Why is a Job so Hard to Find?
Published:Wednesday | February 9, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Glenford Smith, Career Writer
Q: I am living in the Kingston 4 area and am 20 years old. I attended the Excelsior High School and Excelsior Community College. My reason for writing you is to ask, why is a job so hard to find?
I have issued out 45 résumés in and out of Kingston. I was studying tourism at college but I was unable to finish due to financial problems. My situation right now is that I have been at home for almost a year now without any luck in finding a job. I just need some advice on what to do please.
- R. Banton
A: Let me commend you for taking the initiative to seek advice on how to move forward. You have asked a question that a lot of people are seeking the answer to, I'm sure. My response to you may be way outside the box, but is so revolutionary as to change your fortunes faster than you thought possible.
Here's your real problem: You're asking the wrong question. By asking yourself why a job is so hard to find, your mind will keep giving you reasons why jobs are hard to find. Unconsciously too, you're simultaneously blocking ideas for how to either get a job or create your own employment, because you're not focusing on these. Let me illustrate.
The computer was designed after the human brain, and shares one crucial similarity. Our brains are comparable to the Google or Yahoo! search engines: whatever you give it to search for, it will provide the precise answers for. The difference is that your mental computer is infinity more powerful than the most powerful supercomputer.
It can make infinitely more connections; create more brilliant solutions to the most complex questions and problems far better and faster than the world's fastest supercomputer. But you must put it to work by habitually asking empowering questions that, when answered will propel you to where you want to go, rather than keeping you stuck in a rut.
Fundamental difference
The fundamental difference between people who transcend life's toughest difficulties to succeed and those who are stopped by hardships is in the quality of questions they ask. That's because questions are like the laser of human consciousness; they concentrate our focus, and determine how we feel and thus what actions we take to change our lives.
So, to answer your question of what to do: Learn to start asking better quality questions, believe in the ideas your mind will generate, and exercise the courage to act in new, unfamiliar and even uncomfortable ways.
Begin to ask: Of all the problems I see around me, which one can I solve for the most people that they will pay me to solve? Apart from sending out résumés, how else can I go about finding a job? Instead of simply sitting at home waiting for my luck to change, where can I volunteer my services to help out? What are other people doing to make money who don't have a job?