Coping with Unemployment

Two ideas for helping people cope with the loss of their job:

First, find other people in your same situation with whom you can brainstorm and bounce ideas off of. Find people in a similar situation and talk to them. Use them as a resource on which you can build your job search and your mental toughness.

This does not have to be in person, mind you. If you are already using or are interested in using social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, then use those as a tool. I am on them myself, so please look me up and jump into my friend network. You can also start your own blog or Twitter account to just let your friends know what you are doing.

The key is that more minds and different points of view can many times be of benefit. I have done it in my job search, and I have done it while writing this book. There needs to be more than just your own viewpoint, or you can easily become complacent and accepting to your current methods. Find people in the same boat and provide them with the same feedback that you are hoping to find yourself.

Second, do not become discouraged. For me, there was a period when I was not getting calls back on resumes, and I had sort of accepted that I was out of work. We were not struggling too much on money, and it was easy for me to be complacent and accepting.

No one wants to get rejection after rejection, and it can sometimes seem that way when you are in an interview drought. You cannot, however, just give in to the situation. Many of you will say to yourself that it won’t happen to you, but it does. I experienced a period where I just was not applying for positions that I did not fit perfectly. It was almost a depression of some kind where I had accepted the status quo, even though I was not happy about it.

When you do find yourself in this position, use the people you found in my the previous recommendation. In addition, talk to your family and friends, tell them what you are experiencing and see if they can help alleviate some of the concern and complacency. It is much easier to accept your complacency when you are all alone and keeping to yourself.

One of the Biggest Mistakes Most Job Seekers Make

Question: Do you want to know why most job seekers fail to connect to the job of their dreams?

Hint: It’s not because no one wants to hire them or a lack of job openings.

In the 13 years I’ve been a career counselor and advising people in their careers, I’ve found that the jobseekers who connect with their job target in the least amount of time begin with a good foundation. They’ve defined in as much detail as possible their “ideal” job. They know, specifically, what they are looking for in their next job. They know how they want to use their skills, the kind of people they want to work with, their preferred industry, and the desirable companies where their job can be found.

From that foundation, all of their efforts lead them in the right direction from crafting their resume, to their 30-second elevator speech, to the networking events they attend, to the relationships they build and on.

The bottom line is- they are FOCUSED!

The biggest mistake I see most job seekers make is not knowing what they want. Often, when I ask a job seeker what they’re looking for, I get an answer like this, “Oh, I’ve done a lot of things. I can do something in high tech, telecom, marketing, human resources, pretty much anything.”

Whenever I hear a response like that, I want to scream “STOP RIGHT THERE!”

This is especially true of people who have been off the job market for more awhile. By the time they get to me for career advice, they are nearly in a state of panic or desperation and are willing to take almost anything that comes their way. They want to “keep their options open.”

In their view they’ve tried everything. Unfortunately, no matter how much effort they expend, which frankly usually isn’t that much, they will not have success. If they do happen to find a decent job, it’s totally by accident.

The best way to launch a successful job search is to start with a good foundation. Take the time to define your job target, select the best tactics, and craft a solid action plan. With that foundation, you will have more confidence about your options and will shorten the time it takes to connect with the job of your dreams.

Markell R. Steele, M.Ed., NCC, Career Counselor is the owner of Futures in Motion, Inc. and author of Fast Track Your Career: Three Steps for Finding Work You Love. For the past 13 years, she has helped frustrated job seekers connect with their dream jobs in less time with less stress by sharing her secrets for career happiness and success. Her company provides career assessments and career transition assistance. More articles can be found here- http://futures-in-motion.com/article_archive.php. She can be reached at Markell@futures-in-motion.com.

Christmas

Hello Everyone. I have to apologize for not writing yesterday or today. The Christmas season seems to come with a hectic schedule and that schedule ran me over the last two days. I will be back tomorrow with a special posting from a friend of mine; Markell R. Steele who is a Career Counselor.

I Hope Everyone has a Very Merry Christmas. Stay safe and enjoy the holiday.

Using Web 2.0 in Your Job Search Strategy

Social Media, such as Facebook, and Professional Media, such as LinkedIn, can be of immense use during your unemployment. Both of these and the many other media forms can really help to put your presence and your name out there on the web. Many people think only of using the career websites like Monster.com and HotJobs.com to get their name and resume out there. While those do work for some people, you should also be considering how to use the other media services as well.

We have seen the recent news report or photograph of the guy in New York City with a sandwich board that contains his resume. He is advertising to everyone that he is out of work and that he needs a job. Well, the same can be accomplished to a more focused group of people via the Web 2.0 media sites.

Set yourself up with an account on sites like Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, or one of the many other sites. I personally do not advocate for MySpace because they are a little too hands-off with the problems on the site and it is more intended for use by teens then it is by adults. Facebook started more as a college site, but has rapidly progressed to be used by millions of adults to stay in contact with one another. LinkedIn has always been a networking site for professionals and they continue to add more services that link many different aspects of your online job together. Twitter is a site that allows a person to note in 140 words or less what they are doing right now and right now could include looking for a job or commenting on a recent job loss, like many on the site currently are doing.

Once you have accounts on these sites, you can make your presence known. Connect up with current friends, old friends, people from high school or college and begin to talk to them. Let people on these sites know that you are out of work and are looking. They may not be interested or able to help, but as you continue to connect up with people, the likelihood that you will find someone who might be able to help will increase.

