Keep the job-search blues at bay

I have been out of work for a few months. I have found that “job search” social networks like http://jobseekernetwork.ning.com are great “pick-me-up” tools. It’s not a job board…it’s a “unemployment” group. When I feel defeated or down it helps just to talk…there are industry professionals from around the globe and in hundreds of professions.
I have made a ton of new friends and even secured a few job leads I’m working on. Has anyone else had positive “pick-me-up” experiences on job related social networks?

So many jobs these days are never posted anywhere, but the job boards still attaract thousands of viewers. A targeted job search looking at the “Hidden Job Market” is far more productive. Think about how you found your last job. Was it a call from a friend, an internal hire, or a referral from someone you used to work with. The good career firms out there work with you to do the “heavy lifting” around this type of search. Hard work pays off.

What about new grads? Entry-level jobs can attract experienced overqualified people laid off. The bleak job market reminds me of scenery from the Titanic, when people are trying to take hold of something while the whole shop sunk.

About globalization. (I am from China.) Please don’t blame China or India for the sin of sucking jobs out of America. According to “the great doubling” theory, since 1990s, the global labor supply suddenly doubled and it will take quite a while for the world (either side of the world) to absorb the impact. Corporates are struggling, too. If they are too slow to harness the new cheap labor, they will sink. I don’t know the way out for mid-life middle-class discouraged workers. Just think this as a flood of Noah’s time. It affects us all.

But for native English speakers, you can make a living and travel the world by teaching English. Simple as that. But not so easy for families. Anyway, wish everyone good luck. Keep feith.

It’s interesting reading of other folks’woes in the job market. I gave up my job last year to move to Nashville from the UK to be with my woman and was dumped unceremoniously and left to fend for myself. I went back to the UK and then came to Australia. I haven’t worked since last October, I have the added problem of being 59 and having ‘unwanted’ skills. Worse still..I’ve spent the last 8 months living in other peoples houses, and yet I still have hope. I apply for the most meaningless jobs..ie nightfilling in supermarkets, I don’t care anymore any job will lift my sprits now.

Midwestern Mama-
As a middle-aged degreed professional with over 20 years of experience, here’s what I did when I suddenly became unemployed.
1. Back off from the search but keep trying. An aggressive approach with no immediate results can be very discouraging. Be realistic, job hunts can take some time.
2. Take a professional development class at the local community college. Good place to network and keeps your mind engaged. Also, as a student you can check out part-time jobs in your area.
3. Get really involved with your professional associations. Go to meetings and social events as often as you can. Networking goes a long way.
Hope this helps.

Don’t forget to set obtainable goals for yourself: Exercise. Learn and do new projects around the house. Brush up on new computer application skills. Take some evening adult ed courses. In short, do things that will give you satisfaction and fulfillment. Then, when the interviewer asks what you’ve done in your down time, you can say, “I applied myself to learn XYZ, secured a thorough knowledge of it, and accomplished my goal.” So, learn how to apply wall paper and chair railing, or how to use MS Access, or how to landscape. Impress the prospective new boss with your ability to learn new skills.

Bill, this is of course why the finance folks always say: Have enough savings to live on for at least 6 months. It can be hard to put aside that much — what with kids, mortgage, and other expenses — but it certainly provides a “safety net”!

No, Laura, I do not have a full-time, well-paying job, but that’s beside the point. I don’t imagine that the job market in Wheeling, W. Va., has ever been particularly robust, and it’s probably a lot worse now. You don’t say what kind of work you’re looking for, or what having had a stroke has to do with it exactly (do you mean just having been out of work while you recovered, or is there more to it than that?), but I wonder if it would be possible for you to relocate…? Please advise!

Ms. Fisher,
I’m not sure you know what you’re talking about. I’m assuming you have a full-time, well-paying job. I had a stroke a year ago, and have been looking for work since then. A minimum of 6 resumes and/or applications/walk-ins are done a day by me, and I still have not found anything. I haven’t given up, but I can totally understand those who do, and don’t believe that perserverence in this instance is of any use.

How hard you work looking for a job (which sucks even in a good market) should be proportional to what you have as financial reserves to buy time until the job market improves. Obviously if your reserves are low, you can not afford the luxury of losing too much time spinning your wheels and you must work at it every day. There is also nothing worse than burning six months of your time looking, especially full-time, and having nothing to show for it after 6 months. Now that is discouraging! I prefer to use down labor market conditions as a time to take time off relax and travel but I plan for it with years of cash reserves. It takes discipline but it’s a great way to live your life when things are down.

