Weird experiences in the last few months. As I’ve worked to let people know about JibberJobber since April, I’ve gotten very interesting responses. It has really helped me understand what resources the job seeker can have access to, at least according to the sponsoring agency.
Of course, everything that I’ll write will have a pro-JibberJobber slant… a big slant 😉 But that is because I have seen how helpful this tool is for people to help themselves. I personally think that there are thousands and thousands of people out there that are looking for something like JibberJobber to help them in their job search – and to prepare for a job search. So there’s my bias.
I’ve loved calling people (career counselors, and those that work with job seekers) and showing them the system – the response is always positive. I love it when I talk with someone and they say “I want my brother/son/boyfriend” to use this – this is perfect for them!” What an endorsement.
But I’ve been somewhat surprised by some other responses… mostly from government.
One common response comes from government agencies – state and federal. They love it! But, they say they can’t put a link on their website, or put flyers in their offices because it is “endorsing” a private entity. Hm. I’m confused… for a couple of reasons.
First, isn’t employment a huge issue everywhere? Even when the unemployment rate is low (like now) it still costs tons of money. They say they can’t endorse something by… an… um… American citizen. Interesting. I like our government – but there are some weird, unfortunate things going on here.
I thought that the government was here to help us, and be fiscally responsible (I know, I can hear you snicker as you read this). Do you know who is funding America’s Job Bank? Why in the world does the gov’t feel that they need to spend money to create and maintain one of the 40,000 job boards available? And why, if they find out about a great services/tool for the citizens, can’t they tell the citizens??
So, let me sum this up, without sounding like a dunce. As a job seeker I expect that resources that I pay for (taxes) to help me in any way that I can. I am disappointed that state and federal org’s are not more helpful, sharing really good resources. Instead, they focus on spending money on things that I can get elsewhere (so they are competing with the private industry…), and keep resources like JibberJobber a secret.
In all fairness, there is one exception – the state of Maryland has a great resource page to help people find jobs, and have links to helpful non-gov’t resources.
Go figure.
P.S. – any exception to gov’t sites will be big news in this blog – just let me know.