If you’re job search is taking longer than you hoped, it’s probably not going as poorly as you think.
The poll results and what they mean
Here are the official results of the poll:
How long have you been job searching?
- More than a year (35%, 68 Votes)
- 6-12 months (22%, 43 Votes)
- Just started this past month (16%, 32 Votes)
- 1-3 months (14%, 28 Votes)
- 3-6 months (13%, 23 Votes)
Started: March 14, 2010 @ 10:00 am
Total Voters: 19416% Just started this past month
14% 1-3 months
13% 3-6 months
These 3 choices received almost the same number of votes, which just tells me that a wide variety of job seekers voted in the poll.
35% More than a year
There are always people who have difficulty finding jobs for prolonged periods of time and this is even more true because of the 2009 recessions in Western countries. An interesting followup question would be to know what percentage of the responses were from people who actually were laid off because of the economic crisis.
22% 6-12 months
Like the #1 choice above, some of the votes here likely came from people who were laid off from positions where they weren’t going to be replaced, something that happened a lot during the recent recessions.
However, if we combine the two results, we see that 57% of job seekers polled (111 people) have spent over 6 months looking for a job. 6 months minimum seems like a long time to be looking for work, and if you’re earlier in your job search like the other 43% of the poll’s participants, this result might even seem depressing. However, it really shouldn’t be too shocking.
Here’s why.
When I was laid off from my job in France in early 2006, the local employment center told me that the average professional job seeker at that time – well before any crisis – required 4-9 months to start their next job. After starting JobMob that same year, I remember reading that the average American job seeker required 4-6 months to find a job.
Later, in 2007, I heard how some companies’ recruitment processes – like Google’s – can drag on for 2 months or more and I can confirm this from my own experience as well. Larger companies tend to have longer bureaucratic processes that require more people getting involved, while small companies often lack dedicated recruitment staff so that as important as the hiring is, it might not get dedicated resources on a frequent basis. Of course, economic conditions, industry surpluses/shortages, etc., also impact how long individual job searches will be.
Conclusion
There may some very legitimate reasons for your job search taking longer than you expected. And it’s very important for you to realize that fact, because prolonged job searches – or rather, the perception of them – is one of the causes of job search depression which, in a bitter twist of irony, will only tend to prolong job searches even more.
So while you might feel that things are dragging on, stay positive! Keep trying new tactics while learning other ideas about to how to reach your job search goals more quickly.
[POLL RESULTS AND ANALYSIS] How Long Have You Been Job Searching? | JobMob
life@work: Is It Your Boss That's Bad, or Are You Just Hard to Get Along With?
Reason #1 - they are the legal front line when things go south with employees. Reason #2 - they've seen a lot of bizarre and bad behavior at work (and they're called in to help deal with it).
I inadvertently had my HR hat on when I read What to Do If Your Boss Is the Problem on the Wall Street Journal online.
It's a good article with some very smart suggestions. A bad boss can ruin your entire experience at a company. Unfortunately, there are a lot of bad bosses. Sometimes your best plan is to get out so you can find a good boss who can help you grow.
However, I'll also offer that if you find yourself working for your third bad boss in a row, it's time for you to take a close look at what you might be contributing to the bad boss problem.
I certainly knew employees while I was in HR who mistakenly believed their boss was the problem and that they themselves were blameless victims. And recently a new client of mine told me about her string of terrible bosses. Did she just have bad luck? Did she work in sweatshops, renowned for their horrendous business practices? No. This client had problems with each of her bosses because she is difficult to get along with.
My client was courageous enough to be open to exploring this angle. Nobody likes discussing their lack of interpersonal skills or dwelling on the fact that some people find them annoying, rude, harsh, aggressive, unfeeling, or any one of a thousand other qualities that rub people the wrong way.
And certainly nobody likes telling people they work with that they're a pain in the butt. (Well, a few people thrive on this kind of confrontation, but that's a subject for another post). Instead, they avoid them, hope they'll go away, engage in passive-aggressive games, talk about them behind their backs, and complain to HR. This doesn't help anyone learn, be more productive, or change.
I applauded my client for being willing to consider how she is perceived and for being willing to explore what if anything she could do to avoid coming across so negatively in the future. Because the people who are hired first and the people who go the furthest in their careers are, by and large, the people that can play well with others.
