The online system should be easy, but it’s not; It’s a nightmare. The applications are long and cumbersome. After a significant amount of time and effort to match key words and make sure every question is answered, it’s submitted, and ta-da … nothing. The resume has become a resident of the Great Black Hole.

Another equally frustrating alternative is the local Craig’s List. Job seekers will sift through the openings posted in Greenville/Spartanburg and Asheville. The problem is jobs are posted and forgotten. One local applicant found a warehouse manager job in Duncan, S.C. that required job seekers to apply in person. After having driven to the advertised address, he was told,” Oops! The job was already filled. We forgot to cancel it. Sorry.”

And finally, the elephant in the room: a weak economy means employers can offer wages sometime significantly under the appropriate wage for the skill set.

All kinds of reasons (and excuses abound), but the bottom line is supply and demand.  Why hire a seasoned professional with experience and skills when you can hire an inexperienced applicant for half the salary, train them in-house and hope for the best?

In Polk County, we need quality jobs that offer good wages.

A living wage in our county starts at $9.11 an hour for a single person.  Living wages and quality jobs offer rewards for the employee and the community at large that go beyond the bottom line: overall job satisfaction, sense of pride and accomplishment, fewer missed work days, greater contributions to the workplace and more.

Quality jobs: a tall order for sure, but one worth the effort.