What color is your parachute - The Bible for Job Seekers

Author: (American) Rawls, translated by He Xue
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-01-01
Features: In the past few years, trends such as hostile usurpers, mergers, and economic recessions have led to the disappearance of countless jobs. Indeed, at the same time, many new job opportunities have emerged, with at least 2 million new employment opportunities created in the United States every year. This process is cyclical and repetitive. Indeed, the workplace is always changing, constantly being replaced, and in a state of turmoil—just as it was in the past, as it is now, and as it will be in the future. Therefore, in the 1990s, changes in the workplace were merely a continuation of changes that had already occurred. However, the 1990s had its own unique characteristics, primarily reflected in the following six aspects:
First, the speed of this conventional change process has greatly accelerated, much like a scene shot with a slow shutter speed and then played back at normal speed, where you can see clouds racing across the sky. Someone has already come up with a name for this "acceleration process": mergers, restructuring, reorganizations, layoffs, etc., all referring to the accelerated operation of the job market.
Second, another feature of the 1990s was that more workers (employees) were affected by the "acceleration" of change, and they came from various strata—even those who seemed immune to changes that impacted everyone else—particularly white-collar workers and middle managers. In the United States alone, 3 million people are laid off each year, meaning that since 1979, a total of 43 million jobs have been eliminated. This number exceeds the normal average. In fact, since 1979, 70% of American families have faced job losses; 40% of family members have had relatives, friends, or neighbors laid off; and in every three families, at least one member has been laid off.
Third, another unique aspect of the 1990s was that warning signs became increasingly difficult to detect. Even when changes led to the termination or disappearance of many professions, there were often no warnings at all. Many workers learned they had lost their jobs from a radio broadcast while rushing to work. This situation greatly deepened people's anxiety and worry, making it difficult for them to feel secure in their jobs. For every laid-off person, there was added fear and unease among their colleagues or relatives who still had jobs.
Fourth, the labor system in the 1990s was more unfair. If an employer wanted to fire their employees (for any reason), they often used mergers and layoffs as tools and acted immediately. Another unfair situation was that loyal and capable employees who had devoted themselves to a company for over a decade or two could also be unjustly laid off without explanation. Such cases were common, and in many organizations, these laid-off employees included many who had made outstanding contributions to the company's current success and had sacrificed greatly for it. They were fired because layoffs demanded that each employee prove their "value," while the contributions of these loyal employees were difficult to measure against the company's new bottom lines. As a result, more and more American companies were unknowingly becoming "heartless machines"—unconsciously laying off the "loyal employees" essential for the survival of the organization, making factories increasingly inhumane.
Fifth, another distinguishing feature of the 1990s was the emergence of a global market, where new jobs originating from the United States or other countries faced intense pressure from low-wage competition from other parts of the world. As a result, many new jobs offered salaries so low that most job seekers found them unacceptable. This could also lead to a decline in living standards.