The most common trait: Too little awareness of his/her value to the businesses he/she has come from versus other available resources.

In my practice, these folks fall into two sub-segments:

The Traditionalist:
• Someone who has worked for a single company for 10-20 years and after being laid off, has had no luck getting back in. Doesn’t know why.
• Doesn’t really know to what degree or when he exceeded expectations at the last employer. Not sure how he was ranked versus other employees, except that he was kept on many years and made quotas most of the time. “My boss/company took care of me.” To be fair to this person, education (and religion) in this country breeds workers to let their companies manage their fate.
• Is pretty sure he is out of work because of big business, the Democrats, Republicans, or “poor management.”

The Arrogant:
• This person has progressed through the ranks and has successfully held a number of (3-6) of senior titles such as Director or VP. But now has been out over a year and gets interviews but no offers.
• Since he achieved Director+ level, is pretty sure it can’t be his fault. On the other hand, seems to have forgotten that, at the top of the pyramid, there aren’t enough chairs for everyone to be assured a chair when the music stops. The music has stopped a lot in the last 5 years.
• Talked to one of these the other day. Has achieved CEO and President of several medical device start-ups and companies under $30 million. But in his resume all he says is “I was CEO.” Describes the mergers and acquisitions that occurred while he was at the helm but doesn’t show what mission critical strategies he owns versus other senior staff involved in the same M&A. Makes no effort to show for which future companies and problems he is the best ROI (return on investment.) Doesn’t think he should have to.

By the way, the folks with these problems are more likely to be male (women are usually more self-aware and/or paranoid,) and very likely to be over the age of 50.

So if you suspect you have a bit of these traits, what do you do? Go back to former co-workers and bosses and identify what you did better/differently than other people they have interacted with at the same title and experience level. This is not the time to ask people who will say nice things to you because they don’t want to hurt your feelings. Learn to craft the arguments that will set you above all other pitches for whatever segments you can be the best ROI for. I know how to do that if you don’t.

Be willing to admit that in today’s market we all need to sell ourselves to our workplace, industry, family, and community 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Long before she panicked, she should have been test-marketing alternative strategies to see which offered her the best ROI (Return On Investment.)

I asked her what she has been doing in her spare time. She admitted that she loves travel and gardening. Has won 5 awards for gardening. Would love a marketing job in travel or gardening but has no paid experience in either.

Here are strategies she is now exploring in order to create more options for herself:

• Create kick-ass “whitepapers” to demonstrate her marketing knowledge in depth in formats that will additionally showcase her award-winning publication design abilities.  Find ways to circulate them to hiring managers including those she has already met.
• Produce B2B or B2C publications on gardening or travel to be used to demonstrate that, although she has never been paid by those industries, she has lots to offer.
• She is going to quietly shadow a salesperson selling to resorts to learn more about VOC (Voice of the Customer) for the hospitality industry.

If what you have been doing is not working, have you considered something new?

(a) http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/16/news/economy/unemployed_need_not_apply/index.htm

Someone who has been out of a relationship or work many months may take a questionable spouse or job out of financial desperation or the need to be “wanted.”

In both marriage and work, you should do more homework about long-range goals and the cultural fit before committing. Beauty is only skin deep. One-night-stand and one interview decisions carry a lot of risk. Consider Contract-2-Hire.

The more you invest up front in preparation and strategy, the more financially secure you will be long term.

If you argue with your spouse or employer about money, your marriage or job is more likely to end in divorce.

If you are happily single, and financially independent, you pick differently. You don’t see the need to get married at all. Or you partner from choice, not need. Maybe working for yourself or staying single is the better answer, so you are connecting to several partners at the same time and spreading the risk.

The best marriages and jobs offer both partners a little flexibility or at least forgive the other a few transgressions. In the best marriages and job relationships, both parties work on keeping “engagement” or satisfaction levels high.

Regardless of present marital or work status, age, or financial need you would benefit from having long-term strategies in place. Consider where you want to be 5-10 years from now. Have a progressive strategy that selects a spouse or job for the next 1-2 years and simultaneously you start activities like networking and becoming more visible in the market to start building momentum now for the time after the divorce.

Have your own analogy to add? Please do, through a comment. The more outrageous or funny, the better.

^(a) www.census.gov

• 57% of hiring managers claim that a qualified but less attractive candidate will have a harder time finding a job.
• Employers placed the importance of confidence and looks above education in a list of 9 attributes. #1 experience, #2 confidence, #3 looks, #4 education…

I attend a lot of networking groups. It is very easy to spot the folks who have been out a while. Shoulders sag and they look disenfranchised from 40 feet away.

• Be dressed up and stand tall at networking events even when Saturday morning. Make sure you are smiling and looking confident, and are talking as if you will be working tomorrow and being out is no big deal. Don’t whine about the economy or employers. Show what you are doing to get employed and why you are more strategic than your competition. Have a really good elevator speech practiced and ready.
• Energize your image by getting a good haircut and making sure your suit and shoes are up to date. Join Toastmasters. Join a health club or run around the block.

Don’t look or act like a commodity player.

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/19/the-beauty-advantage.html

http://www.toastmasters.org/

Having been a recruiter/coach for 20 years, I am shocked at the degree to which it is true in this recession. Fear is an emotional stumbling block common to most executives who are “stuck.” After sending resumes to job portal after job portal and getting no response, the strategic part of their brain freezes. They fail to try new strategies and accept their fate as beyond their control.

Wrong!

The correct response is to ignore the bad luck happening to others. Be more strategic. Campaign smarter if you expect to beat anyone to the finish line.

Don’t use the phrases and tactics from the popular $20 resume book or follow what was suggested in the networking meeting with 700 other attendees. Avoid tactics every one else quotes as tried and true. They are guaranteed to work poorly in a crowded marketplace (or any other time.) There is a reason if you are being treated as a commodity!

Do more homework on the target company, customers, and the competition. Invest your efforts a campaign that truly sets you apart. Give me a truly compelling reason to pick you out of 25 (or 400) resumes for people with the same title.

Not getting anywhere on your own? Call me.