What am I doing wrong? - Will work for food. - Why can't I get a job?
Published:Sunday | January 16, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Q I am currently unemployed, although I have been seeking a job for the past two years. I have been on several job interviews, without any success. What I would like to know is, what is it that I am doing wrong, or what is it that I am not doing?
I have been to workshops regarding job interview skills. I have also done extensive research on this and other related areas. I am now 25 years of age and have never really had a position before. I have only been at jobs that were temporary. I need help on figuring out what to do. What advice could you offer in my case?
- Reader
A From what you have said, you seem to be doing many things right. You have taken workshops to improve your interviewing skills, as well as done your own research.
You have been on the job hunt for two years, and still you haven't given up, despite your repeated failure to land a permanent job over this period.
Despite the undertone of frustration, your letter is evidence of your underlying capacity for perseverance. It is only people who believe that there is a way out, even though they don't know what it is, who will make the effort to seek help in figuring out a solution to their problems.
So give yourself some credit for doing things right even though they haven't resulted in success as yet.
I point out these positives because oftentimes we allow the frustrations, disappointments and painful adversities of life to make us blame ourselves wrongly. Rabbi Harold Kushner once wrote a bestselling book entitled When Bad Things Happen to Good People.
That title alone is a powerful message that setbacks, failures, and hardships can overtake people who are doing all the right things.
Excellent workers get laid off. Innocent people get convicted. Faithful spouses die of AIDS. Mediocre workers get promoted at the expense of competent ones. And ardent job seekers with excellent CVs, and who interview well, fail to get jobs, because of factors outside of themselves. Your case seems to be one such.
don't get frustrated
So, in trying to improve your situation, do so from a position of empowerment rather than frustration. Specifically, here's what you can do:
1. Have your CV and job-application letter checked to ensure they are representing you in the best possible way
2. Decide whether your qualifications are up to par or you need to improve them
3. Keep on studying and practising to improve your interviewing skills
4. Make a list of all the people who could help you to either get a job or an interview, and ask for their help
5. Start your own business
6. Explore a totally new career field or job option, or one related to your ideal career/job
7. Consider volunteering your services to a company or organisation in your field.
8. Be persistent, regardless of how long it takes. This is the ultimate secret to success.
Glenford Smith is a motivational speaker and success strategist.
Glenford Smith
Career Writer