Another great way I found in a short little book called The Power of Small. They suggest keeping a daily list of 5 positives/accomplishments. I did this while looking for a job. That way I was able to tlak with confidence about how I had been spending my time since my last job.

Annie,

I worked in computers for 17 years in the DC area. After 9/11, I couldn’t get a job anywhere in the area because I didn’t have a “current” security clearance. I had held a TS/SCI a long time ago but they expire. You probably don’t know this, but there are “ALMOST” 100,000 jobs available with defense contractors all over the country. Don’t believe me? Then go to http://www.clearancejobs.com and then click on “IT” jobs on http://www.washingtonpost.com. Unfortunately, NO ONE can get these jobs because it’s taking too long to get a clearance. USA Today did a “huge” article about the problem and I WAS IN THE ARTICLE. It was published by Richard Willing on 2-14-07.

I’ve written to everybody and talked to every news media outlet to try to get them to interview me about this problem. I even told Lou Dobbs in person back in 2006 in front of TW Building in Manhattan. I have NO IDEA why NO ONE wants to interview me about this story and help people to get these jobs. It’s “beyond” human understanding!!!!

I can e-mail you the link(the archive is no longer on USA Today but I have the story) if you want.

If you(and anyone at CNN) “REALLY” want to help some people get back to work in this economy, then get back to me. And YES, I’m VERY serious!!! I even told Gerri Willis about it when I met her at a job fair at Rutgers earlier this year and she never called me back. Even after I gave her a copy of the article! What is with CNN?

David
dalstonnj@gmail.com

Hello fellow job searchers! Just a word (or two!) from an unemployed lady in the UK who has also been hit hard by the recession. These posts are a great source of helpful information and solace.

I worked in what was to be a temp to perm position in London, up to Feb this year, for (oh dear) Lloyds bank! What a terrible career move and yet, how was I to know I would be the first out the minute the merge with HBOS was well under way.

During my career in London, as a PA/Office Manager, I have never had a problem securing interviews or receiving calls from Recruitment agents keen to sign me up on their books. Unfortunately for me, my last three roles (over two years) have been:

a) well known Headge Fund which went under in a blaze of notoriety!

b) fairly well established IT software company which apart from offering me a wonderful salary and exciting position as ops manager, also contained the boss from hell (a man who thought it routine to yell and swear at his staff daily and was so un-PC I was often left wordless in shock!) who not only managed to oust me out, but also the majority of employees I worked with.

c) Lloyds – the rest is history!

So now I am battling with a CV which not only has a four months unemployed gap, but also has, to its detriment, a spate of job hopping. None of this can be helped, but when employees can pick and choose to the finest point, these are two aspects of a CV which will be held against one.

I have gone through the gamut of emotional responses to this dire situation – from A (positive, go getting, organised, networking, proactive, one
the ball, etc) to Z (severely depressed, after 120 plus applications; as this hits not only at my basic ability to earn but also psychologically at my very self worth). This is where unemployment is hazardous to your mental health! Not enough is made of this, but I’m sure prescriptions of anti-depressants are rapidly on the rise world-wide!

I am on unemployment benefits, but as I live alone I have found it extremely difficult just to maintain a semblance of positive thinking and cannot make ends meet…simply. It is demotivating having to sign on every two weeks, for my weekly £64, even if I can amply prove I have been looking left, right and centre for a position (lowering my expectations just to get back in the workplace).

But….I agree that one or two hours a day is enough to look. Anything more and it is just downright discouraging as you end up locating the same roles over different job search engines, and, feel more and more in a no-reply, no hope vacuum. In Sylvia Plath’s infernal “Bel Jar”.

I have rediscovered my love of art (specifically fantasy illustration) and, if I were able to move on into living solely from my creative talents (I sing too), I would.

The problem is this – you are as “empowered” as the information or resources you have AT HAND. Perhaps there are a myriad more ways I could approach this, but without knowing how, or whether self-employment is indeed feasible, one tends to get stuck doing what maybe a couple of years ago WORKED but certainly now, is kind of inappropriate given the Great Wall of China number of people in the same boat, grasping at the same roles.

