Charleston, SC

Sunday, January 03, 2010

These are tough times for everyone, especially for someone looking for a job. On average there are six applicants waiting in line for every job opening. Sometimes that number is in the hundreds. If you are one of the more than 10% looking for a job, what can you do? The first and most important step is to get moving. You will not make any progress just sitting there wishing things were better. It will help your search, if you take the time to answer these questions honestly.

What are you trained to do?

What are you good at, really good?

What do you like, no love to do?

Where do you want to do it?

With whom would you like to work?

I had a great job for thirty-five years doing what I wanted to do, with people I enjoyed working with in a city that I love. Even my worst day had some joy in it.

When I was in graduate school my wife and I chose five cities where we would like to live and raise a family – Boston, Charleston, South Carolina, New Orleans, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Somewhere along the way, friends advised us to add San Antonio. After visiting there, I decided that it was good advice. Later on I added Austin to the list.

Recently I told my grandson to decide where he would like to live and work and then to get in his car, go there and start knocking on doors. He wants to be a teacher. Do you realize how many school districts there are in the United States? Some place is bound to have an opening for a bright young, male Spanish and drama teacher. Perhaps he will have to start as a teacher's assistant.

The absolute worst thing you can do is to sit at home and feel sorry for yourself. If nothing else works, volunteer at some place you would like to work. There is plenty of work to be done. Tell everybody you know that you are searching for a job. Don't leave home without a fresh, error-free copy of your resume.

I was eating lunch with an out of work chef from another city. The owner's mother came over to speak with me and I introduced him to her. She wanted his telephone number on the spot. Later she came back with a sheet of paper. He had no resume with him and no business card. Being unprepared doesn't land a job.

Finding a job is a job. Get moving. Put in the number of hours searching for a job that you would be working if you had the job. Look the part. No one is going to hire someone who looks as if he or she slept in his or her clothes or partied all night. Invest the time and energy you spend whining and complaining into finding a job. Thoroughly research the organizations you want to work with. When you get that interview, be alive. Listen actively to the interviewer and answer the questions you are asked. If he or she doesn't touch on your areas of strength, contribute the information.

When you leave the interview, write a "Thank You" note to the person who interviewed you and again stress your interest in the position.

Mitch Carnell Ph.D.

Charleston, SC

843-556-2310