Darkness
The pain of logging into your 401(k) account; anxious days of planning meetings at the office; friends suddenly in horrible economic distress - this past week has been an encounter with the abyss, Readers.We've been expecting this for a while, folks - I wrote about the coming recession back in January - but the shock of this past week and the reality of the financial distress is nonetheless overwhelming.
In tough times, it can be hard to stay focused on the task at hand - finding your next $100K+ job. The grim news, the daily drumbeat of dour tidings, and the uncertainty of the days ahead combine to make quite a distraction.
Into that gloom, then, let me try to light a torch and illuminate the darkness just a little bit.
At TheLadders.com, we've been at this business of finding people their next great $100K+ job for over five years now. And in that time, we've had literally millions of people come through our front door.
And let me tell you something - everybody finds their next job. Despite the worry and stress; despite the economy; despite the harrowing times we find ourselves in - everybody finds their next job.
You will find your next job. Let me tell you, it is pretty unlikely that you're going to be our "Waterloo" and not find a job. Stick with us and we will see you through. What's important right now is to focus on the basics.
Apply for jobs. We've got over 55,000 $100K+ jobs live on the site right now. I wish it was as easy as just signing up and sitting back to let the offers roll in, but it's not. You need take an active part in your search and get your information out there to the thousands of recruiters and HR people we have on site.
Treat the job search like a job. While you already have a job, this job search is like another full-time job. Yes, I know that it's really difficult, painful and time-consuming to manage a job search, but that is the only way you are going to achieve success. Get dressed for work, buy a mirror, and apply yourself to it. You've got an amazing background and experience and you need to let the world know about it.
Get your resume professionally written. Look, if you were launching a new product at work - a new soda, a new mutual fund, a new car - would you write the advertising copy yourself? Really? Of course you wouldn't; you would leave it to the professionals.
So why, when you are selling the most important product you'll ever sell - the next few years of your labor - are you going to let an amateur (you) write the advertising copy? A resume is a sales document, and it needs to sell you. You're too close to yourself to have the detached objectivity that is required to highlight your true strengths. And the subtleties of appealing to three different audiences - the 23-year-old HR administrator that screens resumes, the professional HR person or recruiter that determines your fit, and the ultimate hiring manager - is something that you shouldn't be guessing at.
Yes, I know it can be pricey, but they're going to see your resume long before they ever see that nice new $700 suit you bought. Invest in yourself first.
Stay positive. Oh boy, don't you just love this one? Everybody tells you to keep a positive attitude, or keep your chin up, or some such. But they don't know how entirely painful this process is for you. It's such a drag to be putting yourself out there, and you can feel like a lab specimen sometimes, what with all the poking and prodding and questions.
But, Readers, I do actually need you to do something for me and for you. And I know it might sound jejune. But I need you to stay positive. This is going to be a long and difficult road, but your friends at TheLadders.com are right behind you. We are an army of 275 job-crazy people, and we come in to work every single day to help you find your next job. If we're on your side, there is really nothing that can stop us. So, please, just keep a good attitude, know that we are working for you, and really know that we are going to see you through this job hunt.
We'll be rooting for you all the way.
