Maintain Your Perspective When Looking for a Job

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for circumstances they want, and, if they cannot find them, make them.

-George Bernard Shaw

Experts have predicted that the American economy may fall into such dire straits that it may become impossible for anyone to obtain a loan. The time may come when everything needs to be paid for in cash. Imagine if the situation became so dire that the few jobs out there didn’t pay well. Or that even those professions known for bringing in six figures or more saw their incomes cut significantly. If people rode bicycles because they couldn’t afford their cars anymore, and the roads went unrepaired. And your country was at war.

How bad does this sound to you? While this may be where some are predicting our economy may be taking us, the fact is that what I am describing is already happening in many places around the world today.

One of the largest mistakes people make when thinking about their job search is failing to maintain their perspective. People do not realize how many opportunities there are in the market, how much they are capable of, and how much they can personally achieve. What they are failing to factor in is their potential.

You may not realize this, but regardless of the sort of job you are seeking you can find it. There are probably lots of people out there who think otherwise. You may think otherwise. However, it is important to remember your personal potential and put that into perspective in your job search.

Despite your current situation, and how dire it may seem, you are literally surrounded by a smorgasbord of opportunities. If you are not taking advantage of them, you are missing out in a major way. However, sometimes you have to seek out the opportunities or create them yourself. This is crucial in terms of your success.

Let me share with you some of the opportunities that exist for you that you may not be aware of. In sharing each of these opportunities with you, I also want you to understand that the only thing preventing you from taking advantage of these opportunities is your perspective. Consider the following:

-There are opportunities with employers you have interviewed with in the past;

-There are opportunities with employers you have worked with in the past;

-There are opportunities with coworkers you have worked with in the past;

-You can apply for jobs for which you are under-qualified;

-You can apply for jobs for which you are over-qualified;

-You can apply for jobs which are in different cities, states, or countries than where you are now;

-You can send your resume to employers that you have already sent your resume to;

-You can send your resume to employers who are not hiring in your city, just to see what happens;

-You can send your resume to employers who are not hiring all over your state, just to see what happens (you can use EmploymentAuthority to do this);

-You can cold-call employers all over your city to see if they have work;

-You can ask friends of yours if they know of any openings;

-You can visit the website of every employer in the United States to see if they have jobs (you can use Hound to do this);

-You can visit the websites of every employer in the country and every job site in the country and apply to the jobs which match your interests (you can use EmploymentCrossing to do this);

-You can apply for jobs all weekend;

-You can reapply for jobs all weekend;

-You can read about how to be a better interviewer in your spare time;

-You can practice your interview skills with an employer or loved one;

-You can research how to write good cover letters;

-You can get your resume professionally written (you can use ResumeApple to do this);

-You can meditate about the best ways to get a job;

-You can ask your grocer, doctor, and others if they know of any job openings.

When you shift your perspective, you will see opportunities that you might otherwise have missed. When you keep your perspective open and make yourself aware of the potential out there, you will see that the world is wide open for you, no matter what the experts might say.