With the unemployment rates being such a hot topic, I hear people of all ages complain about them and how tough it is to find a job. These people are from all walks of life – Young & Old, College Educated & Not, Experienced & Inexperienced. I always kind of chuckle when I think about it though.
For a little background as to why… I graduated from USF in August of 2009, with the unemployment rate just under 10%. It took me 6 months to find a job, which is a long time for a recent college grad with bills to pay. I wasn’t sitting on my butt either. I was working a part-time job, going on interview after interview, and coming up with nothing. Then I made a decision to stop being picky and thinking I deserved something or was entitled to a great job because I went to college and got a business degree. After I made that decision, I found an amazing company that was growing quickly and took a sales position. While I wasn’t the best sales person (awful really), I was able to use the marketing background that I had to provide value to my company. I ended up leaving that company in June of this year, but not until I had learned a lot about my strengths, my weaknesses and the right career path for me.
So then I went into the horrible job market that we are currently in right now. With the horror stories about the unemployment rates (8.3% in July) and so many jobless right now, how would I ever find a job? But, guess what. I had a different mindset this time around. I had more experience in both my career and life. I knew that I wasn’t ENTITLED to anything, especially the investment from a company unless I deserved it. I found another amazing job exactly two months later and actually had to choose between two job offers. Which brings me to my point…
- Stop worrying about the Unemployment Rate…
- Stop worrying about why you Deserve a Job…
- Stop worrying about Finding the “Perfect” Job…
Worry about yourself, what you bring to the table and the effort you are willing to make to find a job and succeed in it. Develop strong relationships, both personally and professionally. While I understand that the job market isn’t something to take lightly, it is something that is conquerable. There will be a million factors that can go into making a decision on who to hire and there are only so many that you can change. It isn’t about those that you can’t change, IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU. If you invest in yourself and continue to grow as a person and in your career, then you should have no trouble finding a job.
To those of you looking for jobs, rather than wish you luck, I leave you with these words… Create your own luck!