I’ve just failed an interview for a role 600 (!!!!) applicants applied for – this is soul-destroying stuff. And its at times like this that ones’ friends and family of of extreme importance.

My advice is – keep active, DON’T isolate yourself, seek opportunities no matter how outlandish, meditate (this DOES help ones’s mental framework MORE than anti-depressants), and look to what this dip in your life is secretly telling you – i.e. is it time for a complete overhaul?

Good luck to everyone!!

Dear Annie,
As is typical for you, a good article & good advice.

Two stories I can share. The only time I had been unemployed during the last 40 years, was the short time when I was leaving one job for a better one. You can imagine the shock when, a few years short of 60, I got the same message that so many others are now.

I had always been one of the top performers, some described as “golden” but I had forgotten in a large organization it is not how much money you make for the company, it is more a matter of “have you made the person in the corner office look good, lately.” Over time, my many powerful patrons had died off or retired and I had neglected to cultivate many new ones while I was more focused on the bottom line.

At the time things were bleak with a mortgage, car payments and 3 kids in college. I had been wishing for more time to pursue some private interests, (careful what you wish for, you just might get it.)

After having myself a private pity party, I went back to work full time … working on a project of securing that next job. I networked; I attended outplacement clinics on modern methods of job searches, resume writing, etc., etc, etc. I also got coaching from 20-something HR types that advised me to color my hair and shave my mustache so I wouldn’t look too old. In short, this turned out to be a dry hole for me.

While I started working 8 hour days on the conventional job search, I changed directions and decided that self employment was a better route for me. Soon my work schedule expanded to 10 and 12 hour days as well as weekends. I had always worked in a way that bridged blue collar and white collar roles, troubleshooting complex equipment systems. Now I was doing it as a company of one.

Five years later, my mortgage and cars are paid off and all 3 kids were able to complete college and have good jobs. That awful event of 5 years ago was the best thing that happened to me.

A short while ago my brother got the same news. He was optimistic at first but after nearly a year of job searching he was depressed and ready to throw in the towel. I told him it was a lot like shooting baskets in basketball, only this time you are shooting from mid court; you have to take lots of shots to eventually get one in.

In order to refresh his skills and acquire new ones, he attended some college classes. This got him out of the house interacting with people again. It was a long road with more resumes written and submitted than either of us could count.

On a lark he attended a jobs fair at the college, even though he was told it was a waste of time for him, they were looking for new grads that would be available in the spring. Quite by accident he was talking with one hiring manager who had a need for someone with experience. In short, they arranged to meet after the “kids” left; they had a long talk; he was invited to the regional office for a series of interviews, he was called back for interviews with home office staff and was offered a good paying job that would not require him to relocate his family. While it is modestly less than he was making before, his reduced commuting costs make it close to a wash.

After several hundred shots, he sunk one from center court and that’s all it takes to win in this game.

I worked for Target in California, Long Beach for 3 years and 4 month. I loved working there but, my first year I got 75Cent second 11 cent and tried harder being a good employee and 8 cent after that. I was so up set I walked off the job. Because a pregnante associate got 32 Cent and other employee received 45 cent. I desire a better raise because I worked hard. I was a cashier there.

Sincerely:

Irma Tenoiro

As a young working professional with no college degree, I am finding this article is very basic. Times are different, I need new advice. I’m finding the comments below were much more beneficial than the watered-down advice in the article.

I thank the readers for contributing real information that will actually be of benefit. Moving onto the job search:

I’ve found that in submitting 15-20 online resumes every single day, and even following up by phone three days later has not done any good.

Out of the 70 or so applications I have submitted within the last week, only three places have called back, and these were for shady commission based jobs. No, thank you.

I work in my State’s Capitol, where there are nothing but jobs to be had.

All I can think to say is, ‘I used to supervise 200 plus employees. You’ve got to be kidding me.’

McDonalds here I come. I refuse to fail the biggest fight of my life. I will succeed. I hope the rest of my fellow job-seekers are as hopeful.

