Overqualified: An entry-level job beats having none
TEXT OF STORY
Bill Radke: One difference between this latest recession and past downturns is how hard it’s hit professionals. The unemployment rate for college graduates has more than doubled since 2007. And with unemployment benefits running out, people are taking positions way below their education and experience level just to get back to work. As part of our series “Help Not Wanted,” Marketplace’s Mitchell Hartman introduces us to a highly-qualified candidate struggling with the search.
Stella Shaffer: Radio Iowa, I’m Stella Shaffer. A long battle between Ottumwa’s mayor and city council will go down to the wire.
Mitchell Hartman: Stella Shaffer used to have, more or less, my job. Over a 30-year career she worked her way up from DJ to radio news anchor.
Shaffer: Aberdeen, Sioux Falls, Omaha, Des Moines.
Then, in her mid-50s, she remarried and moved to Oregon. It was 2007. The economy was tanking. She applied for media, PR, receptionist, waitress. After two years, she finally landed something — and once again, you can hear her smooth radio voice:
Shaffer: Oop, there’s a call. “Good morning, Oregon Health Plan Client Services, how can I help you today?”
If you happen to need help with your Medicaid benefits . . .
Shaffer: What’s your client ID number?
In the state of Oregon.
Shaffer: They filled this prescription before at this pharmacy . . . Basically it’s call center work, very low pay grade. I got hired, was one of only two people out of maybe 13 who interviewed. People congratulated me like I’d won the lottery.
You can see why. Finding a job is taking longer than ever in this economy. Meaning people like Shaffer, with impressive resumes and advanced degrees, are settling for entry-level jobs rather than no job at all.
Shaffer: It seems like all my life I was under-qualified-right up until the moment when I was overqualified. I’ve had people say, “Oh, you wouldn’t want to work for what we’re paying” or “You’re beyond this job.”
Kris Kersine hired Shaffer at the call center. She’s getting plenty of similar applicants for state jobs.
Kris Kersine: They have a lot of degrees — Ph.D.’s, and Master’s and Bachelor’s. Of course, families-to support their families, they’ll take what they can get.
But will they stay once the economy gets better and new opportunities open up for highly qualified workers?
Shaffer: You know, at the time that I took this job I figured it was really temporary. And I’m surprised by how much I like the job. On the phone I like to talk to people. Tell them things, educate them, give them answers.
Whether she can keep the job is another question. Oregon is laying off state workers to fill a huge budget gap.
I’m Mitchell Hartman for Marketplace.
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