Job searching

I'm not going to lie to you, finding a job is hard. With the recent (and partially current) global financial crisis small businesses are cutting down, recently I learned that even Bevilles is downsizing. Because the cost of living is going up more and more people are beginning to look for higher paying jobs which increases the competition even in the high caliber jobs. The only way to get through nowadays is to be fast paced and successful yourself. However what happens when you're not looking for a high paying job? What happens when you just need a small job to pay for uni or because you have no experience? Well not much, you will have to strive much harder than anyone else to get a job because everyone want someone with experience and no one is willing to give it. I know this personally. I've just graduated high school and I decided to focus on my schooling so I didn't get a job. After I graduated I spent four MONTHS looking for work. In fact it was only on Friday that I was successful (go me!) I understand the strain and stress that go with trying to find work. I've become depressed multiple times throughout this job search and the only reason I didn't give up was because I am ridiculously stubborn. Now I'm not telling you this to make you miserable or to scare you but to share my experiences and to warn you how difficult it can get. And I had an 'easy' run. Many others I knew had been unemployed for over a year. However I must point out that currently in Australia long term unemployment is only about six months! So when you find yourself in an employment rut here's my advice. Go for a survival job, don't expect something brilliant unless your qualified to expect brilliant. Go for a kitchen hand or a call centre operator. Because you will get these things. Call centres will employ almost anyone if you have a nice phone voice. Now these jobs are for beginners because that's where I am and where my experience lies however the general idea does belong to all areas. If you are unemployed, no matter how qualified you are, and your finding it tough to get a new job go for something that may be a step down. And then keep looking. The reason behind this is that you are more likely to be employed by someone if you are already employed. Doesn't make any sense in terms of fairness but this is what happens. I would also recommend doing some resume or interview work shops, especially if you are new to the work force. The people who run these are generally professionals and understand what employers are looking for. Even when it's demeaning, stick with it because there may be something you're missing. Or it could be just that its taking time to find a suitable job. Another tip is to widen your search range. If your an accountant who's having issues finding employment don't just apply for accounting positions. Find similar areas, do research, find out what else you can do because the more you apply the more interviews you will get and the more success you will have in finding a job. I was doing a successful transition to work course which was demeaning, I and everyone else were treated like children. However they had an application target of 20 jobs a week. I started this course last week, did one weeks quota of applications and now I have a job. I'm not saying this happens for everyone but I must repeat, apply for as many jobs a week as you can, it will help. And try to keep it consistent. Don't apply for 50 one week but only 5 the next because you will get into a habit of thinking 'well I applied for all of these jobs last week, missing this week won't matter'. But it will! And finally, be confident. No matter where you apply, most jobs will prefer or require a confident person. I am not generally a confident person, I start off shy and only get confident when I've known people for a while however I had to really work on that. So even if your not a confident person, act confident. Don't lie, or make stuff up because it will come back to bite you but be confident. And that dear readers is my weekly contribution. Hopefully it was some help to all of those job seekers out there and perhaps provided a thoughtful read. I'd love feedback so feel free to leave it in the comment and I will write to you on Sunday.