Job Searching is a Full Time Job

A dear friend advised me recently in an email to take a "news fast," as recommended by Dr. Andrew Weill, for at least a week. I think she is right for it would definitely help to reduce my stress levels and will definitely be good for my health. Unfortunately, I don't think there can be any rest for the weary until one of us finds a job. After that, you might not hear from me again. As I come upon my 6 month anniversary of unemployment and with my husband wrapping up his first month, I can't help but scour the news everywhere looking for some sign or some hope that there is a turn for the better in the job market. For us, job searching is a full-time job.

My husband, technical genius that he is, has been on multiple interviews and call backs, yet no offers. After consulting with fellow co-workers who were also laid off, he is finding the same trend. Though some people are getting interviews and have plenty of irons in the fire, it appears that few companies are actually pulling the trigger on that final decision. In our own anecdotal research, few of our former colleagues have been gainfully re-employed.

The key to finding a job now is through "networking." You must be on professional networking sites like LinkedIn and also attend networking events with like-minded individuals. Some companies as part of their severance package offer access to outplacement services and as I've mentioned before, the Department of Labor offers access to professional training. All of these resources have been better than they have been in the past and we are churning, churning, churning yet no gainful employment appears in our sights.

While there are news reports of glimmers in the employment statistics, I think they are just counting the same jobs over and over. I have seen the same jobs re-posted and re-listed again and again, like houses that have been lingering on the market, you realize that these are recruiters phishing for resumes to pad their database. It is getting harder to tell whether a job listing is real; many companies no longer recruit in house and there are so many recruiters competing with the same listings, it is hard to tell who has the true relationship with a prospective employer.

And so, we search on, hoping that we will be the lucky ones, landing a job before our resources run out.