Not just any career coach, hire a career coach who has helped people like yourself return to earning a living in the recent past. Look for someone with a website that talks about your particular issues, such as: no experience, over 50, physical or emotional limitations, ‘overqualified’, etc. Ask them to tell you about some of their recent successes. You should feel confident or at least very hopeful that this particular career coach can help you based on who they have helped previously. If possible, talk to more than one career coach on the phone to see if you click and choose the one who you believe will help you the most. Yes, this is your turn to be the one having a job interview and selecting who is right for the job of matching you up with an employment opportunity.
“I have no money to hire a career coach,” you say.
If you were gravely ill, would you go to a doctor? If your hopes of being employed soon are on life-support than it is time to get some expert counsel. How would you pay for the doctor? Hmm… This makes me think we could use the equivalent of Medicaid for employment. One non-profit option offering career coaching to those “who need it most but can afford it least” is Caerus Connect. Another is Skillful, a non-profit organization in Colorado and Indiana that works to bridge the gap between the skillset of people looking for work and job openings.
A low-cost option is WorkItDaily.com. At the time of this writing, WorkItDaily offered an unlimited access to their resources including ability to get feedback, for $29 a month. You could learn a lot in a month.
2) Invest Time in a Recent Job Search Book
A second option in revamping your job search is to invest time in a job search book written in recent years. I say invest time because job search books will do nothing if you only read them. Any worthwhile job search book will contain exercises to help you recognize your own skills and strengths as well as actionable job search strategies.
Three books worth considering are:
What Color Is My Parachute? 2019: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers by Richard N. Bolles – Begins by acknowledging that looking for work has changed dramatically in recent years. Emphasizes that what is key is understanding what you offer a perspective employer that everyone else does not. Book contains lengthy self-assessment section designed to pinpoint the reader’s unique talents and interests and admonishes, “You were put here on Earth for a reason. You need to find it. These are the steps.”
The 2-Hour Job Search: Using Technology to Get the Right Job Faster by Steve Dalton – published in 2012 and likely to take you 2 days or 2 weeks instead of 2 hours to see results, nonetheless this book is worth considering. Readers comment that it’s easy-to-follow steps boost confidence and one recent (late 2018) reviewer said the book’s advice led to a good job offer.
Introverts: Leverage Your Strengths for an Effective Job Search by Gabriela Casineanu, a coach who has helped more than 1200 job seekers and people looking to advance in their careers. Includes real stories of successful job seekers who used Casineanu’s recommended strategies.
3) Get a Gig (or Lots of Them)
Third option: Switch your focus from getting a job to getting a gig. A gig is a one-time event that you get paid for. It doesn’t have to be anything you’d want to do again. The person hiring you doesn’t have to be sure they want to work with you beyond just a single gig. A gig is a good way to bring in some income and a good way to feel that once again you are a contributing member of society. There are freelance websites where you can bid on gigs, or there is Fiverr, where you predefine a service gig and people choose it in the same manner as they choose an item to drop into their shopping cart.
One of the great things about Fiverr.com is it makes you realize that everyone has a skill that they could offer. Record yourself reading a document supplied. Correct punctuation (for the English teacher or copy editor). Able to edit images? Able to do research? You can write up a gig and be in business in a single afternoon.
Another common gig is driving Lyft or Uber. Yes, you have to have a car and like driving, but if you do, there are many side benefits to driving, such as the possibility of new connections, getting yourself out of the house and learning of other opportunities. One job searcher told me that she drove to some distant job interviews, then picked up some Lyft business on her way home to offset the cost of going to the interview.
Or go low-tech and write up a flyer saying you are between jobs and willing to do odd errands for your neighbors, anything from daycare to signing for packages to walking their dogs or house-sitting. You can set your rates ahead of time or tell folks to pay you what they feel is fair. This low-tech option will get you out of the house and can be a form of casual networking. Meet more people and earn money, win-win. I recommend you put your photo on the page to help them connect your name and face and give them a bit more confidence about who is reaching out.
4) Find or Create a Job Search Group
Another option to consider is finding or starting a group for job searchers. John Fugazzie did just that with Neighbors Helping Neighbors in January 2011. The group started meeting in a library with the idea of participants sharing useful tips they had found about finding a job. It started small, often with only 4 or 5 participants, but the idea has continued to grow and spread to multiple locations.
A typical meeting could begin with participants giving their ‘elevator speech,’ a condensed version of who they are and the type of job position they are hoping to find. In Neighbors Helping Neighbors, the running of the weekly meeting is a rotating responsibility. This helps ensure the group covers topics that interest everyone and also builds leadership skills and confidence among participants.
Shared knowledge, expanded networking, emotional support and accountability are potential benefits of job search groups. With isolation being one of the hardest aspects of being out of work, turning your job search from a solitary endeavor into a team one is worth considering. Neighbors Helping Neighbors has information about starting new groups at: http://nhnusa.org/facilitator-center.html.
5) Start a Business
Rather than just continuing to search for jobs, you might also consider creating a job or business for yourself. This is what Monica Carter did when she ‘Hired Herself’ a few weeks before her unemployment benefits would have run out and started a freelance writing business. Carter found setting a regular work schedule for herself gave her an immediate sense of accomplishment and increased self-worth. Carter used an online course to guide her through setting up the DBA, a website and writing portfolio. The end result, Sensible Graffiti, soon began netting her jobs to pay her bills and eventually led to a part-time job that she is using to recoup the savings she burned through while out of work.
Linda Clay estimated she applied for over 100 jobs during a ten-month period and after receiving zero, yes zero, requests for a job interview, she started an online business consultancy/VA business. She later transitioned out of that business and began working as a coach, but she credits the VA business to both paying some bills and helping her find the right fit for her skills and passions.
Some businesses can be started with very minimal investment, The $100 Startup is full of examples where people have started all kinds of businesses with little or no money upfront. And it is possible, even in a down economy to find an investor for a new venture. Marla Wynne began designing and producing a line of women’s clothing during the 2008 recession. Wynne recalls, “I didn’t set out, oh, I want to be a designer. I set out thinking, my kids want to eat and go to college. I better figure this out.”
Not sure whether your business idea will work? No one can predict success, but you can be sure that even if your business struggles and produces little income, you will
– learn new skills
– impress the next person who calls you for a job with your ambition
– be viewed as an entrepreneur rather than someone who has been out of work and unable to find a job.
And there is the very real possibility of creating a business that pays your bills, interests you, employs others, and has a positive effect on the world.
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