Junior Level with 5 years of direct experience and Master's?

30 Comments

1. AnonymousMarch 6,2024 at 5:20PM UTC

   Employers are looking for desperate people.

   I saw a bookkeeper for $35k, CPA and masters required

2. Stephanie Branch LekowskiMarch 9,2024 at 9:44PM UTC

   I see your bookkeeper with Master's and I'll raise you a Master's with 4.5 GPA at an "accredited" school for a paralegal position for $50K.

3. AnonymousMarch 6,2024 at 5:22PM UTC

   So a new Little Ceasar's Pizza opened in my community. They have a big sign out front that starting pay is $22/hour. I use that as a barometer now. If I see a "professional" job (yes, I know that sounds obnoxious, and it kind of is) for less than that, I just can't take that organization seriously. My 58 year old husband is in a job hunt after being laid off from a job he loved. He has an MBA and decades of experience. He has been offered 18-20/hour. Come on. He spends hours in interviews and then never hears anything back. An organization wouldnt't tolerate that kind of behavior from their employees, why they think it's ok to treat potential employees that way is beyond me. But, to your point, the behavior is rampant.

4. AnonymousMarch 6,2024 at 7:45PM UTC

   I'm pretty fed up with the current cycle of capitalism we are in right now. The "economy" is said to be doing well because the market is doing well.. but the market is doing well because companies are over-inflating prices while reducing labor costs. The over-inflated prices are causing the average employee that is looking for work to be desperate for jobs therefore forced to take lower wages than they should. Meanwhile, many of these large organizations are reporting record profits. It's vicious. The best way to change it is to refuse to take lower compensation than is fair but a lot of people don't have the privilege to turn down a job.

5. JJMarch 6,2024 at 9:45PM UTC

   Great analysis, and not to make people mad but with the pending political landscape, it’s only going to get worse. Unless, of course you’re a rich, corporate investor.

6. JJMarch 6,2024 at 9:42PM UTC

   Yes companies can be greedy and unrealistic with so many people job hunting.

7. AnonymousMarch 7,2024 at 1:33PM UTC

   It’s been 4 weeks for me since my company had me sign a confidentiality waiver to get extra time paid and vanish after an awkward trip that didn’t go as the male manager seemed to hope it would. I’ve literally spent 8 hours a day looking for anything and everything. I wasn’t a “high paid” Administrative Assistant but it was still over $20/hr. Now I can’t even get call backs for $14/hour and have a folder of instant rejection letters. It wasn’t a case of job hopping either I had 3 years in no PIP’s or write ups and everyone repeatedly told me how well I was doing. The parting statement was “we’re moving in a different direction”. I’ll be filing for unemployment this week and hoping it’s not fought. I have one company that wants an 8 hour “trial run” for cash which I’ve never heard of but agreed to. Another that wants an unpaid half day to see my skills? Since when do we work for nothing in hopes we get the invite back? I know these companies are setting up multiple people to take the best but I’m at a loss and really don’t want to go back to 12.00 an hour or fast food in my 40’s but would before I fail.

8. AnonymousMarch 10,2024 at 1:30PM UTC

   Sounds like sexual harassment and a toxic workplace. Consult an attorney and file an EEOC complaint. You deserve better.

9. GirlBossanova934974March 7,2024 at 2:25PM UTC

   From the sounds of it, you are being contacted by outside staffing agencies. These staffing agencies are paid on a commission ONLY basis by the companies that hire them. The company is NOT paying a dime for the staffing agency to run around making these offers. So as long as there are staffing agencies willing to work for free, these sorts of offers will continue to be made. The company has nothing to lose UNTIL they pay out for a commission AND the new employee walks in a few months after they get a decent job offer from someone else. SHORT TERM thinking abounds these days. Getting "cheaper employees" who produce far less than more expensive employees is Corporate America's new thing. It doesn't count UNTIL someone catches you doing it.........Hide the numbers. Pretend it ain't so!!

10. AnonymousMarch 7,2024 at 3:45PM UTC

    So many recruiters are just looking to place someone, anyone.
    I am a C-suite EA with great experience. I got a call for $50-$70K in a major market where average pay for my skills = $124K. I said, "Read. Educate yourself and your clients." If the recruiter is dumb, don't waste your time with them.

11. AnonymousMarch 7,2024 at 6:30PM UTC

    BS, hiring managers decide what is required NOT recruiters.
    Not all recruiters are 3rd party agency types which is what you are speaking about. Agencies, they get a job order from a client and the client decides it all. The recruiter/headhunter is just a fisherwoman/man with a pole looking in the pool for the right fish, then they present the most qualified person that bites on the bait to the client for consideration. It's nice to blame the messenger but your rude dumb comment is aimed at the wrong target. Please educate yourself about the types of recruiters and how they work. https://medium.com/aviahire/the-top-7-types-of-recruiters-in-the-industry-e81e99fdd20

12. Stephanie Branch LekowskiMarch 9,2024 at 9:35PM UTC

    You're 100 % right

13. AnonymousMarch 7,2024 at 6:28PM UTC

    Don't blame recruiters, their work is determined by the requirements of hiring managers and yes often these requirements are specific and meant to deter those who do not fit often inflating the needs and qualifications to make it harder to find that one unicorn. If you are in an active search and get reached out to by someone recruiter or other that is asking for things you don't have but you are interested in the company spend your conversation talking up the points that align with their job need. Often they soften the need after speaking to those in the candidate/recruit pool that fit in other ways for what they want. If you are rude or unkind they won't consider you when the list lightens up. Generally when my recruiting team is given impossible lists they go back to the hiring manager and let them know its not a findable list all in one person and then the needs change. A lot of times as well companies go fishing without clear objectives on the actual hire to see what is out there. Stay firm on what you know and need for your own search and when approached with something unfit respectfully say no thank you.

