Unemployment Numbers Not Being Tracked

Last Friday, the Department of Labor issued its monthly jobs report for October and reported that unemployment rose from 9.8% to 10.2%, the highest since 1983. If taken into account the number of people who have given up looking for work or who want full-time work, but have settled for part-time work, the unemployment rate is 17.5%. Other statistics report that 5.6 million Americans have been out of work longer than six months.

When I heard this report, the words “given up looking for work” really struck me, as did the notion of someone looking for work “longer than six months.” I know there are a lot of reasons people remain unemployed and that many of these reasons are tied to the state of the economy. Yet, I can’t help wondering what else may be contributing to some job seekers’ inability to land a job.

I hear a lot of job search scenarios when I talk with potential clients and see a lot of self-defeating behaviors. Sometimes I shake my head and think to myself “It is no wonder he/she is having such a difficult time landing a job.” There is probably no way to gather statistics on how many job seekers are “shooting themselves in the foot,” but if there were, here are some things one might track:

The number of job seekers who…

Are still using job search tools and techniques that may have worked for them in the 80’s but have long since become obsolete

Decide to “ride out” their 26 weeks of unemployment before beginning the search

Have no clear career goal and can not articulate their skills, accomplishments and value

Are “willing to take anything”

Have a résumé that reads like an obituary of their career

Send a résumé/cover letter that is difficult to read, contains spelling grammatical and typing errors, or has no clear focus

Think networking is asking everyone they know who might be hiring

Post their résumé on all of the major job boards and then sit back and wait for a phone call

Have no concept of what an ASCII résumé is or when/how to use it

Spend all their time online looking for openings as opposed to getting out of the house and talking with other professionals about opportunities

Are angry or depressed about their recent job loss and clearly communicate this to anyone who will listen

Never follow-up after submitting a résumé

Then there are those who make it to the interview, and…

Have not researched the company and no nothing about the company’s products, services, mission, goals and customers

Are unable to articulate their skills, accomplishments and value

Viewthe employer as a solution to their problems, instead of selling themselves as a problem solver

Bad mouth their previous employer

Have not prepared answers to behavioral questions and are unable to handle sensitive questions

Can not provide solid references and/or have not briefed their references with information about their job search

Fail to ask for the job, determine the next step in the process, send a thank-note or follow-up after the interview

It’s tragic that anyone should loose their job through no fault of their own or spend months looking for a new job. I see plenty of job seekers who are doing all the right things and do not deserve this fate. But, I also see plenty of job seekers that are casting their own fate and fail to see it.

Comments

[Christine]

It is challenging finding someone to follow up with once I have applied for a position on one of the major job boards. Most employers don't include any contact information in the posting. I also believe it is because they don't want to be contacted, rather they will contact you if interested.

Networking appears to be the best way to land a great job, but it takes time to build relationships. My mistake was working long hours in my former position leaving little or no time to build a professional network. I will not do that again. I am building a network that will hopefully last throughout my career.

[Norine Dagliano]

Christine, congratulations on your decision to begin building and nurturing your network. I am always impressed when I meet someone who states "I have never had to look for a job; they always find me." That is someone who has made networking an integral part of their career management strategy.

I also agree that "most employers don't include any contact information in the posting," which does make it difficult to follow-up. On the other hand, employers have websites and employers have telephones, so it may take a little behind the scenes research to find a way to follow-up. Also, this is a great time to leverage your network. Before (and even after) you apply, reach out to your network and ask "Do you know anything about this company or know anyone who works there? Do you know anyone who does know something about this company or know someone who works there?" Tap your online networking tools too (LinkedIn and sites like ZoomInfo) and locate someone who has a connection with your target employer.

In spite of how impersonal job search has become, employers still prefer to hire people they know and people they like. The key is to do what ever you can so more people know you - the "liking" part will come easy!

[Michael Trust]

There are so many spelling errors in this post that it's amazing that the author would have the audacity to write what they have.

[Jim Edwards]

Thanks for sharing

[Jonnie Coffee]

Have not researched the company and KNOW nothing about the company’s products, services, mission, goals and customers

nice typo

[John Tedder]

I went to see Paul Krugman speak in Manchester, Vermont in October. After speaking for an hour, he started taking questions from the audience. A man a few feet away from me stood up and asked him where the jobs were going to come from for his children and grandchildren.

Paul answered that he didn't know, but green jobs might be an answer. He also said that something might come along that we haven't invented yet, that will revolutionize things similar to computing and the internet. But, in the end, he just didn't know from where the jobs were going to come.

I don't think we can sit around and wait for something to be invented that doesn't exist yet and green jobs could put people to work now. Why, as far as I can see, is nothing being done to create green jobs? What about all of the crumbling infrastructure in this country? Roads, bridges, water pipes that are 100 years old and leaking? We spent billions of dollars to save the casinos on wall street. Can't we spend a few billion to put some people back to work?

I am extremely disappointed that President Obama is not addressing the unemployment problem.

As Paul Krugman said, "We need a better government than we've got."

[Sital]

What about the job seekers who spend lots of time and energy picking holes in what others have done, instead of acknowledging their contribution.

Example 1: Slagging off their ex-boss/ex-employers without acknowledging the benefits (skills, experience, knowledge, compensation) they gained from working for them.

Example 2: Berating a recruiter or contact for failing to find opportunities for them without acknowledging any support, guidance and help they did get.

Example 3: Pointing out typos on a blog post without any effort to acknowldge the value provided by the author.
I'm all for constructive, balanced criticism. But just picking holes in what others have done says more about you than the person making the mistake.

Just my two cents worth...

Sital

P.S Thanks for great post Norine!

[Michael Trust]

Dear Posters,

I am the person who wrote the email above (11/13 at 11:44) about the spelling errors and the like. First, I'm not a job seeker; I'm a professional HR person who also does career counseling and coaching. I was simply pointing out my disappointment with the lack of proofreading in what is otherwise a valuable article. No disrespect was intended I didn't see any way to contact the author personally and privately. Second: in terms of "green jobs" - they are all over. In fact, cnnfn.com had an article later last week about green jobs and where to find them. I don't have the link, unfortunately. Thank you.

[Ruth]

Michael,thank you for coming back and clarifying your comments.

I don't think there's anything wrong with pointing out typos - many bloggers I know actually like people pointing them out so that they may correct them quickly.

I suppose the point Sital was hinting at above was that you appeared to make no attempt to acknowledge the value in the article or even politely point out the errors.

But more than anything else, I personally found the tone and language used in the comments to be a little unprofessional - and that's the main issue. But thank you for coming back and clarifying things.

And thank you for the reference to the article. I'm searching for green jobs so will do some googling to track it down!

[Salaries]

Some people would always bad mouth their previous employer. It's not a good attitude for employees. I just noticed that sentence and it just shows being unprofessional whenever I hear stories with their previous employers.

[Georgene]

I don't think it's fair to assume that anyone who is out of work is just not trying hard enough. What about those who have had one job for 30 years and aren't trained to do anything else? What about people who are older and find it difficult or impossible to retrain? After 30 years, your college credits don't count, so if you go back to school, you have to start all over again. If there aren't enough jobs for everyone, then how can you claim that people are only out of work because they don't try hard enough? You can have all the great resumes and interview skills you want, but if there just aren't any jobs left for you, then you are going to be out of work.