Your advises has some great points in a general sort of way. However, it seems that with all the disappointing job and unemployment report, speaking from a localized perspective in Los Angeles, there are many individuals saying they have been looking for years or have friend who are unemployed makes it tougher to go out and search. I have heard this most prominently out in the street and anywhere people talk. And, there are those people who have just landed in one career and that’s all they’ve ever done. I think one particular reason of not finding a job which is not mentioned on your column is that there is an over emphasize on skills, education, or abilities and that these people are not open to drastic changes in their careers. If I was employer, I would definitely would like a qualified person, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t hire someone who is willing or even has an extraordinary interest outside their comfort zone. Although, it does makes sense those people who are taking risk and would not settle for less. That’s just my general observation on people’s inability to find a job.

Reading the other comments has helped! I especially like the visualization idea. Prayer and meditation have real, measurable effects on the brain. From personal experience I know they help. I have forwarded this article to my husband, and hope to have a positive, productive conversation about the many creative ways to return to work. He has been successful in bypassing HR, finding names of the hiring manager, setting up interviews with them. I didn’t realize that it could be a problem to do that, so there’s another new idea for us to discuss.

Taking a job “lower on the totem pole” is a reality we are facing, and I realize I will most likely need to go back to work, as well. I did have solid skills in more than one area,and have kept up my skills through volunteer/hoome office work, so it may be easier for me to find employment more quickly in an entry level field than it will be for him to find a position as a Project/Program Manager. He’s said he would accept anything that will pay more than unemployment, and that’s a good start!

We were never wealthy, but we’ve been careful to prepare for straightened circumstances. I know my garden this summer will be more than just a hobby, and the wild blackberries my kids picked for fun in summers past will be harvested for canning this year. Continued frugality should see us through, I learned a lot from my Grandparents Depression experiences. Thank you Annie, and everyone, for the ideas and comments.

Great advice and article!

I’m a career consultant and have 2 comments:

First, I understood the part about “bypassing HR” and go straight to the manager, but be cautious, as that strategy may also be hazardous. Most HR people like to control and contain the hiring process and do not like it when candidates, or their managers, “go behind their backs”. I’ve learned, in my recruiting practice, to embrace and communicate with HR, if not, it could possibly disqualify a person from consideration or strain a possible business relationship.

My second comment is an “add on” to the great advice provided:

Another approach to the job search process is to volunteer their expertise to say a City function or sub committee. This gets the person out, exposes them to new and possibly influential people, who in time, may be interested in hiring them. This suggestion provides the candidate a forum in which to share their expertise and stay sharp. In essence, free advertising!

Peter – a suggestion from a networking meeting I was at yesterday…Some companies hold fast to the need for a BA. However, personally I and others have hired great people without them, despite the rules. The key is to have something really great to sell (your skills and experience), and get past the resume database search. One suggestion was to take a single online BA course in your field, then put on the resume “Bachelors of Business Administration Coursework” or whatever your field is. That makes you show up in the search results. If you have something else great to offer, it may get you an interview.

Dear Annie,
Reading your article has inspired me to encourage my husband to keep going. My husband has been working on and off for two years . Being an immigrant of ten years and still speaking broken english has not helped , but we are still looking . While he has been off he has been busy working on my “Honey Do List”. This keeps him busy and he is contributing to our home and family in this manner.
Thank You for the advise!

Peter, stay tuned! I’m going to talk about that in a column 2-3 weeks from now. There are actually a *lot* of opportunities for people with no 4-year degree but with the right technical training. (It really doesn’t make sense for absolutely everybody to go to college, anyway, for a number of different reasons — but I’ll get into that later…)

Your advice in today’s column is somewhat helpful. However I have noticed that your column as well as others only seem geared toward those with a degree in higher education. How about some advice geared toward those with only a high school, or some college education, and who can not afford college or university.

Wow, I came back to this blog just for fun this morning, and really enjoyed all of the new comments. If I can, let me just encourage people to also allow God to play a role in their search. I’ve had some really lousey days over the past 3 months, but a few good ones, too. The best was on my birthday (51!), when at about 6:15 pm, an e-mail popped in from a prospective employer. I had scored much higher on an on-line assessment than I thought I would, and as a result, I may be invited to interview later this month. After completing the assessment a couple of weeks earlier, I prayed hard to the God that I don’t understand for His intervention on my behalf. There is no way I can prove it, but I believe strongly that those prayers were answered. I have a friend at my former place of employment who stated flatly to me once that prayer is not a good business strategy. At the time, I joked and went along with her. No more. To anyone feeling crummy today, know that there are many of us out here. I, too, disagree with the idea that we should push ourselves 8 hours/day, unless it’s easy and doesn’t become another hurdle. It seems obvious that our lives are taking us in new directions – we need to try to give ourselves a little time.