If you have a history of bad bosses, maybe you're simply unlucky. Maybe you work in a company that does a poor job of hiring and retaining effective managers. But do look beyond those possibilities and consider how you are or are not behaving like the ideal employee. If you're able to identify some areas to strengthen and work on them, you may find that your relationship with your boss markedly improves.
I'd love to hear: Have you ever been able to turn around a bad boss relationship? If so, what did it take?
Seth's Blog: "I quilt"
When you've had enough, can't tolerate your job any longer and are ready to quit, perhaps you could try one last thing.
Quilt instead.
You've got nothing to lose, right? I mean, you're going to quit anyway, so what's the worst that could happen to you?
So quilt. Spend hours every day integrating the people you work with into a cohesive group. Weave in your customers as well. Take every scrap, even the people you don't like, and sew them together. Spend far less time than you should on the 'real' work and instead focus on creating genuine connections with the people you work with. Including your boss. After all, once you quit, you're never going to see them again anyway, right? Might as well give it a try.
Careful... it might change everything.
‘Pre and Postnuptual’ agreements: Employment Contracts in the 21rst Century | Career Rocketeer - Career Search and Personal Branding Blog
In the 21rst century, few would deny that this implicit contract between employer and employee is broken. Additionally, the paternalistic concept of an employer taking care of their workers is an anachronism, which harks back to the industrial age.In many ways, an offer of employment is similar to a marriage proposal. In a marriage proposal or offer of employment, the parties are setting the foundation of a mutually beneficial, and cooperative relationship. Both at work and in a marriage, people experience an initial honeymoon phase, where everything is great. In some situations, this ends much sooner than desired! Ideally, the offer is proffered in good faith and is a long term offer. However, with rapid global, economic and technological changes, this may not be the case. In an ideal world, getting the terms and conditions of your marital assets or of your employment needs in writing, would not be necessary. The similarities don’t end there. The current divorce rate for Americans is high.
The average tenure rate for an American worker is under 4years. My guess is that the current recession in the USA has impacted both employment tenure statistics and divorce rates, in a negative manner.
Job Search Marketing Toolkit - Target Job Market - Secrets of the Job Hunt Career Podcast
Reposted from CareerAlley
"The expert in battle seeks his victory from strategic advantage and does not demand it from his men." - Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu, the Art of War, Target Job Market, it kind of all fits together. But the key is strategic advantage and the only way to gain that is to target your job market and focus your search. What does that mean? Target market includes your preferred industry, your preferred line of work (skills, experience and education), your preferred company (large, small, private, public), market impact on your industry and compensation requirements versus the market.
Find your Industry:
- Career and Job Resources by Industry - This list of industry sites is provided by Quintcareers. The page starts with a list of links to the most popular industries. Click on an industry link to a full page of specific industry links. There is a search box on the right hand side of the page where you can also search by industry. The bottom of the page has related links to Company Career Centers and Job Sites by Category.
Skills Assessment:
- Industry Job Network - This site provides links to industry job sites and is provided by nationjob.com. The page provides an overview with a link to their industry job site at the start of the overview (center page). There are links on the left hand side of the page for industry testimonials. Click on Industry Job Sites to view a comprehensive page of links for almost every industry you can think of. Click on any of the industries and you will be led to a list of jobs in that industry.
- Self-Assessment Resources - The Riley Guide, one of the best career resources available, provides a page of resources for self-assessment. The page includes definitions, followed by links to related information (such as a table with assessment tools). There are links to Interest Inventories, Skill Surveys, Values Inventories and more.
Compensation & Salary Assessment:
- Skills Center - Careeronestop provides this resource. The page has links at the top for Assess Your Skills, Review your Skills and Skills Standards. This is followed by links for resources in each of these categories. There are additional links for Skills Shortage (which is what you need for specific job types). Could could definitely spend all day on this site, checking all of the resources available.
- Worth Your Weight in Gold? Know Your Bottom Line - CareerAlley's links to Salary Surveys (one for IT jobs, links to sites with hundreds of surveys and salary guides by industry). Following this are links to salary calculators (type in your title and location to get a read on your salary) and salary comparisons.
Good luck in your search.
- Career Salary - This article provides a complete overview of salary surveys. The site, by employer.com, provides a brief overview of what a salary survey is, followed by links to salary surveys and salary data. There is also coverage of online salary calculators.
