DH having a hard time finding a job

amother

Cappuccino

Today at 8:48 am

amother Calendula wrote:

another way to find a job is to network. if ur husband has friends/neighbors/acquaintances/ relatives who are business owners call them or he should go down to their offices when they have a second to meet with him and let them know he is looking for a job and ask them to network among other friends who are business owners or ppl they know from doing business. I know some people who have gotten jobs that way when the reg routes weren’t yielding anything. not everyone advertises when they are looking for ppl. a lot of ppl just rely on word of mouth.

This!!

lamplighter

Today at 8:48 am

Not bashing, asking:
If this is an issue borne out of the Lakewood kollel system, why isn't there organizations or a system for this transitionary stage?
It makes so much sense that OPs husband is struggling but he's struggling because he chose the system, a system of kedusha BH, and now he's stuck.
Why isn't there a system or a program for this stage of the kollel lifestyle?

OP may the years that DH and you dedicated to Torah learning be a zechus for parnossa and all Brochos!

amother

Crocus

Today at 8:53 am

lamplighter wrote:

There are organizations. PCS offers many courses and helps with job placements. It is a really rough market out there. Many companies are struggling and not hiring. Women have it a little easier because they start straight out of seminary for entry level salaries. By the time they request the higher salary they are usually experienced and valuable at their position. It is a lot harder to work for that amount when you are a father of a few kids. Truth is many industries popular in the frum world such as construction, real estate, mortgages, titles etc. are struggling a lot. They aren't hiring and many are even laying off. Seems like almost all companies hiring now are in the healthcare industry...

amother

↑ Red ↓

Today at 8:57 am

lamplighter wrote:

There are organizations that help. But no organization can fix a poor economy and bad job market. Also an organization can't force employers to pay entry level workers way more than they are worth. The problem cant really be fixed so easily...men want to stay in kollel and then want high paying jobs with no experience. It's not simple.

amother

↑ Alyssum

Today at 8:59 am

amother Crocus wrote:

This. And to add, as another poster mentioned earlier, we don't want to have mixed offices. So the entry level market for office work will be geared heavily towards one gender, the women.

amother

Cyan

Today at 9:58 am

My husband was in Kollel for about 15 years before he started looking for a job, about 6 years ago. He took a basic computer course through PCS and some online courses. At that time (pre COVID) jobs were very hard to find for BOTH men and women. He ended up finding an entry level job paying about $13 an hour (IIRC). He currently makes about 40K a year after 6 years on the job and a number of pay raises. I know that's not what you want to hear OP. My husband is similar to yours in that he speaks and writes English well (OOT High School education) and is a dedicated and hard worker.

The job market in Lakewood is dismal for men :-( . We constantly work on our Emunah. I am totally making this up but my feeling is that learning in Kollel has gotten easier over the years but that Hkb'h made the years following Kollel tough for many families. It's our job to NOT regret those years despite our current financial hardships. Maybe regretting those Kollel years can make us lose some of the schar of dedicating those years to Kollel learning.

My husband recently went back to school. It's been tough with him working full time and taking courses but we feel like this is the hishtadlus we need to do now with the current job market. On the one hand, I wish he would have done the schooling 6 years ago, but on the other hand I know this is part of our journey and I am grateful that he has come to that realization and is working to better our financial future.

If your husband is able to take a course/earn a degree that may be your best course of action now. Hatzlacha!

↑ itsokay

Today at 10:09 am

To chime into the general discussion the struggle to start a career in your thirties is definitely part of the mesiras nefesh for a kollel lifestyle. My husband has been at an entry level IT management position for a while now and really needs a better job- if anyone knows of anyone looking for a great IT guy in Lakewood PM me lol

amother

↑ Lime

Today at 10:20 am

amother Catmint wrote:

why are they stuck looking in Lakewood there are many Jewish owned companies outside of Lakewood too

For some reason people here seem to find traveling very difficult... I don't know about op but I do know thatbev my husband was willing to travel he was able to find more positions in his field.

Also, to answer the person who said about lakewood people sitting in kolll for a long time my husband had this exact problem and he was only 26 when he left kollel, no kids in school. Obviously he was more willing to take jobs that paid anything and he interned for a while and his field and we were able to do that because he was younger, but in the scheme of things spending 2 years to build up in a field is not that long.

amother

↑ Hyacinth ↓

Today at 10:23 am

amother Catmint wrote:

why are they stuck looking in Lakewood there are many Jewish owned companies outside of Lakewood too

My husband got a job in a frum company in the Newark area.
Pays a bit better than the equivalent Lakewood jobs. (He started at 60k rather than 52k, 2 years ago when bosses were throwing money at people to work).
But the commute is stressful. Close to 3 hours daily roundtrip.
He also had taken courses and gotten his Masters in one of the PCS courses.
He's gotten raises and promotions since then. But nothing like the numbers being thrown around here. And in Lakewood it's even worse (he's looked into transferring). The job market for men is really not great.

amother

Camellia ↓

Today at 10:24 am

My best advice is only go through networking. Not just a random ad. Your husband should think of all his old friends and yeshiva mates neighbors etc that work in an office that hires men and ask who is hiring and then come to the interview as “Yaakovs friend”. Bosses like to know that a guy in the office can vouch for you. There are plenty of opportunities like that, I don’t know why everyone is being so discouraging and saying it’s a bad market. I disagree.

amother

↑ Hyacinth ↓

Today at 10:29 am

amother Camellia wrote:

My husband's company - a decent size 100-150 person goods and services office recently eliminated almost their entire data entry and number input department. There used to be 15 workers, now there are 2 and a dozen remote offshore workers- from India and Columbia and such.
His friends in other companies are sharing the same.
It's not that there are no jobs at all. It's that the entry level work where workers gain experience and break their teeth are being outsourced.

amother

↑ Camellia

Today at 10:33 am

amother Hyacinth wrote:

I think her husband is more capable than data entry and number input. And just because some really big companies started doing it doesn’t mean there aren’t loads and loads of smaller companies that are keeping it in house. I know quite a few ppl who recently left kollel and found jobs through the way I’m describing.

amother

Obsidian

Today at 10:35 am

60k is what the entry level jobs pay for no experience. It’s actually on the higher end. The only problem is that you need more money at this stage in life.
Best would be if he can find a job that offers growth or valuable skills that he can learn and eventually go out on his own or get a better paying job with.
The market is very hard now. My husband was looking for a new job not long ago. Bh he found a good position but it was literal hashgacha and after months and months of looking and davening.
Tell anyone u know that you are looking. People have connections and word of mouth travels fast

amother

↑ Hyacinth

Today at 10:38 am

amother Camellia wrote:

Maybe, maybe not.
I know for me that when I was told about all the jobs that were available to everyone else, it really ruined my shalom Bayis. Made me feel like something is 'wrong' with my husband, not trying hard enough, not doing enough, should be changing his entire Gd given personality.
Being reassured that the job market is tough really helped my shalom Bayis.
My husband wasn't bad.

Lizzie4

Today at 10:39 am

As a recruiter who deals with jobs in Lakewood, here’s my 2 cents:

If your husband spent many years in Kollel, the last thing he wants to do now is waste time. It pays to get a career assessment and find out which careers are most suitable for him. It pays to have a professional resume writer write him a resume (ups the chances to get an interview in a tight market)

It’s also worthwhile to take computer courses / business enrichment courses by PCS

Network with family/friends

Do something that pays on the side until you find something (I know someone who made $100,000/year driving and delivering items) , tutor, etc