If you cannot find a paying gig, volunteer. At least that will keep your brain alert and your body ready to jump back in should you find a good position. Giving back also gives you the opportunity to further build your network, while helping others.

There are many exzcellent suggestions here. Last spring after losing my job,and networking my tail off, I had a brainstorm.
I interviewed for and obtained a part-tine position over the summer. It allowed me to work productively, and earn a small salary while collecting unemployment. It was easy to report to prospective employers that I was working and seeking a position closer to my line of work. In between the job, networking on a daily basis, and applying for jobs, I was pretty busy.
The one thing that really helped was making time for a daily workout – which totally chased the blues away, and helped me stay mentally focused.
After several months, I did obtain a contracting position with a company I continue to work for. The summer months gave me the opportunity to regroup while searching for other job opportunities.

Also, many companies offer incentives to employees for finding new employees, I know my company offers $1000 or so. GO TO THE PARKING LOT OF THE COMPANY YOU WANT TO WORK WITH, IDENTIFY SOMEONE, APPROACH THEM WITH YOUR RESUME, TELL THEM YOUR STORY. IF THEY TALK WITH YOU ENOUGH, INTERVIEW TO SOME DEGREE, CHECK A REFERENCE OR 2 – THEY CAN SUBMIT YOU AND COLLECT. KNOW WHAT JOB YOU WANT OBVIOUSLY – THEY WILL CONTACT THE HIRING MANAGER.

HOW I GOT A JOB

True story. I was laid off from a company I disliked – never once worried about it. Some panic to be unemployed, but meditated the panic away. I identified the company I wanted to work with, also happened to know some of the folks there.

For a week and a half I drove there at 8am, pulled into the parking lot, I imagined walking into my office, getting a cup of coffee, chatting a bit, logging in, reading mail, working on a topic i love, writing. I envisioned a wave a water coming onto the feet of all the employees, my new boss, that wave was me, unstoppable, I was arriving. Water does not recede.
Today I work at that company – 2 months now and I absolutely love it.

Here is a link to the survey – http://www.careerxroads.com/news/SourcesOfHire08.pdf
Good luck!

Many of the comments are excellent and much better than the “pat” stuff the author of the article offered. I am most fortunate in that I made enough money to save for this stretch in case it happened. Sure enough I got laid off four months ago, first time in my life after 30 years of continuous employment. Still, the money will run out eventually and yes it is tough to maintain a positive attitude. If nothing else reading these comments reminds me I am not along although in my head I know I’m not. It’s so bad in my industry – publishing – I’m now competing against at least three other good friends for the same jobs – another buddy got laid off yesterday – im my area. This is truly the Great Recession and the economy and job market will not be the same even when the so-called “recovery” occurs. I’m resigned to the fact my next job will pay one third (if I’m lucky) to one half less than what I made before. My goal is to be able to pay the bills. I do not and will not spend as much as I did before, which will impact other businesses when you multiply that time millions of people. What a way to end a career!! And excellent question by one poster who asked where the stimulus money is going. Where is it going and where are the jobs? And what good are bridge building and highway repair jobs for a white collar guy like me? Good to see the top jerk from Countryside got charged for fraud. I hope they set a precedent and put him in Cook County Jail in Chicago or the equivalent in his home town if he’s found guilty. I hope other bank executives follow him. There needs to be justice paid for this awful, awful situation. Good luck to all my fellow brothers and sisters out there in unemployed and underemployed land. Try and keep the faith.

First, be in shape, anything for workout, jogging, cycling, whatever you can to keep your mind bussy.
Second, this a game in which you must have a cold way of thinking. Don´t take it personal. Most of the time your subconscius plays dirty games with you and tries to make feel you bad about people.
Keep on track related to your colleagues that do the same job in other companies or locations.
Stay tuned about what is happening in the industry.
Keep your ego aside, don´t be shy to look for a job, no matter what conditions were the trigger of your displacement.
Look for support with somebody who cares about you.

To “Organise, Midlands, UK”,
Use online resources like Ntroduction.com. I am currently in discussions to get introduced to a CMO of a mid-size company who has budget to hire. Through this service, I was introduced to a Director of Marketing at an Eastbay Energy company who hired me as a consultant.

