In September 2009, I wrote a Career Hub post on "18 Things Your Mama Never Told You About Looking for Work." Now, nearly 17 months later, I have added 15 more things your Mama never told you...some from you, Career Hub readers (entries 19 - 24) and some additional ideas from job seekers, entries 25 - 33. As always, feel free to add your own thoughts about what your Mama never told you about looking for work...
1. That it will take you longer than you think to discover a new opportunity.
2. That you may need to look to self to generate income by: starting a business; self-employment; independent contractor; accepting a straight-commission job; moonlighting and/or starting a business on the side while working full time.
3. That not everyone will want you, regardless of how educated, experienced, credentialed, talented or awesome you may be.
4. That you will be surprised by how much you get rejected.
5. That just because you think you had a great interview, it doesn't mean the employer thinks so.
6. That you may be asked illegal or inappropriate questions during an interview.
7. That you may take things way too personally when they don't go your way.
8. That you will need to have a laser-like focus and an open mind.
9. That people you thought would help you don't; that people you thought wouldn't help you, do.
10. That hunting for work is like finding a needle in a haystack, so become an expert at hunting for needles in haystacks.
11. That technology is a tool and that people hire people.
12. That you may not find a good job; you might land an interim gig.
13. That you may work as an independent consultant, project-to-project for an organization, so long as your expertise is needed and there is funding to pay for it.
14. That you can never go back to what was; that you can only maneuver through what is.
15. That your patience will be tested, time and again.
16. That a search for work will be as easy, or as difficult, as you make it.
17. That you will need to acquire a well-developed sense of humor, should you not have one.
18. That you will need to be very creative in your thinking, resourceful and self-reliant.
19. That "a job search is NOT like a job -- it is much more. Everything that happens depends on what YOU do, no one else"...
20. That "non-traditional jobs can sometimes be more rewarding"...
21. That "After a while, one wonders where the movie/tv-glamorized reality went. The one where you put out a few resumes and then you get a new job, and everyone is happy. Reality is far closer to your list."
22. That "You may need to take a salary cut. Start figuring out if you can afford it. Salary cuts are never ideal, but in this market, they may be necessary."
23. That "As a veteran headhunter of more than 20 years, I can confirm that the 'people hire people' concept is not only true, but very important."...
24. That "indeed searching for the right opportunity requires a lot of patience and also a strategic job hunt."
25. That "someone can look you square in the eye, shake your hand, say they will be in touch and you will never hear from them again."
26. That "looking for a job requires so much more than whipping up a resume and hitting send...that alone simply won't work in this market."
27. That "I will have to view myself as a brand -- as a product for sale in a saturated, competitive market -- a new concept for me."
28. That "if you are a recent college graduate with an unemployed status like mine, not only did your Mama not tell you how to look for work, neither did your school counselor -- in my case. There's so much to know...would have been better off to have majored in job search and minored in"...
29. That "most people will be really nice to you, even if they don't have a job for you...and there's always a handful who will be rude, disrespectful, disinterested, not caring, insensitive...pay them no mind."
30. That "You have to stay hopeful and optimistic even if you have been out of work for a long time"...
31. That "you may be offered a job one day and that very same job offer may be rescinded the next one."
32. That "you may lose every new job you get just because things change so fast -- something over which you have no control."
33. That "you need to keep a 'game on' perspective on a daily basis since you never know when you will have to go looking for new work."
cross-posted by: billiesucher
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