Finding a job can be difficult: national unemployment is at 7.8 percent, food and gas prices keep climbing while wages stay the same. These "challenges" as I shall refer to them from now on, are simply obstacles to YOUR "American Dream" which can, and must be overcome...sure it will take blood, sweat, and many tears, but challenges can be beaten. It might take clawing, biting, and all the strength a person a muster to continue fighting the job market, but YOU CAN WIN. Below are a few things that helped my while I was looking for a job as an unemployed graduate student in the Spring of 2010.
Focus on measurable, tangible, goals/results. Spending your time worrying about the jobs that you did not get eats away at your ability to apply for the next job, and the next. For example, when I was unemployed, rather then worrying about how to pay the bills next month, I told myself to spend at least one hour a day researching, rewriting resumes/cover letters, and psychically applying for jobs. Focus on the amount of time spent applying, not on how many job offers you do not get.
DO NOT READ REJECTION LETTERS/EMAILS. Who the hell cares if you did not get the job? Forget those people that did not hire you and focus your attention on the other millions of people/companies/schools out there that have not met you yet. Show them, by applying for their job, that you are not defeated, the job market has not claimed another victim, but created a survivor!
Have realistic expectations. Do not worry about job titles, salary or status when applying for jobs. Apply for EVERYTHING! Beating the job market requires a commitment to playing the numbers game. As a friend of mine always says, "finding a job is like hitting on people in a bar, you keep hitting on everyone, playing the field, until something happens".
When, notice I said when, you get an interview for ANY job, even if you do not want it, that is a WIN! There are millions of people on the job market right now, and the fact you got an interview mean you are the best of the best. Some positions have hundreds of applicants, so for you to get an interview has meaning.
Finally, and most important, realize being unemployed is a temporary moment in your life. Very few, and I mean VERY few people spend the rest of their life unemployed living under a bridge. This is not to minimize how difficult the job market can be or the experience of the people who DO end up living under a bridge. But in general people are unemployed for 6 months to a year from the date they start looking. 6 months of anxiety, depression and anger about being unemployed seems worth it for a job/career that meets your financial, emotional, and human needs. Also realize you are not alone in this fight, friends, family and spouses can provide much needed support during your transition from a frustrated, unemployed grad student to an overworked, unappreciated, but realistically happy, member of the AMERICAN WORKFORCE!
Good luck on your fight against the job market,
Edward R Burton, Former Unemployed Grad Student.
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