Search Google for “how to get a job” and you’ll see 127 million results (and over 3 billion without the double quotes!). If you’ve been laid off, and you’re over 50, or 60, or 40, or your skills are rusty, or you don’t have the right new certifications, or you haven’t updated your resume in forever, or you don’t know how to make the best use of LinkedIn, or what “networking” is all about, or you have no idea what next steps to take, you might think it’s good that there are 127 million ways to get a job because you should certainly be able to win with one of them.
Polish that resume and send it off. Hear nothing and send it off again, and again. Set goals of how many resumes to send each week. Send dozens or hundreds and hear nothing of value back (recruiters find hundreds of resumes like yours on their desks, with only a handful of openings to fill). Now, hire someone to polish your resume, or build your LinkedIn Profile, or help you figure out how to align multiple resumes for openings in old and new careers with your single LinkedIn Profile. Set goals for how many informational interviews to hold each week. Find support groups and “success teams,” read What Color is Your Parachute? and Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters. Check SimplyHired.com and GlassDoor.com and Salary.com. Try to get your head around “personal branding.” Ask your friends and former colleagues and new job-seeking acquaintances for introductions. Take classes in areas where employment is growing and where you might dream of breaking in.
If you quickly get a great job, congratulations. Few people do. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) issues many reports, such as Unemployed persons by duration of unemployment which shows as of September 2013 that the average time job seekers are unemployed is nearly 9 months. Region, industry, education level, age, salary desired, all make a difference but somewhere along the job search process, most people start to feel discouraged and frustrated.
You may soldier on, hearing that it’s just a numbers game, and set more goals for resumes submitted, for informational interview requests sent, for networking meetings, for follow up calls. But meanwhile, other forces start to intrude and worsen: anxiety or depression, financial strain, family tensions, ever-increasing stress, poor sleep, ever-decreasing confidence and energy to continue. It seems like the streets are full of workers driving brand new cars. You start internal conversations that you’re a loser, you’ll never get any job you want or want any job you’ll get, that you’ll never get a great job even though you would thrive once you got it. You wonder if even Home Depot or Walmart would take you.
This is where I can help. I am not an “executive coach” looking for ways you can climb to the upper rungs of the career ladder even faster. If you just graduated from an Ivy League college with an engineering degree, or if your current job is just not quite perfect enough, you don’t need me. *
I can help with your resume (how to fill that “gap,” how long should it be, how to catch recruiters’ eyes), your cover letters, your LinkedIn Profile, your interviewing skills, your networking skills. I know and can recommend lots of good books and websites. I can show you how to build your personal brand. I can suggest where to take classes to refresh your skills or learn new ones. These are all important things. But what I do, above all else, is show you how to rebuild your confidence that you can find great work, and your energy level to do it. There are well-defined ways to do these things—no magic is needed.
My tools range from philosophical strategies to tactical details. Contact Me for a complimentary 30 minutes over the phone or face to face and I will give you everything I can in that time. Ask a Question if you would like to know a little more first. If you choose to hire me, please know that I will work on a sliding scale based on your need. I am always available for a limited number of pro bono clients.
* If you’re experiencing a real, urgent, mental health crisis, run don’t walk to a mental health professional. As you’d go free of stigma to the orthopedist for physical trauma, go the same way to a behavioral health pro for mental trauma. Work with me afterwards.