With US dot-coms struggling to make ends meet, the job search process is tough for employees looking to stay wired.
So tough that Karen DiGesu put herself up for sale on eBay.
Her listing, for a "dot com employee" was posted on October 31.
"Tireless and dynamic dot com employee - content specialist - for sale," the listing reads. "Available for purchase by cool, progressive New York City dot coms. Hard-working and innovative - excellent resume and stellar references. Wears many hats - coordination, direction, management. Proven juggler with laid back personality. Gets the job done right."
"Qualified dot coms will be located in the NYC metro area, have a relocation package, offer benefits and a competitive salary, and provide a good home for someone who needs a large amount of work and stimulation. Available immediately! (paper trained)."
Layoffs turn the table
An eBay spokesman said that the site has had several postings for "professional services," but hasn't seen any significant increases or decreases in listings over the past few months.
With the downturn in Internet fortunes, dot-com employees, who could once call the tune when searching for jobs, have now been forced to go hat in hand to employers.
The carnage has been felt from Silicon Valley to Silicon Alley. Since December, 22,267 job cuts have been announced and about 16 percent of the 274 dot-com companies examined by recruiting firm Challenger, Gray, and Christmas have failed since December.
DiGesu, who works for an e-learning company, had been trying to find a dot-com job in New York with no luck.
Large firms were inundated with applications, while small companies were struggling just to hold onto the employees they had, she said. She said she had an interviewed with one firm last week only to learn the next day that it had gone belly-up.
"I have covered every base, gone directly to companies, gone through friends, every headhunter and (sites like) Monster.com, even small petite ones," she said. "I spread my resume all through New York, and it wasn't working. Desperate times call for desperate measures."
While there haven't been any bids yet, DiGesu said she has received "tons" of emails from companies in New York.
The emails say, "This is such a crazy thing you've done did. Did you think anyone will take you seriously?" she said. "But then the last one is like 'can you send a resume?' Maybe it will work that way; I'll just to talk to people I wouldn't have otherwise."
