Return of the Pink Slip Party

If you’ve been making the networking rounds lately, you’ve probably been noticing a heightened level of people out of work and looking for a job.  Wait, I’m sorry.  The ubiquitous term of the moment is “in transition.”  You know things are bad when people can agree on a euphemism for “laid off.”  Indeed, the environment is reminding me of the last great tech meltdown, which starting producing similar crowds around 2001.  And it makes me wonder: are the Pink Slip Parties on the way back?  (They’ve already returned in New York City and Houston.)

If you weren’t active in the market back then, a “Pink Slip Party” is a party for the unemployed/recently laid off.  Frequently, there’s an attempt to have HR and recruiters in the room.  Ideally, companies will have a booth and people will line up to interview for jobs right there at the party.

Does this sound like a good thing?  Well, it can be.  The thing is, there are some strange elements that can creep into a Pink Slip Party.

Strange Element #1: The cover charge.

Frequently, you’ll see these parties charging a cover to gain entrance.  I would hope there are real jobs and people getting hired if somebody is charging you $20 to line up for an interview, which is what this amounts to.  And you’re also asking unemployed people to fork over cash they may need for, I don’t know, printing resumes or feeding their families?  Not everyone has a cover charge.  The NYC link mentions a $20 suggested donation to charity, and that’s a bit more palatable.  Sometimes people are making a living off Pink Slip Parties, and if you wanted to liken that to war profiteering, I wouldn’t stop you.

Strange Element #2: The actual jobs offered.

You mileage may vary on this, but the companies exhibiting at Pink Slip Parties don’t always have high level jobs on display.  If you’re management (and you’re going to get higher level people showing up if you’re charging a $20 cover) and most of the jobs are entry level, you might well get a little discouraged.  Maybe you get lucky, maybe you don’t.

Strange Element #3: Everyone there is unemployed.

I understand that psychologists say that’s it’s important to network and have a support system while you’re looking for a job.  I understand it’s good to realize that you’re not the only one in that situation.  But you’re walking into a room with ~100 other people that can’t find work.  They can’t tell you about an opening at their company, just jobs they didn’t get or weren’t qualified for.  The only people there with jobs are the recruiters.  If there happens to be a job up for grabs that you’re interested in, suddenly you’re not around 100 people in the same boat, you’re around 100 people trying to get the job you want.  Then, since these Pink Slip Parties are almost always in a bar or night club, you get 100 unemployed people drinking and the mood of the room has a tendency to sink through the floor.  This doesn’t always happen at the first Pink Slip Party, but the longer people are out of work, the weirder the crowd gets when they drink.  Which brings us to:

Strange Element #4: The Booze Factor

Oh, there are so many ways drinking makes this strange.  To be fair, there’s usually a little bit of drinking involved with networking.  Especially if you’re in Chicago or New York.  To be fair, the people at a Pink Slip Party probably do need to blow off a little steam.  And from this point we pop off to the land of really strange things.

Stop number one: price points.  There used to be a tendency to want to have Pink Slip Parties in relatively upscale venues (perhaps partially to appease the exhibitors who wouldn’t send recruiters to a biker bar).  The trouble with upscale venues is that the drinks tend to be on the pricey side, so the person attending has to hope that there’s a special on something they drink, otherwise you could get hit for $20 for a cover and $9-$10 for a cocktail.  Just what you want to do with your unemployment check.

Stop number two: You’re drinking while you’re interviewing.  Stop and think about this.  There’s a difference between exchanging business cards over drinks and actually lining up and having an on-the-spot interview.  Oh, you think you’re not going to drink until after you talk to everybody.  That’s a nice plan.  Too bad you aren’t going to stick to it when the line for the interview is 20 minutes and the waitress asks if you need anything.  I hope you can hold your liquor.  You might make it through the first interview OK, but that third one could be pretty interesting.

Stop number three: The recruiters are drinking, too.  Now you really hope the recruiters doing the interviewing aren’t pounding shots, but odds are, they’re having the odd drink, too.  Especially if there’s any floor roaming involved.  This might be good for you, this might be bad for you.  Booze is a serious X factor.  But let’s face it, you’ve been on strange interviews before.  Can you picture the recruiter from your strangest interview waking up in the morning and saying “Omigod!  Did I hire somebody last night?”  You know you can.

I’m not saying Pink Slip Parties are necessarily a bad thing, just that they’re a strange creature you need to understand before you slip into one.  It can’t be too much longer before one resurfaces in Chicago.