As Annie pointed out, there are online resources to get names and details – you can use ‘connecting’ services such as Linkedin.com, ntroduction.com to move further along.

Hope this helps!

Understand how companies hire. Recent survey shows companies 25% of hires (full time, part time, consultants) come from internal referrals, 3-5 % from online resources like dice.com, monster.com, linkedin.com etc. Reach out to more people beyond your usual network. Use LInkedIn.com, Ntroduction.com, etc. to help build relationships. Google out ‘Sources of hire’ to find these surveys.

Lastly, physical excercise including jogging, walking, rowing would give your mind a big confidence boost.

This is like no other time since the Great Depression. In fact, if you follow the years after the 1929 crash–the decline of the stock market, the dead-cat DOW bounce, the rate of real (U-6) unemployment, drop in GDP, number of closed banks (when you consider that a Branch today = a Bank of 1929) and we are right on track with the Great Depression. Unlike the GD, 33 years of trade deficits (importing cheap goods and shipping good jobs offshore) have left us with a cumulative trade deficit of $10 Trillion, a number that is rapidly approaching total GDP. $10T is the total capitalization of all public companies in the US! That alone will keep a recovery from occurring, possibly ever. Where I have seen jobs available, they pay 2/3 what they did a year ago, and declining. Where I live, your house is now worth what you paid for it…in 1999…IF you can sell it at all. The local inventory is 37 months for houses over $500k, and increasing.

Working 8 hours a day to find a job is useless since the jobs do not and will not exist. Spend a few hours and yes get out and do something or you will go stir crazy. But don’t expect employment anytime soon, and certainly not at a reasonable wage.

Annie – I have noticed at networking meetings that the unemployed are getting beyond frustration and despair. They are getting angry. Angry that good people are out of work. Angry at companies that treat job seekers as commodities to be bid to the lowest price or off shored. Angry at arrogant recruiters. And I suspect soon very angry at a government that bails out corporations run by billionaire failed executives, while doing little for the declining middle class.

A revolution, or at least riots in the streets, would not surprise me. And I’ll be right there.

I would suggest to start reading the alternative news about how the bailout money is spent or how financial markets are manipulated (the role of FED) on sites such as:
http://www.globalresearch.ca
globalresearch (dot) ca

http://zerohedge.blogspot.com/2009/04/bail-out-for-dummies-part-1.html

-demand investigation from political representatives (why the money is spent the way it is spent? why the incompetent management of top financial institutions is still in place? why the FED is private? why it was necessary to spend 600+ billion on war? what are the implications of NAFTA? why national debt per capita is reaching $40,000?)

In the meantime, one has to obviously take any job that will cover the bills but to present it as an opportunity to land “a great new job” in this kind of environment is ridiculous.

In other words, address the problem not the symptoms.

Laura, see the last paragraph in Keith’s post, above! I think his advice is excellent!

So, James, what would you suggest the jobless do? Give up looking for a new job? Start a revolution? I’m all ears.

I agree with Tim regarding globalization. Despite the nice theories of competitive advantages the empirical evidence suggests that the bottom line is exploitation of cheap labor in countries with poor or non-existent worker’s rights and safety regulations. Not only is such cheap labor sought after but also created by processes such as the current crisis. If you look at the article and step back you find it ridiculous that a worker should effectively organize a marketing campaign to land a job – where are all those entrepreneurs with all the skills combining the three factors of production as books suggest? The worker is essentially asked to assume all the business risks (getting laid-off whenever the company does not reach yet another record profit or paying for bailouts if things go really wrong). The hard fact is that if one is looking for a job like crazy it will be interpreted as desperation and exploited accordingly. Also, it is almost given that the recovery will be again “jobless” as “entrepreneurs” will like the increased productivity of those who are currently covering for their laid-off colleagues. Tim is also right in his conclusion that very soon it will be more than just “blues” as the system is basically rotten.

Annie, try to think outside the box!

In this economy, an old-style 8-hour-per-day job search will drive many people over the edge. It will only frustrate you. There is very little growth and not much need for hiring. A better approach:

Spend 1 hour per day looking for work, as this is probably the amount of frustration most people can handle. You will hear ‘no’ a lot. Focus only on the best prospects.

Get back in touch with your friends and family, have fun, and exercize.

