Sad Labor Day

August unemployment number

Labor Day may have a sour taste for many Americans. Unemployment for August stuck at 9.1%--same as July.

The Congressional Black Caucus sponsored a job fair in Los Angeles that opened at 9 am. People were lining up for at 3 am.

You think your problems are bad?

Your parents give you up for adoption. You drop out of college. You found a successful company and then they kick you out. Is it all over?

Not if you're Steve Jobs. You start Pixar, end up being the largest shareholder of Disney stock, come back to that company you founded and bring out all sorts of new technologies. Even cancer is likely to have a tough time keeping this guy down.

Networking doesn't always mean online

Lots of good "in person" networking tips here. My two favorites--don't monopolize someone's time and do thank the host (she or he knows more people there than you do.)

You may not want to show yourself as unemployed for your status on LinkedIn. Try to frame your situation as more active but (rolling eyes at the article) always remain "genuine."

Networking doesn't mean demanding help--it means building a relationship that may eventually benefit everyone involved.

On the phone

Cold calling is "a smart thing to do," when looking for a job, one writer advises. Cold calling is a stupid thing to do. How do you feel when someone you don't know interrupts your work day by calling? What can you possibly say to the person at the company. "Are you hiring?" or "I'd be great." To which she may respond, "Yes, but are you computer literate? Have you seen our web site?"

You need relationships with people inside the company--you don't get those by making annoying cold calls.

(On the other hand, if cold calling seems like a good idea, you may have a career in telemarketing.)

Techniques

Volunteer to work for free and show the owner how you can create profit. (Might want to check the minimum wage laws in your state and see if this is legal there.) This isn't a
new idea--Napoleon Hill was recommending it in 1937.

Got a minute? Scan the business section. Keep up with what's happening in your community and particularly your industry and target companies. You should know what's happening now in all three areas.

Your web site is on your business card, right? You do have business cards as you're looking for work, don't you? (Vistaprint.com will give them to you free--you just pay shipping. You design them. There's a small ad on the back. The only downside is wading through pages of ads checking out.)

Do something new. This is particularly important if you're out of work and not finding a new job. Shake up your procedure by adding something. But even if you're employed and looking around, occasionally adding something new will add value to what you have to offer.

One woman put her résumé on a T-shirt.


Image

A drop of good news!

Finally a better #

The big news is the unemployment rate in July dropped 1/10 of a point to 9.1.

Barriers

One study shows 39% of workers are job hunting.

They increasingly have the field to themselves as employers restrict hiring to those who already have jobs or are just shortly unemployed.

Not in New Jersey though. That state reportedly bans requiring applicants to be currently employed.

The 50+ applicant may be fighting a perception that age group isn't tech-savvy or can't learn new things. Your online presence can show how laughable that stereotype is.

Techniques

Googlepleasehire.me is the web site created by one applicant. He also Fed Ex'd a life-size cardboard statue of himself to Google. So far no offers from Google but he claims 50 others have invited him for interviews.

Call 50 companies, ask for each for an informational interview, try to pass along a résumé at each.

Well, at least you're not haunting Monster.com. Our approach to getting a job focuses on a few companies, researching and interacting with people already there. We see the informational interview as part of that process--learning. Still, even if talking to 50 people won't further your job search, it's unlikely to hurt.


--99 cents ebooks with the full scoop on successful job searching

Image