March 23, 2009

I have tried connecting onto several job search websites. There is a great deal to be said for the old fashioned method of using the want ads from the newspapers. I am properly signed in to these websites, I have my pop up blocker down, and I am still unable to access “application completion” for any potential employer. I have contacted Craigslist.com, Monster.com, and neither search site has responded.

As a recipient of unemployment insurance I have an obligation to find work. This internet dependency is impeding upon my ability to find work. I want to be a full time, full speed employee with a full time salary. I won’t be able to achieve this goal in a normal time frame if access is denied. I am then an onus upon the NJ Department of Labor’s budget, already strapped.

Now, you’d think the NJ Department of Labor would be at the forefront of accessibility for job seekers. Not so. I have the same problem, only not only can I not apply for jobs, I cannot place my information into the jobsite. It wouldn’t allow me to do so. I tried four times.

I thought it might be some sort of virus, or some glitch in my system. I realized it wasn’t, as access through other websites have gone through with ease.

I am denied access to my future, to financial stability, and to relief from this horrible, frightening financial state. Every job site, every employer and every state department of labor must verify all these positions, some which don’t exist due to courtesy listings (another day for this one) and whether or not the darn IT department ought to be called. It is a suspicion of mine that these websites are overwhelmed. They are unable to handle the traffic load. Often, employers stipulate they do not wish to be contacted directly in their ads, but rather, through the job search site. As a jobseeker, I don’t dare contact the employer, because they will think I created a ruse in order to be considered for employment.

Employers who are recruiting, job search sites gleaning income from prospective employers, and state labor departments must do all they can to verify these websites are running correctly. As a jobseeker, I am contacting my state labor department, in person, to verify the problems I am experiencing. I have contacted Monster and Craigslist, to no avail. There are other websites with the same problems. I cannot contact every one. We all have a responsibility to communicate, collaborate, and reverse our descending economic situation.