How To Beat The No Job Blues

The market for jobs is bad and getting worse. As this is written the official unemployment rate is 10 percent and 15.4 million people have lost their jobs as of November 2009. The real numbers — which include the underemployed and discouraged workers — are much larger.

These are lousy numbers and lousy times for many people. The big question is this: How do you defend your interests?

10,000 Lawyers

I meet a lot of people who tell me they’re waiting for the right job or the right dollars. Good luck. In most fields those days are gone. Think about the 10,000 people who have been laid off from law firms during the past year. If attorney’s can’t work then times are really hard.

Get Work Strategies

Stop looking and start acting. No job is going to come to you in today’s environment. You have to get out there every day to check the classifieds, the online sites and the notices in local shopping centers. Speak with friends and family, folks in your field, people you know through clubs, religious congregations, school, etc.

Make Getting A Job Your Business. If you had a job you would work 9-to-5, or whatever hours are appropriate in your field. Apply the same standard to your job hunt. Make getting a job your business.

Work For Free. Someone we know worked for weeks on end in various kitchens in New York. In the restaurant world it’s called trailing and it’s a good way for would-be employees to see workplaces as they actually function — and for employers to see if someone has the skills and personality to fit. Three years later he manages a large restaurant and has an office, a staff and frequent offers to go elsewhere. If you work for a place and don’t get a job, at least you will have learned something. Look also for internships, externships, and OJT — on-the-job training.

Go Where The Jobs Are. Go to conferences, lectures and meetings where you can mingle with people in your field. Remember that a lot of jobs get filled on the basis of personal recommendations and knowing that a spot is open.

Go Where The Jobs Aren’t. Eating on a regular basis is important. If you can’t find a job in your field, look elsewhere. Be willing to work at night and on weekends. Be willing to commute. Be willing to do the dirty work. Such jobs may not be what you want but they offer two valuable benefits: They bring in dollars today and they may open up unexpected opportunities.

What about happiness? Isn’t that important. You bet. Unfortunately the economy has eroded to the point where eating on a regular basis and living indoors are concepts which need to come first. Not happy thoughts, but part of the new reality.

Lastly, always remember that you have value. Most people have gone through tough times at some point in their lives. It’s okay. Today may be hard but tomorrow is another day. Don’t give up or drop out. Start somewhere, even if starting somewhere is not what you want.

Technorati Tags: employment, job, strategies