5 More Tips to Job Search Success - Blog - Position Ignition - taking you to the next step in your career
1. Create a targeting strategy
In order to make a job search effective it really helps to be clear about who you are targeting and what you are targeting. This is the first piece of job hunting advice I would suggest. This means being clear about what type of business or company you are looking to join, what type of role you want, in what industry and sector and so on. Make sure the target is clear to you and that you focus your job hunt around them.
2. Harness your network
Networking is a big impact and effective way to get you into your next role. Knowing the right people can get you places. Unfortunately many of us feel as though we don’t know anyone who can help us. Perhaps we know many people but not the right people. Says who? Don’t close that door. Take a harder, deeper look at your network and connections. What are you looking for exactly and who can help you to get there? Be creative about it and don’t be afraid to ask around.
3. Interview preparation
Interviews can be a scary thing for some of us. Some people find it a doddle and others find it very unpleasant. Being faced with 4 or 5 rounds of interviews can be daunting so it’s important to make sure that you feel confident and prepared. Do you homework! Read up on the company, the role, make sure you know who it is that is interviewing you and what to expect in the interview. Build your confidence around presenting and projecting yourself, articulating your talents and interests, and being able to really ‘work the interview’. If may help to role-play some interviews and run a few mock interview sessions with a Guide, a friend or an old colleague.
4. Know what you want
If you are not clear about what you want and why you want it – it will be very difficult to get it and convince others to give it to you! Spend time getting clear about what you actually want to do i.e. what role would be suitable to you, what you will enjoy, where you want to work, what you want from that role to be fulfilled, interested and passionate about it.
5. Know your value
Another piece of job hunting advice would be to really know your value. One of the hardest things can be to get across your value to a potential employer or interviewer. In order to articulate and communicate your value well so that others understand it and appreciate you – you must first know and believe in your skills and talents yourself i.e. you need to know your own value before others will value you. So learn about yourself. Evaluate yourself. Get to know what you are good at, what you can do, what your skills are, what you are an expert in, what your strengths are and what you can bring to an organization. This will build your confidence and understanding in yourself and help you communicate this effectively when talking to others.
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Author
Nisa Chitakasem, co-founder of Position Ignition – dedicated to taking you to the next step… Take control of your career and work with a Position Ignition Guide.
How the Recruitment Industry is Changing & Affecting our Working Lives - Blog - Position Ignition - taking you to the next step in your career
10 years ago the internet was the most threatening issue on the recruitment companies’ horizon. The fear was that the internet would change the industry for good and recruitment agencies would die. What happened was that there was a marginal change to the industry. Recruiters used the internet as a platform for their trading. Candidates were easier to register and the searching processing (for those recruiters using such techniques) became more effective and efficient. Online recruitment started up but things have been changing in this current recession.
Recruitment has always been a good bellwether for how an economy is faring. As we travel through this current recession things really have changed. Not only has the recruitment industry been adversely affected. There has been a significant shift towards recruitment online; not just advertising vacancies but in the use of social media processes. Many professionals who were previously employed as recruiters have been able to ply their trade working solo or in small groups. Employers are not utilising agencies now they are watching their costs and they know that there are alternative routes to workers.
What is this shift in the structure of recruitment having and what is the future for those in work who may want, or need, to shift their employment? There are a number of issues including how to find the vacancies, how to play in this new era and how responsibility is shifting towards the individual worker.
Vacancies will continue to be found in the printed media but online job advertising will continue to grow relative to this old medium. Middle broking roles are likely to change and probably diminish as employers build their in house capability to find resources online. Already the majority of jobs never appear in an advertisement and this situation may well be sustained – possibly even grow.
Individual workers, particularly those in transit, will need to manage their personal brand well. It is emerging as a more serious issue that we don’t put ourselves into a position where anyone can ill judge us. So much data about us is available and it can get into the hands of those who might want to judge us.
The most significant change is the shift towards individual responsibility. If the recruitment is undergoing such a shift, what will individuals need to do in the future to secure the jobs or career that they wish? Waiting for agencies to approach you may become a thing of the past. Expecting organisations to know of you is a presumption. Each person needs to understand the importance of being proactive about managing the passage of their working life.