Cut your expenses dramatically. This downturn is a depression (falling prices), not a recession (falling GDP), and it could last another 2 to 10 years. It really is different this time.

Networking is good, but it takes a long time. Do it gradually, steadily.

Don’t hire a coach. Save your money. You’ll need it later.

Reassess your goal for a realistic chance of achievement, then stick to it. But, reassess it as time goes on.

The economy that emerges from this wreckage will be very different. Try to look ahead and find a more stable future for yourself, rather than the ‘flavor-of-the-month’.

Its difficult not to be negative and discourage. Jobs pay 30 percent less, I know I am giving up. The rich are richer and there will be no more middle class.

Being out of work…well, frankly, it sucks. I was out of work a few years back when the economy was “good”, and I was surprised at how long it took me to find a job. You get depressed after a while of going on interviews and nothing materializes.

That being sad, some of the advice in the article was not good. For example, I wouldn’t spend eight hours a day looking for jobs. It’s counter-productive. I would set aside a certain part of the day to do this, say two hours in the morning and two before the close of business day. Or maybe do your job searching in the morning. Then spend the rest of the day being productive – like it was mentioned, heading into the city and hitting Starbucks to do your job searching, go to the gym, do things around the house – just do something instead of wallowing in self pity. Stay active. Being out of work is not fun, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t use the time productively for some self improvement.

I’m sorry, but job searching is not a job – it’s a means to an end. I think that there are other ways to feel accomplished, especially if you set aside clear goals each day/week. But to devote 8 hours to finding work is counterproductive. It’s about quality and not quantity!

Don’t fly by the seat of your pants when it comes to finding a job. Have a plan. Don’t wake up and meander about and have no focus. Being out of work can dull your energy and your positive attitude. Having a plan and a structure can work.

For the woman who wrote in about her husband, I suggest that you just approach him honestly but in a low key way. If you can afford, go out to dinner and talk. Nothing like a nice dinner and a glass or two of wine to help relax everyone and then talk to him in a way, as you said, that is non critical. You might say things like “Honey, how’s the job search going? Tell me about some of your leads” or “You look really down lately – can I do something to help?” and go from there. The important thing is to maintain communication, be supportive and encourage your husband to stay positive and keep on truckin’.

I love the idea of getting out of the house, meeting with contacts. How do I offer these or othe suggestions to my out of work spouse when he is already discouraged, without pushing him further into discouragement? He spends several hours every day online jobsearching, but confines his search to online only. In these times a more creative approach to job search seems necessary, but he seems hidebound, limited to online only. I have been a SAHM for 16 of the 19 years we’ve been married, so I don’t know what it really takes to find a job, but I want to be supportive and offer creative ideas without coming across as undermining his abilities. Sending this article to him via email could be a good beginning, where do I go from there?

I’ve been out of work for just a little over 3 months now, after 28 years as a mid level manager at GM and Delphi. It’s hard to keep the “blues” away when you are faced with selling off assets or worse, relocating to some other area of the country. The big bankers and huge equity holders still seem to think that globailzation is the way to go…I suppose it is, as long as we can count on the Chinese and Japanese to buy our bonds (debt) so the government can return it to Wall Street and GM executives in the form of bail outs. In the meantime, those of us in the middle will just have to get used to lower living standards and the stress of unemployment. From my perspective, it’s high time to rethink not only our banking policy, but to take a realistic look at what has happened in the US since the “free trade” mantra became so popular 25 years ago. How long will we put up with a declining manufacturing sector and reliance on foreign goverments to return our money (aquired through exports to the US) to us in the form of loans? I think that if we don’t get our arms around this soon, we’ll be talking about something much more serious than the “blues”!

Job loss…Been there. Done that. Yep, still ‘there’. And my heart goes out to those still getting ‘pinked’.

For me, losing my job was one of those defining moments in life. I had a choice: I could choose to lose my way (my mind) or rise to the challenge and follow what my Spirit tells me to do, always remembering that I am more than a statistic on the news.

I’ll share with you what I was told the day I got “set free” (laid off) from my job: “This is a new chapter in your life. WRITE ONE HELL OF A CHAPTER!” And I did just that! Will you?

