Job Searching in today's economy -- my thoughts

As many of you are aware, my (former) company, like many companies in today’s economy, recently went through a reorganization that resulted in shedding 10 positions, including mine. So, along with 4-million-plus other American’s, I am now actively and aggressively looking for a new position, taking only occasional time outs to keep current on the Jon Stewart vs CNBC "Welcome to Brawl Street" brouhaha.

True to my nature, I’ve spent the past few days researching my options, reading as much as I can about the current economic and job-search climate, talking to friends, associates, and former colleagues about their experiences, and basically thinking through options. And while I am no expert, having been at this for only a couple of weeks, I have discovered, or considered, a few things:

1. No one owes us a job. Those of us looking for, and competing for, new positions are not going to be given a job because we “deserve” it, no matter how well we think we are qualified. There is simply too much competition for the few openings.

Even for those of us who currently have a job, we are owed only for the time that we have put in. History with the company, past performance, or even just getting along with everyone really don’t mean much in today’s economy.

This is not a gripe. It is reality. Sometimes we get a little lazy or a little complacent and we pay for it. Sometimes we do everything right, get to work early, stay late, produce, and still conditions are such that we can not be kept on.

Life is not fair, but it’s not meant to be. Life is about how we respond. Do we sit back and complain about our lot in life? Do we work to bring others down as we try to climb back up? Or, do we hold our heads up, roll up our sleeves, and get to work on our current situation? I choose the latter.

2. Responding to job postings (CareerBuilders, Monster, etc.) is akin to playing the lottery. It’s like throwing chum in shark-infested waters: every open position that is advertised generates hundreds of responses and resumes. Logically, no hirer is going to objectively evaluate every response that comes across; a company would have to hire extra help just to weed through resumes. More likely, a hirer will scan the first 10 – 20%, pick out a few that match what they are looking for, and invite them in for interviews, leaving the remaining 80%+ unread.

“That’s unfair!” scream some on Internet message boards. “There ought to be a law! I’m exactly qualified for that position!”

So, what? Refer back to Point 1. No one owes us a job.

It's not that these sites are useless. They do provide some good advice, some practical tips, salary ranges, and even a five-minute sense of accomplishment every time you do reply to an ad.

3. Internet message boards, on any topic, are largely a waste of time. On one thread I read (research, mind you), posters were trying to one-up each other: “I’ve sent 300 resumes since October, and haven’t had a single interview.” “Well, I’ve sent out 500 resumes, and have only had two interviews!” I don’t know who these people are, but I am willing to bet that they are sending 300 or 500 or however many resumes to Internet job posting sites (see Point 2).

4. I don’t know this to be true, but if I were a hirer, I would be very hesitant to advertise an opening on an Internet job-posting site. Who wants to read, hundreds of times, “I’m exceptionally well qualified,” or “I match your requirements exactly,” or, “Experienced marketing professional with seeks (fill in the blank)” (this was mine, by the way; I changed it because it bored even me).

5. My theory is, for those of us looking for a new job, we need to work at it. It’s going to be hard. The latest figure I saw was 4.4 Million out of work, and it’s growing every day. And let’s face it, unless we are Michael Jordon, Tom Petty, or the guy who beat the computer at computer chess, there is always someone more qualified than we are at whatever we do. But, there are also 2 Million unadvertised jobs (so I have read) that we’re not going to reach by posting a resume on HotJobs or by simply updating our Facebook page. We need to get out every day and beat the bushes and find the people who are hiring, who are exhausted from reading hundreds of resumes, and we need to get their attention.

How to do this?

I’ll let you know once I figure it out. Or, I’m open for suggestions.

Oh, I am looking for a new job. If anyone knows anyone who’s looking for a creative and performance-driven market research or public relations account executive, analyst, or manager, please let me know. You can find out more on my LinkedIn site.