Summary Sunday...No More Excuses

Summary Sunday...No More Excuses Anger, frustration, lack of knowledge, stupidity or just plain ignorancethese are the things that get in the way of a successful job search.   Dont you owe it to yourself or the ones you love to get information that will move your job search forward? Cant We Do More For the Unemployed than Job Fairs? I saw a piece on the news last week that made me scream.   Reporters in Atlanta, GA were covering a story about a job fair.   Hundreds of people were waiting outside in extreme temperatures waiting to get into the job fair. (Here is a writeup about the job fair) Wait, it gets better.   A politician was interviewed and declared the event a great success and proudly proclaimed his intent to organize more of these across the county. When job seekers were interviewed, they, less enthusiastically, shared that they were being told by employers there to apply online for any job openings. So, I am wondering.   Of those hundreds of heat-exhausted job seekers, how many were hired on the spot?   Or will ever get a job from this job fair. Were they going to this job fair with the thought they would be hired on the spot?   That just doesnt happen.   I think job fairs can be valuable. But if these job seekers understood how to identify and target employers, would they need to wait in line?   Wouldnt they have been able to apply online and find contacts who work for that company to advocate for them or at least refer them? I know, I am sounding a bit naive.   I understand there are probably reasons why this is not realisticbut until we stop looking for handouts (in the form of jobs, unemployment or other government funded benefits) we are in big trouble.   I am advocating for personal accountability and life long learning.   Job search information is out thereall over the place as a matter of fact.   Why dont people read it? Oh, maybe they are reading it, but they arent doing what it suggests. Change Your Outlook Absolutely Abbys post this week Unemployed or Unemployable looks at the reality of why some people might still be out of work, plus she provides recommendations.   Here is one example of what shes experienced while helping job seekers: I received an e-mail from an Administrative Assistant who had given up on searching for a job because no one would consider her for employment. She was 60 years old and had been unemployed for about 2 years. I took one look at her resume and cover letter and found grammatical errors galore. Being unemployed had nothing to do with why she was not being called for interviews. Are Easy Excuses Making Your Job Search Difficult? is another great post on this from YouTern, a site dedicated to college-age job and intern seekers.   But dont let the name fool you the advice is universal to anyone looking for an opportunity. Even Chris Brogan is writing about attitude.     Take Back Your Strings Brogans personalized style makes an amazing study.   His work is insightful both personally and professionally.   This post addresses his feelings about disappointing people. And finally, to end on a positive noteyou have to watch Guy Kawasaki! Marketer extraordinaire and author of multiple books.   His most recent being Enchanted.   Rita Carey referenced this video on her site, so thank you to Rita!