So if you need a break from the doom and gloom, let me send you a FREE (no
strings) book download. Sign up at: http://www.noexpertsneeded dot com

Times are tough, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t still ‘give back’! This is simply my way…

take care,
Louise Lewis, author
No Experts Needed: The Meaning of Life According to You!
http://www.noexpertsneeded.com

O., it’s not hard to find out who the bosses are. You can Google them: I just Googled “chief financial officer Time Warner” (CNN’s parent company) and learned his name, John Martin. (Every U.S. company’s very high-ranking people would also be named in the company’s annual reports, available from online sources like Hoover’s.) Or, you can call the company and ask for the person’s name. But I agree with you that, if everyone went directly to them, they might quickly be overwhelmed! It’s still worth a try, even if you get handed off to an underling (!), as would probably happen most of the time. Another approach would be to find out if a company you are interested in working for has an employee-referral program. Many of Fortune’s Best Companies to Work For get 50% or more of their new hires through referrals from current employees. If you can get acquainted with some current employees, perhaps via LinkedIn or a trade/professional group, it might be possible to get a foot in the door by way of a referral.

Good article. However, I am always at a loss of how to get the name of the hiring manager. Companies take great strides to keep this away from the public. In addition hiring now days is done very secretly so as not to tip off the public how underhanded, unfair and how discriminatory companies really are. Just look at all the jobs adds. How many cater to anyone over 40. Also most books, articles only talk about traditional jobs with companies or within the corporate world. Any type of job not within this category is not talked about. i.e. artists, actors, photographers, dancers. I had a call just the other day from an HR department. It was up to her to decide if I was going to be interviewed by the hiring manager. She claimed she was an IT recruiter but when I asked her technical questions she replied “I’m not a tech person.” So companies have ‘none tech’ recruiters making decisions about who gets their resume in front of the hiring manager. Personally, I feel that large corporations are hurting America and I see it getting even worse as more and more candidates will be competing for the same job. Pile on top of this all the unfair practices of hiring and discrimination and it does not look at all promising unless, of course, you are the perfect candidate, pretty, smart and under 40 and only willing to work in a corporation.

How do you find out who all these contacts are, CFO, Marketing Manager etc? and if everyone went for direct contact wouldn’t the managers just ignore them all? I believe it is important to network with people, especially new ones and maybe its time to start changing direction? Teaching yourself a new skill or working on something you really enjoy can be a real morale booster. With lots of free information online it doesn’t have to cost a £/$, just time.

While these are all good ideas, I don’t like the idea of an 8 hour day, or getting out of the house frequently. Let’s face it, many of the folks out of work don’t have the spare cash to afford gas or the commute, and even contacts are more interested in finding ways to protect their jobs then helping you find one. These are unique times, and they don’t call for the same old retread advice on how to find a job. I lost my job in March and just yesterday received an offer from another company I applied to 3 months ago, which I am going to accept, even though it is for about 2/3 the money. I job searched in the beginning a couple of hours every day but soon that trailed off to several hours per week. I credit my wife and friends with helping me stay positive, but it was nonetheless discouraging to keep hearing no or nothing after applying for jobs I was well qualified for. My job search consisted of some minor networking and surfing the web sites for jobs. I had one in-person interview in 3 months and several more by phone. My best advice is to hang in there and keep doing what you think is best for your own situation. The sad truth is that the economy will have to make some positive progress for many people to find the right job. Hang tough, I’ll keep praying for you all.

I’ve been out of work for five months, and it has been very isolating. I realized I couldn’t sit inside my apartment everyday, that I needed to mix up my location a bit to break the monotony. Now I go to the library or a coffee house with free internet a few times a week. It really does help boost my spirits a bit and would probably work for others. I’m also thinking of putting a “support group” together to meet up with other unemployed job searchers for coffee once a week.

Tony, unfortunately you are right — often it’s a case of “Out of sight, out of mind.” Sounds like you need to make a new batch of contacts! Sometimes getting involved with local nonprofits is a good way to meet new people. Trade/professional associations and conferences can be helpful, too, as well as LinkedIn… Good luck! Don’t give up!

All my original contacts have lost their jobs too, and some of them are not returning my phone calls – and a phone call once a month is not a lot.

I figured this would happen; when people leave a common geographic area they have new challenges to meet, and sometimes they just don’t have time for those in the past.

what about the people from India who this leadership in this country allows to take jobs from Americans ? Why should anyone look for a job when this is going on ? Just leave the country.
You are better off.