Is it me, or is the KC job market CRAP?

Tosspot · Post by **Tosspot** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 2:00 am

I just apply and apply, send resume after resume, and never hear so much as a peep from anyone.

I hear reports of a tepid job market in KC compared to other American cities; is there any validity to this? I would think that the development boom occurring now would be indicative of the overall economy and of job availability, but perhaps not.

One must wonder if that KCK address at the top of my resume scares off hiring managers.

I graduated from CMSU with a high GPA, several semesters on the Dean's Honor Roll at both CMSU and Penn Valley, and am a member of multiple scholastic honor societies. But the relative lack of post-graduate work experience is a great hinderance when competing with all of the Sprint layoffs. Not to mention the fact that no one will hire me for jobs that don't require degrees, seeing as how a degree makes one over-qualified in the eyes of hiring managers.

Gone many times have I to various job fairs, and it seems that mostly, companies are looking to the college educated to staff their customer service call centers as abused and eternally maligned phone drones. And they won't even hire me for that because the personality tests all say I'm no good at dealing with pissy customers.

Anyway, there are two job fairs tomorrow I plan on attending. Just printed off 20 copies of my resume that will all probably end up in a corporate wastebasket, but still one must try.

If KC wants to attract young professionals from other areas, it has a lot of work to do in the realm of career availability. But me, I'd never leave KC.

ignatius · Post by **ignatius** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 3:10 am

The job market is not great but it appears there are more people moving to KC than job growth if the Bureau of Labor Stats are correct. KC has not grown significantly in jobs the last couple years but also did not lose as many jobs from 9/11 and tech bust. KC is nearly back to the 2000 level of jobs (STL too) while cities like Chicago, Detroit and San Fran are hurting since 2000 with not much rebound. The South just keeps gaining jobs as if nothing happened.

I think it might hurt that KC's labor force keeps growing at a faster rate than jobs. It keeps the unemployment rate higher. Locals are getting burned when outa-towners take up the jobs. The company I'm at has done significant hiring the last couple of months and most are not from the area.

See...
http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyO ... =%22EaG%22

Missionite · Post by **Missionite** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 3:32 am

Don't worry Tosspot. I don't think your address has anything to do with it. I was laid off in October when DIRECTV decided to close our 300-person call center and concentrate their operations in BOISE and TULSA of all places. I'm in JoCo and am having the same problem. Nothing. Zilch. Nada. Gotta get something by May or the unemployment will run out.

Is that job fair the one at the Westin I've been hearing about?

Matt

KCK · Post by **KCK** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 3:44 am

I am having trouble finding a job here in Kansas City as well. I have a bachelors from Devry and 2 Associates from Kansas City Kansas Community College. I am up for moving to another metro if necessary, but I need the cash saved up first, and that is hard.

ComandanteCero · Post by **ComandanteCero** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 4:06 am

hmm, it seems if you want any kind of real job (i.e not slightly above minimum wage) you need a masters in KC. When i graduated i couldn't find jack sh*t with a bachelor's (it probably didn't help that i majored in Psychology), after not finding anything in my field i started applying elsewhere and didn't get a bite....... Right now my plan is either to get a masters or get out of KC........ (i'm going for the first option to see how that pans out)

KC_JAYHAWK · Post by **KC_JAYHAWK** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:02 am

I think a lot of it depends on your major. I just finished my MBA in Finance at UMKC and already got a job offer at American Century Investments (I start in 2 weeks)....it also helped that I currently work at Sprint and previous to Sprint, worked for State Street. Accounting/Finance jobs seem to be plentiful in the KC market. Also, engineering/architecht jobs are pretty solid from what I've been told.

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:09 am

Luckily I have no idea how the job market is. I would like to start looking at my MBA for future movement though. How did you like UMKC's program KCJ? I think KSU is going to start offering classes in KC for their MBA so that would be nice.

scooterj · Post by **scooterj** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:18 am

I think all the Sprint layoffs have created a surge of demand for jobs that still hasn't died down. Last summer I opened a position for a low-end fresh-out-of-school bottom-wage programming grunt and got flooded with resumes from people with masters degrees and multiple years of experience far more advanced than what I needed. Many of them listed Sprint as a former employer.

My ex was unemployed for a year after losing her job, even after moving to another city. I was unemployed here in KC for nearly a year too after 9/11.

It helps to make connections. I have been in the work force for 21 years and held 11 jobs, and only one of them I got by going in, filling out an application, going through the interview, and getting called in.

Post by **mean** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 12:18 pm

hmm, it seems if you want any kind of real job (i.e not slightly above minimum wage) you need a masters in KC.

I dunno, I didn't even graduate high school and I make well above minimum wage.

scooterj · Post by **scooterj** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 12:28 pm

mean wrote:
hmm, it seems if you want any kind of real job (i.e not slightly above minimum wage) you need a masters in KC.
I dunno, I didn't even graduate high school and I make well above minimum wage.

Yeah, I didn't finish my bachelor's and I'm the director of a programming department.

Post by **KCMax** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 12:43 pm

Its not just KC, its the whole country. It was a jobless recovery at first, and just now jobs are starting to come back. I graduated with a law degree 2 years ago, and it took me 2 months to even get an interview, and 5 months to get a job. Friends of mine took up to a year.

ignatius · Post by **ignatius** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 1:11 pm

I feel for college grads seeking white collar jobs. There are a lot of experienced people out there w/out a job and it's hard for grads with less work experience to compete. Lately we've been seeking experienced workers already trained/certified rather than training new people. Used to be that if the person is bright and quick thinking, you just train them. Doesn't seem to be the case as much anymore. Getting certifications for a specialty can sometimes be better than a generic degree such as an MBA. Depends on the position and if interested in management down the road or dad-to-day operations.

