What to Expect in Your New Job Hunt

I've talked to a number of job seekers over the past few months and thought it might be a good idea to share some of the general consensus among these job seekers and their mindset - both positive and negative.

Let me lay some initial groundwork as to the generality of these individuals first. The typical individual I am referring to was employed with a decent jobs in corporate America roughly a year ago, had great benefits, drives or drove a nice car, lives or lived in a nice home and was living the American dream by and large. These individuals had the proverbial rug abruptly pulled out from under them over the last year and have seemingly slipped into what I will call career-coma.

These individuals have somehow fallen into the belief that their career lives are over and ruined by someone else's wrong doing. (Read that last sentence again please). This is wrong. These individuals need to switch out of reverse, into neutral and then start out in first gear again.

Believe me, I too went down the "woe is me" road in January of this year. Truth be told, I had some great conversation with one of the founders of JTL Services, Inc. who really understands these job cycles and internal (income) ups and downs and he helped me gain some perspective on what was going on and taught me how to not live in fear. He made it sound simple. I made it sound difficult. He was right. I was wrong and I woke up.

When these individuals do wake up and get back into high gear, and many of them/us will, it will be crucial for them/us to remember what they/we went through. You have to be in control of your own destiny and abreast of the warning signals around you. There is no real job security and you should always be looking to make sure your skill set is up-to-date and marketable when and if the time abruptly comes... like we all know it does from time to time.

OK... I think the groundwork is laid enough at this point. What I really wanted to share was something different. Something that I felt it critical for you to know. When recruiters at JTL Services, Inc. talk to their candidates they are not telling them to cash in their chips and ride out the storm. They are telling them to wake up and get themselves back in the game and that there are jobs out there. Bottom line, JTL Services, Inc. is placing jobs and not just one here and there. There have been some great months over the last few in terms of placement.

The reality is that there are jobs out there, and that is what I want you to know. They may not pay what you have grown used to and they may require you to learn something new, but they are there. My suggestion is to find and take one. Just the fact that you are gainfully employed can provide you with the extra confidence you need internally as well as help portray you as someone that finds a way to make it work to a potential new employer. Employment today can certainly help open more doors for tomorrow than sitting around collecting unemployment or remaining negative about job opportunity and the like. This is non-disputable fact.

My recommendation is to take it for what it is and not over analyze things. Set your expectations accordingly. Do expect to find a job, but do not expect to necessarily find what you had two years ago. The time for that may not be here just yet. If there is a job that makes some sense for you but may be $10-20K (or more) less salary for you, take it anyway. The reasons should be obvious. Now... for those who want to reply and say... "Hey, I would take anything, if anything were there..." are creating excuses. Not to be too cliche, but when there is a will there is a way. The proof to this is everywhere.

Once again, I can't stress enough the benefits it can be to have a free account at MyJobCast.com. Use the JTL Services, Inc. free coupon code (no strings attached at all). The code is "jobhelp" at checkout. Use this free code and pay nothing. This is not a trial period and we are not selling you anything. Go to the site to see why you should have this free account.

As always, good luck!