For those of you who are out of work, and conducting frustrating and fruitless job searches, you must use every method possible to get re-employed. In IT and Software, as well as in most fields, “there are jobs out there.” We might be in a deep recession, with no chance of it ending in the near future. But that notion is a self fulfilling prophecy. Proactive people are getting new jobs everyday. Again, you need to do whatever it takes to get your career back on track, today!
You must make yourself the most employable candidate as possible to get that new job. If you lack strong interviewing skills, then get them now. If your resume doesn’t convey a compelling case why you should be hired, then find someone to assist you. If you don’t project a positive and proactive image and attitude, then change it. All the tools that you need are available. You just need to use them.
I see too many people who seriously impair their own job search. They don’t know what they want, or they do know what they want, but they aren’t qualified, unless they get more training. They are unwilling to even consider a position at a lower level. Remember, the longer you are out of work, the more difficult it will be to find a position comparable to your last one. Still, for some of you, a career change may be your only hope for employment. If so, get good unbiased advice, get training, and then from a more marketable position, start looking.
Certainly you can contact all the headhunters you want, or you can post your resume on every job board that interests you. But if you have been walking these passive paths towards a new job for three to six months with no success, then it’s time to start running! It’s time to envision yourself working and regaining your self-respect and self-worth. If your vision is strong enough, it will become a reality.
Research and utilize social media outlets and other forms of networking. Contact companies directly – even if that means knocking on companies’ doors and asking to speak with the appropriate hiring person. I know this may sound extreme, but these are extreme times that call for bold and innovative action. Contact alumni from your alma mater; contact everyone you have worked with in the past who has even a remote chance of helping you. Follow up on every lead. Call, email and text message to the point of being a pest. And most importantly, do it now!
If you aren’t being ultra-assertive, then get a career coach to help you discover, and develop that vital competency. Bottom line: you have to take yourself off auto pilot and break through the barriers that are between you and the job you want. You might be angry, depressed, scared, panicky, or feeling sorry for yourself, but honestly, companies could care less. They need people with the right mindset to give them 150% effort from the get-go, and those are the people who are “acing” the interviews and landing the jobs.
I hope my call to arms motivates you to develop a winning strategy and a winning attitude that to an employer makes “you” the best choice for the job. Stop listening to the naysayers and cynics who sap your energy and poison your pride. Forget about the media and its endless barrage of negativity. I know you can do it, and deep down, you know you can do it too. So, be prepared, be skilled, be positive and get out there and do it! Soon you will be moving up in success, rather than sinking down in failure.
Source by Michael Jay Sullivan