KCK · Post by **KCK** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 1:13 pm

I understand the whole connections thing, problem is it is hard to build connections when you dont work in the industry. I am fine for now though, and if it comes down to it, I can always go into management here, but that is an absolute last resort, if I can't find a job in the next few years.

I would love to work downtown, but I will take a job anywhere.

KC_JAYHAWK · Post by **KC_JAYHAWK** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 2:13 pm

KCPowercat wrote:Luckily I have no idea how the job market is. I would like to start looking at my MBA for future movement though. How did you like UMKC's program KCJ? I think KSU is going to start offering classes in KC for their MBA so that would be nice.

I think the Bloch School of Business at UMKC is excellent. Great facilities, large choice of courses, and the program is very flexible with all MBA courses offered in the evening. I completed 36 credit hours in 3 years working part-time at Sprint and they paid for it......hehe, now, 1 month later, I'm bailing on Sprint and going to American Century.

StL_Dan · Post by **StL_Dan** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 3:57 pm

KC_JAYHAWK wrote:I think a lot of it depends on your major. I just finished my MBA in Finance at UMKC and already got a job offer at American Century Investments (I start in 2 weeks)....it also helped that I currently work at Sprint and previous to Sprint, worked for State Street. Accounting/Finance jobs seem to be plentiful in the KC market. Also, engineering/architecht jobs are pretty solid from what I've been told.

How many folks does State Street employ downtown?

Post by **mean** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 4:36 pm

scooterj wrote:Yeah, I didn't finish my bachelor's and I'm the director of a programming department.

Isn't it jacked up how that works? I hear stories from people with degrees who can't find jobs, and I'm like, wtf? Sure it can be tough to find something, but it just seems bizarre that most of the people I know in technical positions don't have degrees, and most of the people I know with degrees are working in retail and foodservice. What the crap!? It's just bizarre.

scooterj · Post by **scooterj** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 4:59 pm

This will probably start a flame war but I sometimes wonder if part of the problem is that some people with degrees expect to get in somewhere higher than the ground floor rather than start lower, gain experience, and work their way up. My current career started 15 years ago with a job that consisted of nothing more than changing reel-to-reel tapes a few times a day and tearing sheets of paper at the perforation. Sucked.

Honestly, when I do my hiring, I don't even really look at the education portion of the resume. I don't care. I just want to see either work experience experience or a personal portfolio that shows you are capable of learning the necessary skills quickly.

UMKCgal · Post by **UMKCgal** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 5:02 pm

Tosspot wrote:I just apply and apply, send resume after resume, and never hear so much as a peep from anyone.

I hear reports of a tepid job market in KC compared to other American cities; is there any validity to this? I would think that the development boom occurring now would be indicative of the overall economy and of job availability, but perhaps not.

One must wonder if that KCK address at the top of my resume scares off hiring managers.

I graduated from CMSU with a high GPA, several semesters on the Dean's Honor Roll at both CMSU and Penn Valley, and am a member of multiple scholastic honor societies. But the relative lack of post-graduate work experience is a great hinderance when competing with all of the Sprint layoffs. Not to mention the fact that no one will hire me for jobs that don't require degrees, seeing as how a degree makes one over-qualified in the eyes of hiring managers.

Gone many times have I to various job fairs, and it seems that mostly, companies are looking to the college educated to staff their customer service call centers as abused and eternally maligned phone drones. And they won't even hire me for that because the personality tests all say I'm no good at dealing with pissy customers.

Anyway, there are two job fairs tomorrow I plan on attending. Just printed off 20 copies of my resume that will all probably end up in a corporate wastebasket, but still one must try.

If KC wants to attract young professionals from other areas, it has a lot of work to do in the realm of career availability. But me, I'd never leave KC.

UMKC is having a job fair in March, I'll keep you posted.
I think its messed up how things are, most of the people I know with degrees are struggling to find decent jobs too. If you find a job/internship for an acct major, let me know.

UMKCgal · Post by **UMKCgal** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 5:10 pm

scooterj wrote:This will probably start a flame war but I sometimes wonder if part of the problem is that some people with degrees expect to get in somewhere higher than the ground floor rather than start lower, gain experience, and work their way up. My current career started 15 years ago with a job that consisted of nothing more than changing reel-to-reel tapes a few times a day and tearing sheets of paper at the perforation. Sucked.

Honestly, when I do my hiring, I don't even really look at the education portion of the resume. I don't care. I just want to see either work experience experience or a personal portfolio that shows you are capable of learning the necessary skills quickly.

What you said in bold holds true as far as I'm concerned. I realize now that no one really cares how educated you if you got a hell lot of work experience then you're in..most companies don't really want to train you now right? More experience=More $$$ That's exactly why I've started looking for part-time jobs/internships...I'm fed up w/being young and broke, and I don't necessarily want to be at the bottom when I finish. I'm fine w/starting low and working on up, now is my time for the dirt bottom minimum wage grunt job.

KC_JAYHAWK · Post by **KC_JAYHAWK** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 5:38 pm

StL_Dan wrote:
KC_JAYHAWK wrote:I think a lot of it depends on your major. I just finished my MBA in Finance at UMKC and already got a job offer at American Century Investments (I start in 2 weeks)....it also helped that I currently work at Sprint and previous to Sprint, worked for State Street. Accounting/Finance jobs seem to be plentiful in the KC market. Also, engineering/architecht jobs are pretty solid from what I've been told.
How many folks does State Street employ downtown?

I think State Street employs around 800 people downtown. It might be a little more, but I think their hiring is on an upswing. They went through some voluntary layoffs a few years ago, but when I left in 2000, they had around 1,000 employees. Of course, their HQ in Boston employs much more.

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