Colorado, from a New Yorker's point of view

I spoke to an HR recruiter today.  It was an informal meeting.  I wasn’t so much looking for a job as I was looking for information about the job market.  After getting off the phone I realized ignorance is bliss.  When I quit my job and moved out here I assumed it would take me about 3-4 months to find employment.  Now I’m thinking it’s going to take a lot longer.

The recruiter I spoke to mentioned that for a recent Jr. level project manager position she received 500 applications and for a more senior role she recieved over 800 applications.  She stated that typically they receive twice the number of applications then they did a year or two ago.  I guess that explains why companies aren’t beating down my door.  Originally I wanted to find a job that was a little more advanced than what I had been doing.  I was also considering trying to move from finance into selling or marketing.  Based on the conversation with the recruiter I don’t think that will work.  With so many candidates companies truly have the upper hand.   You better meet everyone one of their requirements or you aren’t even going to get a phone call.

On the other hand if I apply for a job that I’m over-qualified for companies won’t hire me because they know that once the job market gets better I would probably leave.  This leaves me with having to apply for identical jobs to what I had, of course since it is Denver there will probably be a paycut involved.  Relocation packages and signing bonuses have also gone the way of the dodo.

What gets frustrating is that I have a few friends who never went to college, let alone grad school and yet they make fairly close to what I was making.  My SL600 worth  education is really only serving to make me more disillusioned.

Let’s hope something comes along before I resort to sucking dick for crack and then selling the crack.