The Jobs Are Out There

In this first month of 2013 the United States economy is still showing some mixed signals about recovery from our recession that began at the end of 2007. One of the recurring themes in my book is that the future of your personal economy can be different from that of our national economy. Jobs are available. The challenge is overcoming the barriers that separate you from them.

Job search takes commitment, time, effort, and creativity. Another theme I emphasize is that it also requires a reasonable and flexible plan. If you randomly go through the unconnected activities that so many people think is how you are supposed to look for a job, you might be lucky and stumble on an opportunity. But more likely you will just burn up time and money and remain unemployed.

I share a four step process in my book that gives you a road map for building an effective job search plan, and organizing the activities that will lead to a new job:

• Identify honestly what skills and traits you can offer a prospective employer.
• Focus on a small number of job areas that interest you and align with your skills and personality traits.
• Make initial contact with companies that are compatible with the intersection of your skills and interests.
• Be prepared to market yourself credibly in a face-to-face interview, and "close the sale."

My book goes into extensive detail about each of these process steps, but if you are looking for a new job now please keep these realities in mind:

• Companies that are laying off in one area may be hiring in another.
• Your skills and experience are a solution to a problem some companies needs solved.
• Tens of thousands of people in the U.S. workforce have given up looking for work. This is tragic but it means you have less competition.
• There are signs of slow recovery in housing and other depressed industries, and 
• The Dow Jones Transportation Index is up sharply in the last two months of 2012 which means companies are shipping more products.

Accept that discouragement is a normal part of the landscape of job search. Be prepared to confront it and focus on the positive. After my own job loss I kept replaying the same thought to myself, "If I give up I will never find a new job. If I give up then someone else who keeps persevering will get the job I could have had. If I just keep looking, I will find something; it's just a matter of time."

Give yourself time to plan and execute your job search, but don't assume you have time to wait. There is someone out there who is hungrier than you for that job, and they won't be quitting.