Lately Pack Protocols has come across numerous packaging professionals who have been released from their current corporate jobs. Many of these people have not been released due to performance, but rather because of either compensation or experience. This is unheard of because the economy is in a so called boom where companies cannot find enough “qualified” workers.
Even more so than in the past, current trends show an increase in replacing veteran employees with new college graduates who possess limited working knowledge and experience. It is understood why companies want junior workers – youthful workers are thought to be more impressionable, technologically advanced, and can be molded to what exactly what the company wants. The younger workforce are perceived to go the extra mile because they do not have as many commitments as experienced workers. This is comprehensible.
However; if the emerging workforce is expected to replace a senior worker, they should be paid as one. This does not happen typically. And what happens to the employee, when they’re escorted out the door? Pack Protocols will explain why companies fail at hiring properly in the packaging field.
Companies are usually unaware of what a packaging professional does in the first place. Most end up having a packaging challenge to their product and inform human resources to hire someone to fix it. Packaging professionals are a unique and special breed. They are not a typical engineer and are somewhat undefinable to the general public. That being said, human resources attempts to find candidates to the best of their capabilities to help fulfill the companies needs.
Since a majority of human resource staff are not knowledgeable in packaging engineering, they only attempt to contact professionals with similar backgrounds with the company on their resumes or CV’s. This is the root cause of being marginalized. Several human resources and hiring managers do not understand educated packaging professionals are trained in multiple disciplines of packaging and have the ability to transcend industries. The packaging skills and courses they receive in college touch on a variety of types of packaging not one specific type.
Generally, these students earn an internship at a company while in school to gain real life experience. When the student goes to apply for a direct position with a company, a few human resource and managers have the mentality to look at only past experience placing them into a certain category. If you’re not categorized based of your internship, its usually based off your first full time packaging position. And the longer a packaging professional employee stays within the specific industry, the harder it becomes to get out of the pigeon hole created in that industry. By the time the packaging professional becomes established, the choice to divert from the industry currently held can be difficult.
This is absurd! Other positions in the workplace are transferable. Prime examples are human resources, management, other types of engineering, sales, actors/actresses, nurses… the list is endless. Firms along with human resources and managers shouldn’t be so critical of packaging professional candidates required for the position.
The above paragraph leads to the inevitable: a veteran worker either retiring or being asked to leave so a new junior worker can replace them. Often times companies will hire junior workers six months to two years before they plan on disposing of the veteran worker through reduction in workforce, early retirement, or being released.
The senior worker usually has the task of training or mentoring the junior worker. Essentially teaching and leading by example the fresh worker of how to be a packaging engineer. The worst part from the worker’s perspective is the veteran worker is juggling two jobs and getting paid for one. By contrast, the junior worker is superseding the former worker for an unequal amount for the same work. Certain companies perspective is the junior worker does not need additional compensation because they are being provided “free education”. And while beneficial to the new employee and the company, the true winner of this situation is more often the business.
What’s left over from being marginalized as a packaging engineer: not being or over qualified for employment. This creates large voids for companies to fill that should not be. The simple solution is to treat packaging engineers for what they are; not as strictly specialists but as diverse problem solvers for all packaging needs.
Furthermore; to break free from industry stereotypes a possible alternative may be to generalize and add vagueness to your resume. An example is to remove specifics in regards to company type and responsibilities. Provide a high level description of work conducted. Who knows, maybe this will prevent industry favoritism from materializing? Although uncontrollable by the packaging professional, another possibility would be for companies to have an open mind about their candidates and realize a good portion of packaging engineering skills can be applied and communicated across every industry.
Pack Protocols has the ability to collaborate in a variety of industries. Feel free to reach out if there are any packaging projects or challenges that need to be addressed.