It's been quite a distressing few days or so in terms of redundancy announcements or companies choosing to go into administration. You will have read about Jessops, Honda and HMV and I'm sure there are other sad and disappointing news stories of that ilk around. Any time that somebody loses employment is bad but just after Christmas and New Year when optimism for the future should be at its highest, is even more badly timed.
It's also difficult for somebody who is job seeking when they read these stories. If you're unemployed, all these stories shout out to you that the competition for jobs has just become even more competitive - and that can be even more depressing. Will I ever find a job?
This is the time when you need to maintain positivity because I am absolutely sure that negativity will show itself through. So when you speak to a recruiter or you're at an interview then you'll not be displaying the vibes that showcase you well - and so you don't sell yourself and don't get that job offer. And you feel that there are no jobs around for you. A spiral of despair.
What can you do? Well the first thing to do is to maintain the confidence in yourself and the skills and competences that you have. Remind yourself of what you achieved in previous roles and use those accomplishments in your job interview.
You should also take solace in the economic reports including this recent one from Reed Global. It basically says that the job market is good for 2013 and should get better. It's the light at the end of the tunnel syndrome and might feel like journalistic licence but it does have substance.
Keep your eyes open for free opportunities on the Internet for help in your job search. There are lots of it around - look on YouTube, look at the main job boards - use their free advice. I've recommended him before but I don't apologise for doing it again, but Steve Nicholls is a great fountain of knowledge for you. Here's a link to one of his recent publications http://www.stevenichollscareercoaching.co.uk/staying-motivated-job-hunting/
The other thing you need to do is to make your job hunting tactics much more refined. Setting up automatic job alerts can be time consuming, but it means that you can get quick access to your job, rather than having to trawl through each job board on a daily basis.
The next thing to do, which saves even more time, is to use a job board such as Indeed. Why Indeed? Well it trawls the Internet and gathers all the adverts into one place. If you're confident enough in it, you can almost even think about just relying on this alone!!!
Of course, you also need to keep in touch with your connections. Massage their ego and remind them you're around. Otherwise, somebody else is doing it and they get that call before you do.
I'm still in my interim role and continuing to look and follow my own preachings. One day it will work, I am sure. There are a few things bubbling along including an opportunity to provide consultancy opportunities which has come via a previous manager I had. There you go, keep up your connections. It does work!!!
As always, thanks for reading and please circulate as widely as possible. My Linked In address can be accessed here and I'd be happy to discuss any potential opportunities at any time.
(C) Iain Williamson 2013
Interested to read this, I know many very good people with loads of skills that are looking for roles,most of them have difficulties getting past agencies, but forget the obvious which is go direct to employers!
ReplyDeleteIts tough out there but asyou rightly say remaining positive is so key!