Lurker Posted February 10, 2010 Posted February 10, 2010 ..this has become increasingly a political football fest between the two leading parties of USA. Republicans are trying to portray themselves as savior of Capitalism while suggesting Democrats are turning Socialists, while Democrats are suggesting Republicans have sold their soul to devils(read lobbies) and are completely unaware of plight of common man. So what is your $.02 cents about this? Specially folks who live/work in USA? My personal thought is USA is definitely seeing a demise of Capitalism in some ways. One of the trends that I am increasingly seeing in US these days is - Its not what you know but who you know. Gone are the days when your individual brilliance meant you would get the best jobs, positions etc. These days it is fast becoming all about "networking". Any time I watch any job advise the first thing tell you is - Improve your Network and ask your friends to get you a job. Now I can understand having references to get a job since resume and interview can only (un)cover so much, however I completely dismiss this notion whereby people are getting jobs simply because they know a key person(s). How is it any different than nepotism/casteism/bha-bhatijawaad of India?? What's your take?
patriot Posted February 10, 2010 Posted February 10, 2010 Welcome to America. " Networking " is nothing but the glorified term used for sifarish here in America. Only about 20% of the top schools have good campus placement. How do you think the rest of the bunch get jobs ? Especially in times of recession, almost 80 % of the jobs are taken because of networking. I remember reading a Financial Times article/report on this number. Going through the normal route where in you apply through job websites , company website where your resume is cluttered along with thousand others, your chances of making through even on very strong merit are just as good as winning a lottery. UNless you fake alot of experience, and hit the " apply" button at a very fortunate time.
Clarke Posted February 10, 2010 Posted February 10, 2010 What socialism ? Its another one of those right wing hogwashes. Offering a public 'option' in terms of healthcare insurance is socialist ? As opposed to the Iraq war buddies (Brits) who run a public healthcare system top to bottom ? Or is it the 3% tax increase for people making $250k+? Its another one of those dirty lies thats actually working well for the Repubs. As per the sifarish thing, as far as i know, it just gets you to the interview, which is where u prove urself as opposed to the bhai-bhatijaa story where u get the job irrespective of ur qualifications. Two different things as per my knowledge. I have seen numbnuts as well, but in miniscule numbers here.
Brainfade Posted February 10, 2010 Posted February 10, 2010 ..this has become increasingly a political football fest between the two leading parties of USA. Republicans are trying to portray themselves as savior of Capitalism while suggesting Democrats are turning Socialists, while Democrats are suggesting Republicans have sold their soul to devils(read lobbies) and are completely unaware of plight of common man. So what is your $.02 cents about this? Specially folks who live/work in USA? My personal thought is USA is definitely seeing a demise of Capitalism in some ways. One of the trends that I am increasingly seeing in US these days is - Its not what you know but who you know. Gone are the days when your individual brilliance meant you would get the best jobs, positions etc. These days it is fast becoming all about "networking". Any time I watch any job advise the first thing tell you is - Improve your Network and ask your friends to get you a job. Now I can understand having references to get a job since resume and interview can only (un)cover so much, however I completely dismiss this notion whereby people are getting jobs simply because they know a key person(s). How is it any different than nepotism/casteism/bha-bhatijawaad of India?? Agree completely. It is turning into a circus. True capitalism and true fiscal conservatism are all but dead. It started with FDR, and has only expanded over the years. If the Repubs were truly fiscal conservatives, they would never have approved the Iraq war. Only a handful like Ron Paul had the gumption to oppose an expensive war from the get-go. But, they were shouted down.
suraj Posted February 10, 2010 Posted February 10, 2010 What is new or changed about networking in America; it was always the case here and an acceptable skillset required to grow in career ?? I don't think that is anything new or different here
Lurker Posted February 10, 2010 Author Posted February 10, 2010 What is new or changed about networking in America; it was always the case here and an acceptable skillset required to grow in career ?? I don't think that is anything new or different here Actually I do think this is different. For two reasons: a) With bad economy there are more unemployed than vacancies and hence networking is now becoming lot more of a visible phenomenon. As I suggested earlier it is less about excellence and more about when networking when people with degrees are not getting called for interviews while less qualified people are landing them. b) There is a boom of Social networking and everyone it seems has great references ready. A case in point is LinkedIn where people are recommending others, often without much truth in the compliment.
