Listening to the State of the Union address, it’s clear that the next focus of the administration will be jobs, small business and small business lending. Obama is setting aside $30 Billion from the bank bailout to commit to small business lending, as well as a small business tax credit. Stay tuned for extensive coverage.
So you’ve been laid off? Haven’t found work? Waking up in the mid afternoon waiting for that magic e-mail to arrive in your in-box requesting that you come in for an interview? Well, this is for you. It goes without saying that you reap what you sow. Well, you therefore will never reap what you never sow. Since there are tons of guides on how to find a job, and what steps you can take to polish your resume, network, join associations and network some more, I felt that I would approach the subject from a completely different perspective. Here are the 5 things you can do to guarantee you never get a job, in no particular order.
1. Do nothing. I mean nothing.
My favorite. Wake up. Pick up the Wii remote. Order some Pizza (or ask mom to). Such is the life of luxury for the unemployed. No effort, no responsibilities, and no pressure. Clearly, you should take advantage of the fact that a job, career or your own business is not just going to magically appear in your lap. I should also warn you that no, you aren’t Neo, and you are not in the Matrix. So go ahead, sit there on the computer, Facebook all day, work on your Farmville farm, “tweet” about how you don’t have a job, and join your unemployed peers in mass despair over your unemployment. Wake up at noon everyday. Don’t brush off your resume. Don’t sign up for job sites. Don’t talk with friends. Don’t try to network. Just do nothing.
2. Don’t let anyone know you are looking for a job
Your friends, they should all think you are still working at your last job. They don’t have to know, do they? Don’t update your LinkedIn profile, and the world will never know you are sitting at home enjoying Curbed Your Enthusiasm. No one is going to hire you if they don’t know you are looking. So it goes without saying that if you don’t let anyone know you are in the market, you probably won’t receive any interviews or offers. Better yet, if you don’t use your network of family, friends and ex-colleagues, you’ll have no way of your network for potential job leads. Sure, most jobs don’t even make it to job boards like Monster or Hotjobs, because, just like you look to friends, families and people you are familiar with to, so do potential employers. But you don’t care about that. So don’t even think about brushing off that business card, breaking out that suit, and working on that handshake. You should be working on your form for Guitar hero.
Check out 3 – 5 , after the jump.
I was recently searching for some data comparing the current recession to past recessions. Of course, the best way to capture people’s attention ( and imagination) is through graphics. The Burea of Labor Statistics also agrees:
That light blue line somewhere between red and green, yeah, that's us.
The light blue line is where we stand, our rate is noticabely faster and more pronounced than any of the other six recessions. But hopefully, that also means the rate of recovery will be just as fast. If it’s not, it looks like we are in it for the long haul: a slow, steady recovery from the recession. What does that mean for you? It’s time to plan accordingly. Maybe find ways to create your own source of income? Something else I’m learning, jobs start to rebound a number of months after the market tends to rebound, and after businesses start to get comfortable with their growth outlook.
Any thoughts?