14. AnonymousMarch 9,2024 at 9:34PM UTC

    How about recruiters who encourage you to "tweak" your resume, which job seekers have been told is lying, and don't EVER do it. Or to spin your reasons for leaving your current and/or previous positions. So you're encouraging me to lie for a position where I don't meet your clients' requirements??

15. Heather StreeterMarch 7,2024 at 10:39PM UTC

    Both in my observations.
    I see so much of this in the job boards. It is ridiculous what companies want to pay. I saw a government job last night with huge responsibilities for the FAA, only wanting to pay $38K/yr. That is insulting.

16. AnonymousMarch 8,2024 at 11:57AM UTC

    Yep!!! And it's the same all over: "no one wants to work" :( - which is not the case. I can have the same money and work at Costco.

    Sad status we are at now.

17. Stephanie Branch LekowskiMarch 9,2024 at 9:28PM UTC

    I agree- they want it both ways.

18. AnonymousMarch 8,2024 at 3:13PM UTC

    Don’t take it too personally.

    The recruiter is the middleperson for the hiring manager and may have been given an unclear or totally unicorn and fairy dust list of skills to find. If you’re searching, seek more clarity on what each firm is willing to offer. If you’re not, just write it off as unserious.

    FWIW, we just hired a few total entrylevels, college degree in a STEM field, middle COL area and had to go down the list to find anyone willing to start at $55k.

19. AnonymousMarch 9,2024 at 1:42PM UTC

    It’s insulting especially since everything else is costlier just to survive

20. AnonymousMarch 9,2024 at 3:43PM UTC

    You are correct. Been seeing it for over a year now. Unrealistic expectations and corporate greed. Workers are expected to accept less and struggle to pay their bills I guess? And then they’ll probably lay you off in a couple months anyway when they realize they’ve over hired this year lol it’s truly absurd

21. KathyAnn KrajcikMarch 9,2024 at 6:48PM UTC

    The job market right now is beyond HORRIBLE. I never saw it like this. I saw an advertisement for an executive assistant position, and the hourly rate was $16.00 per hour. I was making $103,000 per year. Unfortunately, I am unemployed since August, and I am getting desperate. However, even with that I can't pay the mortgage on my house. The employers definitely have the upper hand right now, and they know it.

22. AnonymousMarch 9,2024 at 9:23PM UTC

    The problem is for every rational person who thinks it's NOT acceptable to ask for advanced degrees and several years of experience for a ridiculously low amount of money, there are tons more who will- in other words, they ruin it for the rest of us with their desperation. My other theory is their clients lie to them or are VERY indecisive.

23. AnonymousMarch 10,2024 at 4:25PM UTC

    I get the same, when I do get messages at all (which isn’t often these days anymore). Senior Director with 15+ YOE currently and I get messages for Manager roles with 5 YOE. They’re just trying to take advantage in this market.

24. AnonymousMarch 10,2024 at 10:57PM UTC

    Lots of junior-level recruiters who don't do their homework or understand the paycales for various experience levels or even regional pay. So, they don't educate themselves and they don't educate the hiring managers or clients. In general, I find very low-level people with big titles these days, including HR folks. So many have no idea what they are doing or how to lead.

25. AnonymousMarch 11,2024 at 12:08AM UTC

    It's not your imagination. Recruiters often do not pay attention...all too often, I'm afraid ?

26. Tanya ThomasMarch 11,2024 at 2:51PM UTC

    I've seen "entry-level job" with a "hard minimum of twelve years of experience"

27. AnonymousMarch 11,2024 at 6:36PM UTC

    I think this is what happens when you expect an entity built on the expectation to make money to be remotely ethical to people in a market that is in their ballcourt. Hopefully it will be forced to change per the market, but I don't imagine it will until it is forced to be quasi-fair.

28. AnonymousMarch 11,2024 at 8:02PM UTC

    This never goes well. You must pay people what they are worth to your org. If you cheap out on salary because of "the market," that employee will be out the door as soon as the market improves. The cost of rehiring, retraining, etc., is exorbitant and disrupts your business.

29. Sandy PochapinMarch 11,2024 at 8:00PM UTC

    A lot of recruiters are "offshore" and dialing for dollars. Their boss has a list of people their ATS spit out as appropriate and they're just trying to find people who are willing to be submitted. I told one recruiter that I wasn't a good fit for a position and his response -- "My boss says you are!" Who knows better? Me or someone who has never met me?

30. AnonymousMarch 11,2024 at 9:50PM UTC

    I've had the SAME experiences as you described.... Sr. Tech Writing & Editing jobs at WAY below my rates for the past 20 years!!! It's exasperating... I'm thinking that it's because there's a really tight market out there and companies feel they can get away with it. However, Comma, sooner or later the market will change and they'll be singing quite a different tune!