Job Search and the Laws of Wing-Walking

When people examine the job market, they usually see vast inequality of bargaining power.  The job-seeker needs money to live; the employer, in contrast, faces only a minor inconvenience if a position remains vacant.

On reflection, this is oversimplified.  Some applicants – spouses of full-time workers, children of comfortable parents, older workers with comfortable nest-eggs – are quite secure even if they remain unemployed.  Some employers – small business owners, marginal managers, anyone...