Experts see 'tale of two job markets'

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Dec 17, 2006 | by James TempleSTAFF

Micah Fisher-Kirshner, 25, is grappling with this last problem. While many of his undergraduate classmates ventured directly into the work force, Fisher-Kirshner decided to earn an advanced degree. He graduated in June with a Master's of Pacific International Affairs degree from UC San Diego. In the last six months, he has landed promising interviews with Google Inc., Lam Research Corp. and Red Bricks Media. But no offers followed, as the jobs tended to go to those with longer resumes. Fisher-Kirshner continues to live with his parents in Fremont.

"The job market has been great for those who already have job experience," he said, "but the starting entry level that would work for me, that doesn't seem to be so good."

Brown's Achilles' heel, meanwhile, is job jumping. She had the unfortunate experience of working for two companies that laid her off amid downsizing in less than a year. She tends to get more responses when she leaves off the dates, but the question always comes up in the interview, she said.

The only offers she has received were for 100 percent commission positions, where she wouldn't earn a penny until she closes a sale and would be on her own for health insurance.

So for now she's a waitress. Her boss yells when she doesn't wipe a table properly and dings the $20 she earns an hour, with tips, when she messes up an order.

"(It) is the most demeaning thing I've done," she said. "This is what my life has boiled down to."

Reach James Temple at (925) 977-8534 or jtemple@cctimes.com.