Mr. A, who wishes to remain anonymous, lives in Tel Aviv and has been working as a sales clerk at a clothing store for several months now. He has 15 years of experience as a product manager in the high-tech industry and started working there after failing to find a job in his specialized field. After completing his military service in the Air Force, he first began working in the technology industry, starting in technical support and working his way up to product management. In 2022, post-COVID-19, he was one of the first to be laid off in a wave of layoffs in the tech industry.
“I've been looking for a job for over a year since then. I went through several recruitment processes, some even made it to the final stage, but in the end they all fell through. This role wasn't for me. I realized that either it wasn't for me or there was too much competition, so I decided to change direction. Since then, I have been working as a sales representative at a major, prestigious fashion store. ” he says.
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Lich Gorlanik of the supermarket.
( Credit: Kindly)
“At first it was really strange to move from the world of computers and meetings. I was lucky enough to work somewhere that offered really good conditions, the best outside of high tech. I work shifts and weekends. Instead of working from home all the time from Sunday to Thursday, it's more tiring, but over time it means bringing out a side of me that I didn't see in the upper class. Even so, I found my place and a way to enjoy it. The world of technology is very business-oriented, formal, and serious.”
Mr. A, who is 38 years old and married, says that although his income has decreased due to the transition to working at a store, it has not decreased significantly and he is still able to maintain his lifestyle. “Of course, we had to cut back on some things. Her wife is also not working now, but she is making adjustments and hopes to advance in her field or another field in the future. I want to,” he says. .
In recent months, he has been trying to find work in product management again, but he says things are very tough. “I received a few interview offers, but I didn’t pursue them much because I thought they were similar. It’s very difficult to get a job offer now, and very “Even the best people are having a hard time finding work,” he says. “I've been out of the market for almost two years, and I feel like I'm behind the times in terms of experience. After two years without work experience, it doesn't matter. I don't know if they're going to take me seriously. I don’t know if you’ll give it to me.’ Maybe this chapter is over. ”
About working in a clothing store, he says: “It's not my life's dream. It's not what I dreamed of doing, but I think there are a lot of good things. When you do manual labor, your perception of yourself changes a lot.” I think of it as a stop on the way to that. ”
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Igor Kushnir.
(Credit: Oleksii Maksymov )
Igor Kushnir, 33, is a technical artist with 12 years of experience. He previously worked as a freelancer for a company that creates VR and AR games with the intention of being hired as a full-time employee. But then the war began and everything changed. The company was in trouble, and most of its employees, including him, were fired or placed on unpaid leave. “I looked for a long time until I found a job outside of my field. I started working at a bakery in Loradin and have been there for two months now. I do all kinds of jobs, including overseeing ovens and production.” The first day I had to stand for 10 hours because my panties were wet and it was mentally tough, but I decided to give it another chance. ” he says.
In addition to the changing nature of work, Kushnir is also facing a significant reduction in income. “My hourly wage is 40 NIS, which is much less than what I was earning before. It doesn't feel like a job to me. It's more like a work camp. It's very unusual for me. I wake up at 4 o'clock every day. I go to the factory for a variety of jobs. Sometimes I sweep the floors with or without water, and some days it's just cleaning. Now that I'm used to it, I can relax and travel on the weekends. I work five days a week, with no weekends or holidays,” he says.
Kushnir is still looking for a job in his field, a 3D artist or technical artist position, but says there are very few positions open. Most of his professional experience was gained in Ukraine, and his last position was with an American company with a branch in Israel. “Companies reject candidates without giving a reason. I think some companies advertise positions just to show growth to investors, but maybe I'm wrong.” Recently, he I am starting to see some improvement and plan to continue looking for work in this field. “The situation is gradually improving and people are starting to get hired, which makes me optimistic. I also hope that I will find a job soon. I feel like I need more time to look for a job. “I quit the factory job, but at least I proved to myself that I can do manual labor,” he says.
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Yoav Melamed.
(Credit: Mazel Shofen)
Yoav Melamed, a career specialist who provides recruitment services to hundreds of companies and thousands of candidates, says the job market is the worst it's been in years. “The situation has never been this bad, not even during the bursting of the tech bubble in 2022 or the attempted judicial reform in 2023. And there is great uncertainty regarding the fate of the hostages and the continuation of the war.” .
“We see people looking for work for more than six months and making increasingly painful compromises. For example, a candidate who worked as a digital director at a promising start-up and received a monthly salary of more than 20,000 shekels is now Active on social media Similarly, a project manager I work with originally set a minimum starting salary of 18,000 Naira ($4,839), but now he has 33 to earn it. % Returning to the job market The VP of Human Resources at a large company actually hired employees through me and is now willing to accept junior and part-time work. But they still can't find work because the market is so crowded, especially for HR managers who lost their jobs due to layoffs, he says.
Melamed recommends job seekers treat their job search as a job in itself and spend an hour or two every weekday combing through various search channels, including Facebook groups, LinkedIn, and job boards. . “In general, and especially today, job hunting is a journey, not a trip. It's a marathon, not a sprint. Every day for a week, I send out 30 resumes, 5 of which lead to an interview, and 1 of which doesn't get an interview. I hope that it will lead to you. Even if it takes 1 to 3 months, it is quite possible as long as you have the patience mentioned above. Therefore, increase your knowledge by reading professional websites. We also recommend attending relevant webinars and online courses on sites like Udemy and Coursera.
Lich Goralnik, owner of Goralnik PR, was forced to make temporary compromises to survive financially and save his business at the beginning of the war. She started her business a year before her, but six months later the war began. As a relatively new business during the war, Goralnik found herself with few customers, but she still had a living wage, income tax and national insurance.
“I didn't know if the government would help me, so I looked for a job. I looked for something close to home where I could pay taxes and run a business,” she says. “A few places wouldn't accept me because I couldn't get a long-term job, but one supermarket accepted me for a cashier position, sorting the shelves. They agreed. I didn't.'' When I asked about the salary, I learned that it was 33 shekels ($8.80) an hour, three shekels more than the minimum wage.
“It was a very physically demanding job, working from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. without sitting for a minute, delivering products to the shelves and dealing with difficult people, but the opportunity they gave me was great. “It was very difficult for me,'' she says. “At the end of the month, I wasn't really happy with the amount that was on my payslip, but I was happy that I had a payslip and had some income.” It will help you get through this period. The salary was about 4,000 shekels, but it was better than nothing. ”
Goralnik chronicled her experiences working at the supermarket in a column she called “Super Stories” on Facebook. “I was happy to have a job and an income. I wish I didn't have to write this. I wanted to go back to work. It's very strange for a self-employed person to go back to a system that… “I had two bosses, very good bosses, but still bosses.
“Once, when I answered the phone at work, one of my bosses scolded me and tried to hang up on me, even though they never told me it was forbidden. It was my first time.'' I needed the job and I was really grateful for the opportunity. Because that was exactly the time when I needed a job, and it would have been easier for everyone else too. For example, at one pharmacy chain, if he wanted to train me to organize shelves, he would need a month to train me, so I was asked to work for a long period of time. They said I wouldn't be able to leave right away. ”
After working at the supermarket for two months, Goralnik decided to quit and returned to work. “They told me I would be working the night shift every day counting stock, which was too much for me. During those two months, new clients came to me when they heard I was working at the supermarket, and I took up the PR job. I said I shouldn't forget.'' I said I would quit if I had another client, but the public relations recovery from 7/10 was temporary for me. ” she says. .