I have almost 120 connections on Facebook, I have 12 people following me on twitter and I have almost 100 professional connections on LinkedIn. These numbers are not dramatic by any means, but I have within my networks here a list of people who are HR Managers, HR reps. , a career coach, a branding professional and many others. They may not be able to get me my dream job, but it does not hurt to use what I have and that includes all of these connections.

If you are reading or following my blog here, you are relatively web savvy. Now you just need to take it to the next step. I will admit that I was a little late to the social media craze, but the value of it in a business sense is amazing. As such, it can be an amazing tool to help you reconnect and to find a job in this difficult economy.

Losing more than just your job with a lay-off.

Most of the effects of being out of work are expected. You know that you are not going to be able to do most of the things you did before. That means less dinners out, less spending on luxury goods and recreational goods. You probably won’t be able to take a vacation of any kind since you are out of work. There are a number of things that you know are going to change about your life when you experience a lay-off.

The one aspect of you new life that you probably would not have predicted is the fact that you might lose some of your friends. The old saying that you know who your friends are when you experience a tragedy is true in this case too. A short period of being out of work, probably will not affect your friendships too much, but a long period will change the landscape of your friendships.

Some of your friends and family will come together and help you out. They will understand that you cannot participate in some of the things you did prior to your job loss. They will be there for birthdays and parties that you host or attend. During a time like we are in now, Christmas, they will know that you cannot afford to give them presents, even when you have done so for years and years.

Some of your friends however will fall off the face of the earth. They won’t know how to act around you, they won’t know what to talk to you about and they won’t want to be placed into an awkward position. There is a serious level of discomfort for people who are working to be hanging out with people who are not working.

It seems illogical that losing your job might result in your losing some friends. But it is the truth. It has happened to me during my period of layoff and I have spoken to many people who say the same thing. There is an unspoken tension in the room and no one wants to discuss it. It places an invisible wall between you.

People who have never experienced a period of being out of work for any length of time will argue in their heads that this wouldn’t happen to them. I never thought it would happen to me, but it did. There is definitely a real psychological effect that happens between friends, when one is laid off. Some go more towards you and a closer relationship, others go the opposite direction.

My advice for everyone on this situation is to just deal with it as it happens. One way that might stave off this type of situation by talking about being out of work. If you are unwilling to talk about it, then obviously there is something that you are holding back. If you are speaking about it, which is part of a good job search strategy anyway, then the air is cleared a little more. Meaning you might be able to limit the damage to your friendships that was done during your lay-off.

Friends are meant to be forever, so try not to let any go by the wayside, no matter the reason.

Hiring During the Christmas Season

As Christmas and New Years arrive, the common myth that companies don’t hire during this time still circulates. It is so untrue that companies don’t hire right now. We are in a down economy and it is Christmas time and companies are still hiring for thousands of positions every day.

Don’t let the season get you down. There may be more companies that choose to limit or hold off on hiring during this period, than any other period of the year, but there are still jobs out there. Just look at places like LinkedIn and the career websites and you will see that there are still many, many jobs out there.

Don’t let your own biases and beliefs of how much hiring is happening during this time of year effect your ability to get a job. You may be convinced that you can’t get a job during this time. That mental attitude is going to hurt you in your job search. This is not the time to give up just because the holidays are here. Instead, use this time, when other people may be thinking like you do, to get out there and beat the competition. Use this misperception about the holidays in your favor and start getting your resume out there to the companies that are hiring right now.

Even if you cannot get your dream replacement job, there may still be some seasonal work available for the next couple of weeks. Many retail establishments hire extra personnel to work during the Christmas season on into the beginning of January to help with the many Christmas returns. This may not be your dream job, but it will help to keep your mind off of the real job search and it will help pay the bills.

I know that we sometimes don’t want to stoop to a low level job when we are used to a much higher paying one that is accompanied by some prestige. It can be a blow to your ego. But, you need to let your ego go for a time and do what is necessary. And it may be necessary for you to just work through the holidays. It will help your wallet and your psychological need to work.

I hold a bachelors degree with a double major and I hold two masters degrees including an MBA and during my period of unemployment I have had to work on a limited basis as the most highly educated data entry person on the planet. Just entering data into a computer system, so other people could do real work with it. Humiliating? Not at all. It helped me to remember that I can be valuable and it felt good to work again, even if it was just doing data entry.

You too may need to approach this season in this same manner. Get working, just to fulfill your need to work.

Losing your job is not the end.

When life deals you a blow, you need to be able to fight back. Well, that is what everyone who has lost their job during this down turn in the economy is facing right now. You cannot wither and die from being punched in the gut. Instead, you need to dig down inside that gut and find the energy and passion to embark on a new career with a new company.

You are so stunned, at first, when you find out that you are being laid-off. The whole world spins out of control. But, as the minutes, hours and days pass you realize that you are still you. You still have a good head on your shoulders and with the experience you have during the first part of your career, you can go out there and get a new job.

The career world today is not like it was when my dad and grandpa were working. Back then, you would find a job that you liked and you would spend the rest of your career doing that job, most likely at the same company. People did not move around. They found a company and hopefully were there for life.

Well not today. Today people change jobs too often. There are some people out there that seem to change jobs like it was underwear. But, that is beside the point. The real point is that losing your job is not the end of you or your career. You can go on to another job at another company and be very successful. In fact you can go on to a whole new job type and a new industry if you so choose.

The plain and simple truth is that this layoff is not terminal. It may be just the push you needed in your career. That goes for anyone from 18 years of age to 80 years of age. If you want to work and if you are committed to doing the very best, then there is a job for you out there.
Keep your chin held high and keep interviewing.