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UNEMPLOYED UNIVERSITY GRADS WILLING TO WORK FOR MINIMUM WAGE
Marineh Madatyan
hetq
10:43, November 17, 2011
A few days ago, I placed the following help wanted ad in an Armenian
employment website.
Our company seeks new workers. Applicants must have a college education
and mastery of Armenian, Russian and English and a working knowledge
of MS Office...
I was interested to see what salary job seekers would accept. In my
ad, I stated that the starting salary would be 60,000 AMD per month.
Given that the average salary in Armenia, as of September 2011,
is 115,000, I was surprised by the overwhelming number of CV's sent in.
31 year-old Hayk (I've changed the names) graduated from Yerevan
State University with a degree in Applied Mathematics. He met all
the job criteria and also knew MS Access and HTML.
Marianna wrote in saying that she not only masters Armenian, Russian
and English, but Spanish as well.
Varduhie noted that she worked as an English teacher in school and
is a graduate of the Abovyan Pedagogical Institute. She claims to
master English, Russian and German.
Siranoush, a graduate of the Yerevan State Economics University,
noted that she'd be willing to leave her current job at a well-known
insurance firm if accepted. I visited the website of the insurance form
and saw that the company had opening to fill and that the requirements
were basically the same as I set out in my phony ad.
Lousineh, a 25 year-old, studied at the Department of Sociology at
Yerevan State University. She's worked as a public affairs expert
at a news outlet, a social worker at an international NGO, and an
interviewer at two investigative agencies.
One can assume that the wages at the above mentioned jobs do not
reach 115,000 or at least do not surpass 60,000.
Ani holds two university degrees. Not only did she graduate from
the Russian Language Department at Yerevan State University but
took extension classes for banking at the Yerevan State Economics
University.
Respondents meeting all my requirements didn't seem to mind that
the name of the company nor a job description was given in the ad I
placed. Maybe they just overlooked the fact in their euphoria over
possibly landing a job. Most of the applicants also attached a photo
with their resumes.
The next day I placed another "Help Wanted" ad in the same website.
This time the salary was dropped to 40,000 AMD. The requirements were
the same.
I wanted to see if the new ad would solicit any response from job
seekers willing to put up with a salary bordering on the minimum.
I received 15 resumes for the new ad.
If the resumes are factual, unlike my two ads, then employers in
Armenia can find qualified workers, replete with university degrees
and mastering several foreign languages, who are ready to work for
a pittance.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Marineh Madatyan
hetq
10:43, November 17, 2011
A few days ago, I placed the following help wanted ad in an Armenian
employment website.
Our company seeks new workers. Applicants must have a college education
and mastery of Armenian, Russian and English and a working knowledge
of MS Office...
I was interested to see what salary job seekers would accept. In my
ad, I stated that the starting salary would be 60,000 AMD per month.
Given that the average salary in Armenia, as of September 2011,
is 115,000, I was surprised by the overwhelming number of CV's sent in.
31 year-old Hayk (I've changed the names) graduated from Yerevan
State University with a degree in Applied Mathematics. He met all
the job criteria and also knew MS Access and HTML.
Marianna wrote in saying that she not only masters Armenian, Russian
and English, but Spanish as well.
Varduhie noted that she worked as an English teacher in school and
is a graduate of the Abovyan Pedagogical Institute. She claims to
master English, Russian and German.
Siranoush, a graduate of the Yerevan State Economics University,
noted that she'd be willing to leave her current job at a well-known
insurance firm if accepted. I visited the website of the insurance form
and saw that the company had opening to fill and that the requirements
were basically the same as I set out in my phony ad.
Lousineh, a 25 year-old, studied at the Department of Sociology at
Yerevan State University. She's worked as a public affairs expert
at a news outlet, a social worker at an international NGO, and an
interviewer at two investigative agencies.
One can assume that the wages at the above mentioned jobs do not
reach 115,000 or at least do not surpass 60,000.
Ani holds two university degrees. Not only did she graduate from
the Russian Language Department at Yerevan State University but
took extension classes for banking at the Yerevan State Economics
University.
Respondents meeting all my requirements didn't seem to mind that
the name of the company nor a job description was given in the ad I
placed. Maybe they just overlooked the fact in their euphoria over
possibly landing a job. Most of the applicants also attached a photo
with their resumes.
The next day I placed another "Help Wanted" ad in the same website.
This time the salary was dropped to 40,000 AMD. The requirements were
the same.
I wanted to see if the new ad would solicit any response from job
seekers willing to put up with a salary bordering on the minimum.
I received 15 resumes for the new ad.
If the resumes are factual, unlike my two ads, then employers in
Armenia can find qualified workers, replete with university degrees
and mastering several foreign languages, who are ready to work for
a pittance.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress