story is that this simply confirms what we know about the job market. It's not a skills gap, it's a skills gap AT the price these companies want to pay. Perfect, can't live without you, but we're unwilling to pay you what the thing is worth. (I know they eventually got someone because other positions in the area pay less, so someone did get an upgrade or just needed new work. No idea.)