Considering the economy and how difficult it is to land a job in this economy, many highly motivated and qualified people are struggling to not only find a job in their field, but find a job at all.
I remember being unemployed for six months after a previous job had to close their doors. I applied for every retail and fast food job along with any other job I came across because I needed a paycheck to provide for my family. I kept getting turned away and rarely got an interview because I was considered overqualified with a college degree. Overqualified meant nothing to my growling stomach and bare cupboards. It was not for lack of trying. I consider myself a hard worker and do not feel I am above doing any job.
Fast forward to present day. Many people have hired me to either create or overhaul their resumes. I have three on my desk at this moment (along with many copyediting and technical writing projects). I had a friend email me this morning about a fourth resume for a friend who was in desperate need of a new job and broke. She asked me to either discount my rate and she would cover any charge. He had been job hunting for awhile now and no one is responding to his resume as it was currently. Of course I took this one on at no charge and already got it back to them both.
I took a look at his current resume and although it was 2.5 pages, it had a terrific look and setup to it. Proper spelling and grammar, along with specific details as to his achievements. Upon closer look, I realize this gentleman had an amazing plethora of talent and anyone should hire him on the spot with his skills. I cut his resume to one page, shortened his work history to only the past ten years, and took off information that was not relevent to general labor (fluent in 7 languages, and vast variety of computer program skills, upon other achievements).
It makes my heart sad to see that people (like myself at one time) have such an enthusiasm to achieve and excellent work ethic who are struggling to provide for their families because a resume cannot get them through the door. What also strikes me is that many charge so much to create a resume that many broke people cannot afford and the cycle continues. I know my resume charge is little compared to much, and I waive the fee on many occasions because I would like anyone succeed at getting a paycheck.
What are your thoughts about charging the unemployed? Do you ever waive fees?
