One of the worst recessions in recent times has only recently ended in North America. Slowly but surely, companies are resuming hiring as economic growth slowly increases. But for many, looking for a job is still proving to be a difficult endeavour. It would appear that one of the by-products of the recession is a more competitive job market in the emerging economy.

In difficult economic situations, and other times when job opportunities are limited, a principle is often seen whereby employers, who suddenly need less staff, can thereby afford to raise their standards for those new employees that they do take on. Alternately, during downsizing, a company faced with a reduced staff may take advantage of the change in the situation by re-assessing their current staffing model and implementing changes considered to be expedient once an improvement in the economy justifies a return to hiring. One real-life example of this concerns the restructuring of many military forces during the 20th century, such as the French Foreign Legion. When France had colonies in hostile North Africa and Indochina, the Legion was normally stationed there and was almost like a separate army. Virtually any able-bodied man could join from anywhere in the world, including hardened criminals. Then, after the loss of French colonial territories, the Legion was relocated to metropolitan France and eventually reduced in strength. At present, there are still about 7700 men in its ranks, but the Legion has the luxury of picking and choosing and may turn away prospective candidates for a variety of reasons. Not only are serious criminals not accepted, but the selection process is very rigorous and only one in eight applicants are ultimately accepted.

We will examine some of the difficulties that a North American job seeker may encounter in the post-recession economy of today.

Work on a part-time or contract basis

One of the effects of the recession has been to limit the number of permanent positions that are available. More and more employers have found it more expedient to advertise part-time positions or even to outsource some work to contractors, who will work on specific projects rather than be taken in as full-time employees. Those who insist on finding a permanent, full-time position may find their job search significantly more difficult.

An increase in false advertising

The fact that there are so many desperate people looking for work has resulted in an increase in advertisements for jobs that do not correspond to what is described in the advertisement. A company may put out an ad promising a whole range of openings in fields such as administration, sales and human resources; a person who answers the ad may be invited to an interview, only to be told that the position offered is of a different nature than advertised, such as a low-end sales job or a "financial" position requiring participation in a pyramid scheme. Or the advertisement may hide certain facts about the position, such as a commission-based pay instead of a regular salary.

Criminal record checks

Alternately, like the above example of the Foreign Legion, an employer may simply have raised the standards required of prospective candidates. One manifestation of this today is an increasing number of companies that require future employees to provide a criminal record check; more and more. Or, as in the example of the Foreign Legion, a company may simply find that it can afford to raise its hiring standards. One way in which this is being increasingly manifested today is the requirement for employees to present a clear criminal record, which can spell trouble for those candidates who have a conviction to their name. More and more, a criminal past is proving to be a barrier to good employment. There have always been companies that required this, but in the past, it was usually tied to certain sectors, such as law enforcement. But today, it is becoming increasingly widespread for employers to demand a clean criminal record not only from prospective candidates, but also from current employees awaiting promotion. In many cases, a minor conviction remote in time will mean a significant reduction in job opportunities with the increasing requirement for having a clean criminal record. Fortunately, some companies, like IBM, do assess potential employees on a case-by-case basis and a minor conviction may not always disqualify an otherwise qualified candidate. Nonetheless, prospects for employment will be improved if one can get the conviction pardoned, where allowed by law. In Canada, applying for a criminal pardon, which almost all ex-convicts may do 3 to 10 years after serving their sentence, and once this is granted, the conviction will not show up on a criminal record check.