Lessons Learned from Unemployment by Steve Matter

Like millions of other Americans, I found myself a victim of a layoff during this Great Recession. It was the first time I was unemployed in a career spanning 36 years. There is a famous line from the Godfather movie, “It’s not personal, it’s strictly business.” Eliminating a job may be strictly business for the company, but when you are on the receiving end of the notification, you can’t help but take it personally.
Today there are still millions of people out of work. In April a Gallup poll reported that two out of three adults knows someone who lost their job in the last six months. On May 3, 2012, CNN.com published a report titled, “The 86 Million Invisible Unemployed.” While most news reports talk about the unemployment rate and not the number of unemployed, there are 12.7 million people as of May 2012 receiving unemployment benefits. No matter what number is correct, there are far too many people looking for work without success.
In the beginning of unemployment it’s a shock to your system. Your mind starts racing about many things. Who can I contact? Why me? What do I say to my family and friends? Staying positive in the early days was tough, but necessary, as it’s a positive mindset you’ll need to succeed in your search for a new job. When people would ask me how my search was going, I would reply, “I feel I’m close to getting a job”, even if there wasn’t anything pending. Relying on my personal faith and faith in myself was a key to staying positive.
Many people believe in the “Law of Attraction.” I believe in the “Law of Action”. It would be nice if all you had to do were to think positive thoughts to get a new job. You need to combine action, preparation and persistence to create the ability to attract leads and interviews.
I learned that I needed to become a networking machine with social media and personal contacts. I found out that referrals are the fastest way to find many great jobs and not just job fairs or jobsite listings. Eventually I found my new job through a referral.
Resumes have changed over the years. Today a Career Summary paragraph has replaced the Career Objective opening unless you are just entering the job market. I learned that most managers/interviewers take an average of 30 seconds to scan a resume to see if you are a viable candidate. This requires a Career Summary paragraph that grabs the interviewer/manager’s attention to make it to the interview stage. In other words, your skill sets and experience that align with the job requirements must be clearly articulated in this paragraph. Job interviewers don’t want to hunt through your resume to see if you have the skills and background they are seeking in the position.
Competition for the limited job openings is fierce. You need to be on the top of your game for your interviews. Don’t “wing it” during your interview. Be prepared by practicing interview questions/responses with someone. You don’t want to be searching for an answer. You want to look and be confidant during your interview. Take each interview as a learning experience to be even better prepared for the next interview. By the time I interviewed for the job I have now I was totally confidant because I knew I was prepared to the best of my ability.
Here are the key points to get noticed and get hired:
• Stay positive and get through the emotional issues
• Build your support team of positive people/recruiters
• Network effectively
• Prepare a “magnetic” resume that attracts employers
• Be self-assured, positive and prepared for your interview