6 Reasons You Dont Have A Job

6 Reasons You Dont Have A Job 210 Flares 210 Flares Many unemployed folks usually dont understand why theyve been out of work for so long.  Their obvious scape goat is the economy and the other billion job seekers that are their competition.  This excuse is completely warranted, but I cant let them off the hook so easy.  Its just not happening. Here are 6 reasons why you most likely havent found a job yet: You Dont Know What You Want This is brutal.  Its just absolutely brutal.  If you arent clear on the specific opportunity, company, or industry youre targeting, then youre setting yourself up for disaster.  A job search without purpose and passion is one that will only lead you on a wild goose hunt.   Imagine being on a job search site, going through hundreds, if not thousands of postings.  If you dont know EXACTLY what you want, then youll open up most postings, and find yourself unsatisfied with ALL of them.  What also happens is that you may just apply to EVERYTHING, which more so than not means your resume and cover letter are not set up for that specific position.  Its a poopy sandwich.And youll never find your goose. What to do: Come up with a list of 50 things you want from a job.  Write down characteristics about the industry, benefits, supervisor, salary, skills needed, and many others.  Write down the things that you NEED from a job.  This will help you clear up where you should spend your time looking and how to change up your resume/cover letter to suit that specific type of job. You Really Dont Want A Job Honestly, Ive been there.  When I was unemployed for 17 months, there was a time when I just didnt want a job.  Corn on the Job was still growing and I was happy with unemployment and the promise of growing my new blog.  I was lucky, and Im not proud that I slacked off for a longer period than I should have. Many people pretend to be looking for work, when really they just feel its necessary to half ass and just look casually.  Certain financial situations can call for more laziness in the job search than needed.  No matter how much work they put into their search, if a person doesnt want a job, then they wont get one.  Even if they pass an interview, their lack of enthusiasm will halt them at the interview stage. What to do: Go take a walk downtown and check out the homeless folks.  Not saying this will happen to you, but youre still employable and theyre not.  Dont take it for granted. You Only Use Big Name Job Boards Using a big name job board is OK, and many people find work from them.  The problem here is that EVERYONE is using them.  Employers are bombarded with resumes from a single posting and you may never be found.  If your only source of searching for a job is one of the more well known sites, then youre in trouble. What to do: Start using a niche website for your industry.  Try out the Linkedin job boards.  Network.  Make personal business cards and drop them in random places.  Just add more strategies to your search.  Its more work, but its needed. You Have a Poor Resume/Cover Letter The format sucks.  Its tough to read.  Grammar is disgusting.  Too much color.  No clear purpose. Readers of your job search communications cant identify what youre looking to do, what makes you the shiznit, and most importantly, why they should hire you. What to do: Hire me!  Ill take your existing resume/cover letter and totally make it what they WANT to read! You Dont Interview Well Whether its the phone screen or in person interview, many job seekers dont live up to their full potential when it comes to an interview.  Whether its just nerves, not being able to sell oneself, or something else, its very common that the most skilled person for the job doesnt always land the job.  If you happen to be the most skilled person for the job, you should damn well be hired for it.  If you feel this is happening often, then you might need to look into developing your interviewing skills. What to do: Hey there, you can hire me!  Ill set up a mock phone interview with you so that we can practice interviewing together.  Ill act as the company you want to work for, and Ill ask questions that I think theyll be targeting.  When were done, you and I will talk about what you did good and bad, then look for ways to improve. You Dont Know Anyone It really is like youve heard.  Its not what you know, its who you know.  Shit, I hate writing that just about as much as I hate hearing it, but its true. In our world today, you should make networking a constant part of your job search.  Too many people are out of work, and unless youre an employee referral, a recruiter might not even give you a 5 second phone call. What to do: Whether its online through Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, or other social networking sites, or through live networking, spend a few hours a week simply networking and getting the word out about your unemployment.