If you are a job seeker or in a career transition, today’s job market can be discouraging. The nation’s unemployment rate rose in September, job losses jumped and many Americans quit looking for work, according to a report from the Labor Department. Nationwide, the unemployment rate is at a 26-year high. Add to the hardship, those workers whose hours have been reduced, and others who have become so discouraged they stopped looking for work– and the unemployment rate balloons to 17 percent.
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
