Defeating Discouragement

I have been inactive for a few weeks. Four weeks ago I broke 4 bones in my face playing soccer (but the striker did not score!). During my recovery I admit I have had some moments of discouragement. I am not healing as quickly as I wish. I am totally inactive and feel like a slug. I know I will be back on the field eventually, but as I reflected on my own discouragement I thought of how many job seekers are now discouraged to the point of just giving up.

Last Friday the March 2013 U.S. employment figures were released and they are dismal. What struck me profoundly in these statistics is the number of people who have just stopped looking for a job. And, in case you are not aware, if you are not looking you are not counted as unemployed. Think of that: if all 23 million unemployed and underemployed just stopped looking the unemployment rate would fall to zero! And the government would claim total vindication of its policies. Well, as it has been said, there are lies, damn lies, and statistics.

Discouragement is erosive. It feeds upon itself. It becomes the focus of your mind...until you decide to focus on the POSSIBLE.

Is it possible that your difficulty stems from looking in the same, wrong place over and over? Is it possible that you are appealing to the wrong gate-keeper?

What I am referring to is Human Resources (HR). One of the main themes in my book, Hired!, is how and why to avoid HR at all costs. Let me explain why.

First, the role of HR is not to find a job for you. The central function of HR is to assure corporate alignment and compliance with Federal, State and other regulatory requirements regarding their current employees.

Second, the other role of HR is to eliminate you as a job applicant. When I was a hiring manager my own experience with corporate HR was occassionally adversarial, and too often confrontational. They would not bring me candidates with the skills I needed, and sometimes fought me tooth-and-nail when I wanted an offer made to a candidate.

Third, when you follow the conventional approach of filling out a web application form or paper form, that application is fielded first by HR. In the case of web applications there is now usually a digital tool that scans your application for keywords, and HR people have fallen into looking just for keyword matches rather than actually reading your application, which takes too much time for them to do. And, when you consider that in today's job market a company may receive fifty to a hundred applications or resumes in a single day, you can appreciate why they would cut every corner they can.

Last, when you follow the conventional approach you are joining dozens or hundreds of other persons following the same approach of appealing to a nameless, faceless entity you cannot contact until they contact you - if they ever do. You stand a very good chance of being lost in the crowd.

Is it possible that this is the situation which is causing you discouragement?

Your only options are a) stop looking entirely, which I certainly do not recommend, or b) pursue a different path, a new path of possibilities. I do not have space to go into detail about these other paths in this blog entry, but here are some ideas to consider:

1. Start your own contract business. I discuss how to go about this at the end of Hired!

2. Contact every temporary agency in your area. Pursue temporary opportunities in the area you have been working, and in other related areas so you can broaden your job history and prepare yourself for new job opportunities.

3. Personally seek out hiring managers in companies you would like to work for, and let them bring in their HR after the manager has first talked to you. This can be as simple as walking into a retail business and asking to speak with a department manager, or it can be as involved as asking for referrals from business contacts in your life. I found a client by asking my dentist if he had any patients running financial or medical businesses. He gave me a name and number, I called and said I was referred by Dr. Jones, and that conversation led to another that led to an engagement.

4. Read all of your local business magazines. Look for the names of "People on the Move" and call them. Tell them you saw the announcement of their promotion on the magazine. They will be flattered. After all these magazines are really "vanity" publications. People call the magazine to put these announcement into the publication just for the purpose of marketing their promotion, award, or accomplishment.

5. Follow TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines to get names of anyone who is already employed in a decision-making capacity in any business or industry you want to work in. Call them. Call the company's main number and ask the receptionist to connect you with them. If you get a voicemail announcement do not leave a message, and if you are really lucky the person's voicemail will give you their direct extension so you can bypass the receptionist on the next attempt. In Hired! I give examples of how to introduce yourself in 10 seconds. I did this for years in my business. It really is not difficult to get past the initial anxiety!

There are so many ways to do job search differently than you might be thinking. Is it possible for you to stretch a bit and try something totally new? Of course it is. Think about it, write down a little plan, and get started. If you mess up the first few calls that is part of learning. But you won't get any learning until you start!