Is New York Doomed?

I know what you’re thinking: that I’m another kook who has some ridiculous conspiracy theory about how and why the state of New York is on the fritz.

Well, I’m not a kook, but I do have a theory about what could happen to this state if things keep going the way they’re going.

Here’s the deal: as some of you know, I’m a soon-to-be 25 year-old Graduate Student whose skills are greatly varied and who wants to put my skills to good use. The problem? I (like many, many others) can’t get my foot in the door. I’ve gone to mock interviews, had my resume looked at and revamped, upped my LinkedIn presence, and have tried a plethora of other options.

I’ve gone to three job fairs in the past few months, and despite recruiters being very impressed with what I have to offer, they won’t even so much as call or set up an interview. Or if they do set up an interview, it goes well, but someone else comes in and either one-ups my skills or offers to be paid a much lower salary.

A friend recently told me that Rochester employers are worrying about a “drought of talent” that’s struck the state. All of the younger people are leaving or are planning on leaving (this includes me). In fact, Tech Crunch released an article in 2009 that said the Rochester-Buffalo areas are some of the worst areas to find a job. The article might be two years old, but it doesn’t seem like it’s changed much.

If you’re so worried about us leaving, there are a few things you can do to keep us here:

• Stop offering Sales positions to people who have legitimate skills and degrees that are geared toward the betterment of your organization. If someone has skills ranging from technical writing to presentational speaking, you should probably use that to your advantage (and they’re probably likely to want to use those skills for you).

• Don’t choose one applicant over the other simply because they are willing to accept a lower salary. Sure, the budgets are tight, but you have to lose some to win some. In this case, don’t force well-qualified applicants to settle for less, unless there’s some guarantee of a raise (with proven success, of course) in a relatively short amount of time.

• Lower the standards of your requirements. How are the young professionals supposed to compete when you’re asking for 7+ years of experience, or are restricting your degree requirements to one field? Some of us aren’t old enough to have that kind of experience.

• Be a little more flexible with scheduling, especially if applicants are finishing up their degree. It always boggles my mind when I hear employers say there’s no room to budge on a schedule. If we’re not working for you yet, that usually means you’re not obligated to pay any tuition assistance. A couple of hours a week can be made up if someone has a class they need in order to graduate.

• Don’t let the Master’s Degree scare you. Based on what I’ve experienced at job fairs, employers cringe or get this worried look on their faces when I tell them I’ll have my Master’s degree in December. We know you can’t afford to pay us $60,000+ right away, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t hire us and give us a shot.

So, Rochester-area employers, want to know where we’re all going and why? There’s (part of) your answer. I’m not by any means saying that this is a sure-fire way to solve the problem, but I figured you’d want to hear it from the horse’s mouth. We can’t afford to stay here, especially those of us who are pursuing a higher education. $30,000 a year is okay for either a 2 year or starting 4 year degree, but there has to be room for advancement and in a timely manner.

I can’t tell you the number of people around my age that are packing up and leaving, and all for the same reason. If you’re not hiring or are not hiring talented young people simply because they lack certain experience that you won’t give them time to train for, what other option is there? And more importantly, what’s to become of New York State when we leave and nobody is around to help pay taxes? Think about it.

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