Job search in any economy

During a recent conversation with a recruiter from a large firm here in Boston, we talked about talent shortage, but the perceived reality of very few folks actually hiring, and some people still finding it hard to find a job.

I wanted to see what was really going on, and I started looking into this. It so happend that John Sumser wrote a great series of articles last week (WarI War II War III, War IV) about the labor shortage and baby boomers retiring, and the related commentary from Amitai and Colin and I wanted to include their insights.

While all this is fantastic thinking and analysis, I wasn’t really getting to the answer I really wanted, and then the light of clarity turned on, as I pondered the real question – What does this mean for you, the job seeker?

So my conclusion was:

Rather than fret or analyse what the environment is doing your better off focusing on those things that you can control and move you forward.

• Do you know what job you want and what companies you want to work for? – More importantly how good a match are you?
• How robust and wide is your network?
• Do you have all your tools sharpened and ready? (cover letters, resumes, elevator pitch, marketing pages, interview practice, etc…).
• Are you spending enough time on enough different tactics.
• Are you activities getting you closer to finding open positions, the hiring person, and an offer?

At the end of the day, you still have a job to find. (or should that be a job to do – to find a job?)