One of the ways that you can tell that things are slow in an economy and hiring is tough is if the company website is in “desperate need” to fill a position “ASAP” and they refer you to an automated system to just through your resume into their database.
Another ways is when recruiters try the bait and switch on you to get you to send them their resume. Depending on what part of the country you live in and where in the United States (or world for that matter), you may be seeing more of a “bust” economy rather than a “booming” one.
Companies are reacting accordingly and sending out postings hoping that things will get better. In some cases they are back to business as usual with their hopes that in this bad economy that they can get a Harvard PhD with 20 years experience in their field to work for minimum wage. Business has always been that way.
A subtler technique is where they post a position for say a technical engineer but when you get on board you find yourself doing Project Manager work. Or if you get hired on as a Project Manager and find yourself managing multiple projects and divisions doing a Director’s job! It may not matter to you because you are just looking to get an income stream going again. If you are doing a great job, once economic times change, you are in a position for lobbying for more money.
Keep busy sending out resumes.
Start looking to see if there are any short term contracts that you can take, if that makes financial sense to you, to get some money coming in. If your industry is in a slump, like the auto industry, is there anything else where your skills can be used where you can derive a living?
I am getting a lot of emails from people talking about their frustrations at finding work. I tell that that eventually some of the ads they answer have to be legitimate ones and ultimately all it takes is one job. Once you get that one job, the rest of it will not matter.
Good luck!
Kim Greenblatt