Clarke Posted February 11, 2010 Posted February 11, 2010 BTW Lurker, when you say it seems to you that you see a demise of Capitalism, what are the aspects in terms of social and economic sectors that it is clearly visible ? As per my understanding, capitalism within itself does not promise a fair environment in terms of recruitment. The recruiters are still free to hire whom they please to and they do not face any external forces directly influencing their decisions. If they are partial to certain candidates, thats still capitalism .. or is it :confused_smile:
coffee_rules Posted February 11, 2010 Posted February 11, 2010 I thought it was always like this, you had to know somebody to get interviewed. You apply in the company website, and half of them are fake ones. So, nobody gives a damn. I interviewed a few contractors from service magic for a home remodelling job and I selected the one my friends had used.
The Outsider Posted February 11, 2010 Posted February 11, 2010 To take the liberty of carrying on from where I think Lurker is coming from, he has a point. True, networking etc. has always been a part of getting jobs etc., however the American market, economy, and most importantly venture capitalists used to be much more open to something new and radical you could bring along than things are now. Not really a permanent shift as Lurker is implying, but surely a reflection of the job market, independent ventures, and the economy.
suraj Posted February 11, 2010 Posted February 11, 2010 To take the liberty of carrying on from where I think Lurker is coming from' date=' he has a point. True, networking etc. has always been a part of getting jobs etc., however the American market, economy, and most importantly venture capitalists used to be much more open to something new and radical you could bring along than things are now. Not really a permanent shift as Lurker is implying, but surely a reflection of the job market, independent ventures, and the economy.[/quote'] Again it has always been cyclical nothing new about the awing from the enterprenuership to the corporate ladder BS that has existed for years now
Lurker Posted February 11, 2010 Author Posted February 11, 2010 BTW Lurker' date=' when you say it seems to you that you see a demise of Capitalism, what are the aspects in terms of social and economic sectors that it is clearly visible ? As per my understanding, capitalism within itself does not promise a fair environment in terms of recruitment. [b']The recruiters are still free to hire whom they please to and they do not face any external forces directly influencing their decisions. If they are partial to certain candidates, thats still capitalism .. or is it :confused_smile: No it is not. In a free market every producer gets to display/sell his wares/products and the market picks what it thinks is the best product. In a recruitment scenario prevalent today if only the "networked" candidates get a chance for interview that becomes a case of market manipulation and not free market economy. It is like you are told by your bank they will finance your new car and then keep sending you only to Kia dealers, for reasons behind the scenes. When it comes to recruitment specifically I prefer the model where every eligible candidate is given an equal chance and there is also a section for References. Generally this section is used when the candidate is far enough into the interview process and the Recruiting person calls his References(generally the candidates previous Managers) to get a feel of him workwise. It is completely different when "networking" is essentially landing people infront of recruiter for that reason alone thus cutting off potentially better candidates. xxx
Clarke Posted February 11, 2010 Posted February 11, 2010 ^^ I still dont get the argument. Firstly, there is no govt control. Secondly, capitalism as a system guarantees the freedom to make decisions; whether the decisions are fair/unfair to some is nowhere related to the extent of capitalism. The logic behind the system as per its supporters is, it shall correct itself by means of the single most important objective i.e. profit motive. Lets say some vastly underqualified engineer is recruited by Employer X. If X incurs a massive loss in a project due to a small fault of the recruit, the probability of him/her getting laid off is increased. Since X is always competing with Y & Z to retain market share, the probability of laying off incompetent employees is even higher. There is thus a good chance that the incompetent recruit shall be replaced by a competent one. This is the theory, am sure you know it but anyways .. in the real world you cannot expect a system to be fair and square. "Self correcting" is the way they say. The bank-kia analogy sounds a bit incomplete. It could be that a bank benefits from financing a certain brand more than others. They're not forcing you to buy the car. You have the freedom to choose another means of financing the car of your choice. Again, in a free market, if the customers choose to stay away from such a bank, the bank management is supposed to then alter their strategies to survive. I'll try and put another example on the topic. Ferrari and some other elite car makers are selective of their customers; you have to have a few elite models of yesteryears to apply for the newest elite model. In others words, they are telling me i cannot buy a certain car even though i am willing to pay the price they ask. Why ? For Ferrari, its USP is exclusivity and not numbers. The freedom with which they make such a decision is still called capitalism.
kabira Posted February 12, 2010 Posted February 12, 2010 What is american today is due to Capitalism. If thats dying, America is dying.
Nova Posted February 16, 2010 Posted February 16, 2010 Is It Networking or Nepotism 2.0 -------> http://www.mikeperras.com/nn2009.htm
Lurker Posted February 17, 2010 Author Posted February 17, 2010 ^^ Wow! What are the odds?? Took words right of my mouth. Glad to see I may not be the only one thinking along those lines.
Brainfade Posted February 19, 2010 Posted February 19, 2010 ^^ Wow! What are the odds?? Took words right of my mouth. Glad to see I may not be the only one thinking along those lines. "Take someone out to lunch." --> A concept I have despised.
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