Top 10 reasons why you are not finding a job
By Kate Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com Editor
You've got the flawless resume, impeccable credentials and the
perfect look -- you are an employer's dream candidate. So why is it
you've been on the job hunt for almost a year and there are no
prospects in sight?
You also need to have the right attitude, according to Tony
Beshara.
What gives Beshara the right to tell you to get an attitude
adjustment? He has worked with his fair share of job seekers. The
president and owner of Dallas-based job placement firm Babich and
Associates is a 30-year veteran of the placement and recruiting
industry. He's also an occasional contributor on a little
television program called "The Dr. Phil Show."
Here are some reasons why you might be having trouble with your
job search, according to Beshara's book "The Job Search Solution:
The Ultimate System for Finding a Great Job Now!" (Amacom):
1. You're not making finding a job a job itself!
Many people don't adopt a committed, passionate,
failure-is-not-an-option attitude and don't recognize that finding
a job is a numbers game. When it comes to interviews, it's all
numbers: the more interviews you get, the better your chances of
getting called back; the more times you're called back, the better
your chances of landing a good job.
2. You haven't developed a system of finding a job.
The system should entail everything from goals and intentions that
dictate planned activity to role-playing of interviews.
3. You have an unrealistic idea about the market for your
skills.
There is a tendency for people to overinflate the ease of their
ability to find a job, based on a distorted view of the
marketability of their skills. This can lead to frustration and
disappointment when the job search takes longer than expected.
4. You aren't acknowledging the psychological and emotional
stress that changing jobs entails.
By denying this reality, people operate out of fear of rejection.
They confuse activity with productivity and focus on minor things
that appear to be job-finding activities, but aren't the most
fruitful activities.
5. You ignore small businesses.
You've forgotten or don't realize that over 50% of NZ businesses
employ fewer than 100 people. NZ is not run by big business. It is
run by small groups of people who organized to provide goods and
services.
6. You don't recognize that face-to-face interviews are the only
things that matter.
There are all kinds of things you can do to get face-to-face
interviews, but you have to get them. Pulling out all the stops by
doing anything you can to get in front of a hiring authority with
pain (the need to hire someone) is key.
7. You don't prepare well for interviews.
Most people are either not confident in themselves or act arrogant
in the interviewing process simply because they are not as prepared
as they should be. They don't prepare and practice presentations on
themselves with others.
8. You're not selling yourself.
The vast majority of people going into an interviewing situation
simply don't sell themselves very well. People neglect to do
everything from dress properly to focus on what they can do for a
prospective employer. And worst of all, they don't come right out
and ask for the job.
9. You have the attitude, "What can you do for me?"
Most people consider interviews a two-way street. They believe that
the employer is just as responsible for selling them on the company
and the job as they are for selling themselves to the employer.
They don't realize that there is nothing to consider until you have
an offer. If you give enough reasons to employers as to why they
ought to hire you and what you can do for them, they will give you
plenty of answers on what they can do for you.
10. You give poor reasons for leaving your job.
Whether it's why you left your last employer or why you want a new
job, most people present the reason from a selfish point of view.
They badmouth and criticize their current or past employers and
justify their own convictions, thinking that a prospective employer
is going to identify with them. They're wrong!
Kate Lorenz is the article and advice editor for CareerBuilder.com.
She researches and writes about job search strategy, career
management, hiring trends and workplace issues.