How to know when it is time to change your approach to your job search
You are not working and:
- You live in Seattle and already have a tan
- You have not missed one of your kids’ softball or soccer games or practices, and they begin at 3:00 PM on week days
- You have planned for vacations and social events, but the rest of your schedule is wide open
- You have filled up punch cards from 3 different coffee retailers in the past month
- You have a new 40′ x 40′ garden and there are no weeds
- You are working out at the gym at 10:00 AM or 2:00 every day
- It takes more than 12 hours for you to respond to emails from employers or others trying to help you
- You are still taking nights and weekends off
- Your networking plan consists of linking with as many people as you can on Linked In, but you have no other strategy for following up with any of them
- You still think HR is the only advocate for you when you are pursuing a position
- You are 5 months into your unemployment and still applying for jobs posted on Craigslist.org
- You have been unemployed for 18 months and are passing up roles that pay less than your prior role (at your former employer of 20 years) because you are certain you are worth more in this market
- You have had more than 4 interviews but received 0 offers
- When someone asks what you are doing, your only answer is “looking for a job“
- You are hoping for an extension on your unemployment
- You think I am kidding
#4. might be ok if the reason you filled your punch cards was all the networking you are doing.
Otherwise all of these are painfully humorous! Finding work is full time work! But stick to it, it pays off!
Absolutely scary true Sherri! Love it – bang on the money as per usual – I’m working on my tan slowly 😉 Thanks for the reality check!
Thanks, Neil. My point is, if the punch cards are getting filled from networking, and a person is still unemployed, then their networking strategy probably needs to be redefined. Strategic Networking is vastly different from simply being social.