Why Don't I Have A Job Yet?

Alexandra Levit's post at Water Cooler Wisdom about why some people don't have a job after a long search inspired me to think about this topic and chime in with my two cents.

Go ahead and read Alexandra's post and the ideas she illustrates from Tony Beshara, author of The Job Search Solution. I think they're all solid and worth exploring.

Here are my additional ideas for why you may not have landed an offer after being on the hunt for a long time:

It's About You

1. If you're not getting interviews, your resume probably needs to be re-tooled. It's not doing a good job standing out from the pack and selling you.
2. You're applying for too few jobs. If your year-long job search entailed applying for eight positions, well, it's not completely baffling that you haven't landed a new job. As Tony Beshara points out, job searching is a numbers game.
3. You're applying for too many jobs. If you are sending a fairly generic resume out to every job you can think of that may possibly be a little bit related to what you can do, chances are your efforts are too diffuse. You aren't standing out from the pack. See #1 above.
4. You're relying too much on applying for posted positions and not enough on utilizing your contacts to build relationships with people and organizations who may naturally turn to you when they have a need.

It's Not About You

1. The competition is fierce (e.g., everyone wants to be in broadcast news). There are hundreds or more applicants for every opening. Here's the part that is about you: your skills and experience don't place you in the top tier.
2. The jobs you want just don't come open very often. Perhaps there's only one zoo in town whose director has been there for 12 years and is nowhere near retirement age. Maybe you'd like to be a part-time physics teacher at a certain high school. Again here's the part that is about you: the net you've cast is too shallow to catch any fish.

If you aren't getting the results you're wanting, get a trusted friend's perspective (um, who isn't your spouse or significant other) about what factors may be in play. If you try to analyze your failures and frustrations all on your own, you'll likely go in circles; a fresh perspective can give you new ideas to try out and help inspire you to hang tough!

Heather Mundell
Dream Big Coaching Services
www.dreambigcoaching.com
heather@dreambigcoaching.com