How do these "corporate jobs" really work

[DaveJ]

Normally I don't like my concept of reality destroyed, but in this case I wouldn't mind it. I've grown to accept the notion that decent corporate jobs are pretty much unattainable to outsiders. It is now my understanding that they promote from within, they have bulletin boards posting jobs that only their current employees can see, and besides which only current employees are eligible even if they were seen by outsiders. I'm an adult and have been programming since I was 16 and the reality is that a kid who took one programming class is more likely to get a fabulous job as a programmer for Verizon (for instance) if he started out in the call center.

This promote from within method is great for employees who started out there, great for most people in general who had the option to work for corporations when they were young. But nobody minds that sad hicks like me are discriminated against, someone who never even saw a corporate office building until I was 30 because I am not originally from an urban area. So pretty much, I'm on the street, metaphorically, because I'm not from the city and this is not technically considered discrimination, but the way the world works.

I've learned to adjust. I have no lofty expectations of a known company will ever respond regarding a job in my field. That job is not intended for the likes of me. Instead I am working to start my own business, and to help other small business owners. Still, I go through life with the realization that we are living in a tiered, segregated world. And the corporate world is catered to much more than the small business world. Big corporations are coddled and get tax breaks, have public offerings, and established customer base, they have monopolies (which technically aren't, hehehe), they are too big to fail, while if small businesses goes under that's "just the way the world works."

Corporate jobs are also easy. Big corporations have so many employees that their jobs are focused and modularized. For instance, if you call and want to pay a bill you talk to one person, know the website to pay your bill get transferred to another, change your service get transfered to another, have a technical question get transfered to another department with 50 sub departments. So, they are so big that each person can know how to do one single thing. So they can get paid less. I guess that horrible environment is why they feel they should be rewarded with exclusive access to jobs and promotions.

My only consolation is that corporate environment seems crazy. Some would say I'm just as well off. It just bothers me. I have retirement investments that go toward corporations every paycheck. I'm contributing money to these folks, and there is no realistic way to do the same for small businesses. They don't have any advantages. I'm helping to fund this crazy situation. People are just expected to be responsible, and invest for retirement, which means funding these big companies that would never hire me in a million years.

Yeah, I know you could say my posting is self centered, there are a lot of people who are much worse off, and I have what I need, I'm not hurting. I have plans on how to proceed. I feel rich both financially and in my quality of life. But, I think the way the world works is really messed up.

[Kat45]

1. Interesting.

I think you're right about corporations promoting from within, giving jobs to people they already know. But I don't know that the corporate jobs are all focused on one thing. I think perhaps they used to be, but these days corporations are running as lean as possible: they see employees as a huge cost, and in order to increase profits they lay workers off. It gets to the point that each employee is expected to do the work that was formerly done by two or three employees. Multi-tasking is a requirement; it is included in just about all job descriptions these days. And although I do think companies promote from within, there is also the tendency to typecast workers. If someone works in the call center, the company may believe that this is all the person is capable of doing and it may not consider him for a higher level position.

That's just my two cents based on my observations, but I must disclose that I do not work for a corporation. I've been out of work for over a year, and almost every resume I've sent out has received no response.

[DaveJ]

2. Did you agree with everything except that one thing then?

Personally I've had to do about every job there is where I work. I can't even count. Plus I'm trying to start my own business, which means taking on every job role.

Two or three jobs sounds like a walk in the park. I don't think I will ever have it that easy. It looks like I'm going to be working like mad every day every minute until I die.

But anyway, that wasn't my main point. My main point is that it is a tiered society. There are have's and have not's, which also applies to regular folk who are lucky enough to have jobs at corporations. Yeah all jobs have layoffs. Where I work they laid off half the people and I survived. But I've also heard that corporations are much more likely to hire people who have worked at another corporation. A recruiter once told me that a kid with 2 years experience working at a corporation has a better chance of getting a job than I do with 20 years of non-corporate experience.

Guess we all know life isn't fair. I'm pointing this out just as a reminder. Maybe things will change someday, but there's no guarantee. It is guaranteed though that it is a tiered society. It is from my perspective anyway. I look at data that says the average salary for the work I do is two or three times what I make, and I'm like, "wow, just put that out of your mind, you're not one of them," and go back to work.

That said, you might have a chance at getting a good job. Laid off for over a year? I would not be able to survive without a job, but if you can, then you can wait for something good to come along. I've never been a part of that world where I could wait for a good job, and always had to take a job for survival.

[Kat45]

3. Yes, I get what you're saying.

I was laid off over a year ago from a good job with benefits, but yes of course I had to find some work when I could to bring some money in. I worked a low-paying, life-sucking telephone customer service job for 6 months before I quit because it was causing me to be so depressed that I couldn't enjoy even one minute of my life. I'm currently doing some work for the Census. I'm fortunate that I don't have to pay rent because I inherited the house I grew up in; if I had to pay rent, there's no way I could have covered my bills from that crappy job. And the "good job" I'm looking for isn't necessarily a job that I would love or that would pay me a lot of money. I'm just hoping to find a job that I like ok that will pay me enough, and preferably include health insurance of course. I've also never been a part of the word where I could wait for an incredible job. (I grew up working class.) Even though I had a really good education, I still find myself struggling to get low paying jobs that a high school grad could do. It gets depressing when I see my college friends on LinkedIn and see that they're ceo's of small companies, or owners of their own companies, people who likely have incomes in the high six-figures.

[raccoon]

4. What you said about corporate jobs, in the first paragraph, IME is true of state jobs.

At the state agency where I work (and IME it's this way at most state agencies), the majority of the time, when they advertise a good job with benefits, you can bet they already know who they are going to put in that job. They're just going through the motions of taking apps and interviewing to satisfy legal requirements.