VietNamNet Bridge – The economic crisis has made a lot of workers redundant. However, medium-class personnel prove to be the biggest sufferers, because it is very difficult for them to find new jobs.

Duong, 43, once worked as the director of a construction company. He dissolved his company in late 2012, when the real estate market fell into decay and his business went badly.

The three founders of the company, one director and two deputy directors, had to look for other jobs.

Duong got a job at a joint stock company thanks to the relationship with a senior executive there. However, after working as the head of a division, Duong became an indifferent worker--with the modest pay of VND4 million a month.

Tired of the job, Duong left the company. However, he remains redundant after a lot of months of seeking new jobs.

Minh, 40, began working as a hired deputy director of a small finance consultancy firm in 2004. The bad business performance led to the dissolution of the firm in 2013 and made Minh redundant. He has failed to find another job over the last three years.

“I am seeking a medium-class position, possibly the head of divisions,” Minh said. “However, there are numerous candidates for the posts, and I have failed.”

Nguyen Thi Van Anh, Managing Director of Navigos Search, a recruitment solution provider, noted that a lot of directors or senior personnel of private small businesses, which have got bankrupted, now have to look for other jobs. However, it is not easy for them to apply for reasonable posts.

Anh said there are not many good job opportunities at this moment, when the economy is facing big difficulties. Meanwhile, business owners tend to be choosier when recruiting workers, especially the ones for management posts.

Also according to Anh, the most suitable posts for the redundant directors can be found at other small private businesses. However, small scaled businesses now have to struggle hard to exist. Meanwhile, they need to be capable enough to apply for foreign invested enterprises.

Luong, 38, who was the head of the division business of a big enterprise, felt discouraged when he was told to go working at a branch of the enterprise with the lower salary. Therefore, he decided to resign in 2012, believing that his experiences would allow him to find another job soon.

In fact, Luong took some other jobs after he left the company, but he left just after a short period. “The pay was so low that it was not enough to feed my mouth,” he explained.

Luong has resigned the hope of finding another job and he now thinks of starting up a new business of his own, maybe a fashion shop.

According to Anh, there are many reasons that make it more difficult for Duong and Luong to find new jobs. They once held the high posts at their companies, and they may feel disappointed with the promised pay at the new posts.

Recruiters always hesitate to recruit such candidates. They were once the directors of their companies, therefore, they may not be able to get adapted to the new circumstances, where their voices are not decisive.

The age of the candidates could also be a problem. Though they have experiences from their previous jobs, they might have lost their enthusiasm after tasting bitterness from the failure.

VNE