I am a retail recruiter for a billion dollar corporation. I hire people nationwide at low wages to get yelled at by customers at the request of my leaders. Whenever I interview someone and they ask for more money, the most I can get approved is $1 or $2 if they meet the criteria. That's it. These jobs do not pay enough for a two bedroom apartment in every market I've recruited for yet this is what they're paying people. I think I know how to solve it and I need everyone to keep an open mind.
I know how pay increases are decided by mega corporations and its not by recruiters but typically operations and HR. Let's say I have a job market with a bunch of dispositioned candidates and most of the notes are “candidate says the job doesn't pay enough”. A few steps will be taken first like added sign on bonuses. Eventually someone accepts because the sign on bonus is something people need right away but HR realizes they don't have to raise the wage. If a job posting is up for so long and HR thinks the only solution is a pay increase due to the data that has been extracted from previous candidate interactions, they will raise the pay to whatever is necessary which brings me to my idea that is in separate parts;
- we collectively decide in all major cities in america how much each position is worth to at least afford the average two bedroom apartment. Retail workers, warehouse, call center, fast food, everything. We decided “nothing less than $x”.
- Once that is decided, all who participate in this create a perfect resume with a fake name. The resume should be exactly what the recruiter is looking for so if its retail, put down that you worked at target for the last 3 years or something that is extremely similar to the job posting. That way you are more likely to be contacted. Target postings that have been open on indeed the longest.
- Assuming the recruiter calls you, agree to everything. The shitty schedule, the shitty pay, all of it. Have a perfect interview and be a great candidate. Act like you just love working all the time and going above and beyond.
- Sign an offer letter so that the recruiter marks that position as 'filled' and unposts it.
- Wait as long as you can to not fill out any screening information and then last minute, immediately withdraw your offer and put it in writing, “I'm sorry but I've decided I need something at least $x per hour so I will be withdrawing” or “I found another job that pays $x so I'm withdrawing” and don't mentioned where you 'took another job'.
This is something that you can do while being employed at your shitty job longing to get out. It will take a lot of people to make this work but its not an unrealistic venture. We can increase the agreed wages incrementally but this is so anonymous that even if it gains traction, the recruiter won't know whether or not its a part of the protest, and if enough people withdraw requesting the same wage, then the data HR pulls will tell them that they have to increase to that wage or something closer.
The reason I am saying to accept the job offer is because the goal is to have the job unposted to actually effect business enough to where they say “we have to increase wages”. Remember, they will pay what they feel like they have to. They never increase wages for the sake of being fair.
The US is a capitalist country and wages are a way to control profits that employees get none of. The reason why unions won't work is because no matter how many people are involved, they are shut down as soon as someone inevitably finds out. This idea seems undetectable and would keep everyone anonymous even if some recruiters reading this are a part of it. No one will know who is in it and who is not. Its time for the average person to be able to afford a house and a normal life again. The minimum wage is not going to increase effectively and even if it does, the wages will just inflate and we will have the same problems. The current market for entry level workers needs to be DISRUPTED.
Let me know your thoughts. I just thought of this today so some details might need to be ironed out.
edit: I also want to add that if HR increases entry level wages they have to raise wages that are higher on the totem poll as well. This idea positively effects anyone who isn't a CEO.