Never before have I seen such a profusion of career networks, job clubs, books, articles, workshops, training, career coaches, consultants, websites, blogs, etc. providing valuable information on finding a job or transitioning into a new one.   A large number of communities, organizations, and Churches across the globe even offer free career services, including resume writing, interviewing tips, networking events, and expert speakers who are highly regarded in the career consulting and Human Resources fields.  So why are job seekers still searching for a job a year later?  Why are job seekers who meet and/or exceed job qualifications unsuccessful in landing a job?  And why have job seekers become so discouraged they have stopped looking for a job? 

As a Human Resources professional with 25 years of experience, I’m discovering opportunities to utilize my skills and experiences to help others in my community.  But even with all of the fee-based and free resources and tools available, why are job seekers getting discouraged or giving up and the length of time to find a job is getting longer and longer?  

The method for finding a job has changed drastically since 1984, when I started my career in Human Resources.  Back then, any applicant could come to the “Employment Department” to learn about job openings, fill out a job application and/or talk to a Recruiter—without an appointment.  But how times have changed!  Today, you must have access to a computer and the internet to search for jobs, apply to jobs and find out the status of your application. And you must network, network, network!   This is all very new and different to workers (especially baby boomers) whose last job search was 10+ years ago.

In this tough job market, making a critical or minor mistake during your job search or career transition can be detrimental.  Why?  Competition for jobs (at every level) is stiff and “catching mistakes” is an easy method for companies to eliminate candidates.  For example, if you are competing for a job with 500+ other equally qualified candidates, the understaffed hiring department can quickly shorten the list by eliminating candidates who have or make mistakes in the process– resume typo, job application error, phone screen blunder, interview gaffe, attire faux pas, etc.  With the prevalent use of online applicant tracking systems, you may never know why you were eliminated from the screening process, not granted an interview, or not extended a job offer.

I believe workers who are looking for a job, have come close to getting a job, or have successfully landed a job possess vital knowledge for job seekers that is equal to the experts.  Who better equipped to share real-life lessons learned on job searching than someone who has first-hand knowledge.  In recognition of this important topic, I created a new Family Lessons Learned category titled:  Job Searching, because I believe the best way for job seekers to be successful in this tough job market is to avoid mistakes and Learn What Not To Do from others job seekers.

Although mistakes can be opportunities to learn and grow, do you think this a good time for job seekers to learn through trial and error?   Only your testimonies will tell.

Linda  

For over a year, I’ve listened to the experts talk about how to overcome and maintain or gain success, especially during these difficult times. But, if you face losing or have already lost your home, job, car, business, or 401K sometimes it’s difficult to digest the advice from individuals who have multi-million dollar “consulting” businesses, real estate, stock portfolios and learning products we may have on our shelves. Besides, do we really want or need more experts, books, magazines, DVDs, websites, or TV networks telling us what to do, how to do it, what to buy, and where to find it? We’ve come to limit our approach to learning to the “just tell me what to do” method.

I believe there are opportunities for us to progress even in these tough times. We have to inject change in the way we address issues, make decisions, manage tasks, and act on our ideas by making a concerted effort to learn what not to do to help us avoid and lessen our mistakes and greatly improve our chances for success.

I can only imagine and hope for positive change if we all contribute and share the “knowledge we’ve gained from our actions or decisions which resulted in mistakes, bloopers, or catastrophes” — affectionately called lessons learned.

So, do you believe learning what not to do can help stop our nation’s woes? Only your testimonies will tell.

Linda

This was posted by Sue Holmes, Age 27 of Boulder, CO.