Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Humour and the Job Search

When it comes to looking for work I have always believed that a person should not take themselves too seriously. Ones ability to laugh at the world as well as themselves can have a tremendous positive impact on the job search. If a person gets depressed or feeling down because of every rejection letter or door slam during their quest for employment, it sets them up for one long painful job search. Looking for work is not a lot of fun at any time so whatever a person can do to lighten things up will only help in the long run.

Let’s start with rejection letters. I used to collect rejection letters. I couldn’t wait to see how I would be blown off. Sometimes they were form letters, sometimes they were “gee you’re swell, but you haven’t got the background we’re looking for” letters. My one claim to fame was receiving a rejection letter for a position I never applied to. While networking I passed my résumé on to a friend who in turn passed it on to someone else and from there it ended up in a rejection bin. The real funny thing was it was for a type of work I would never have applied for in the first place.

So, what is funny about being out of work? Well, I used to joke that when you are out of work, every night is Friday night. Going to the grocery store on a weekday at 9 in the morning to pick up some milk, wearing baggy shorts, a dirty t-shirt, bed-head and running into someone you might have networked with is funny. Ok, it is a big mistake but it is still funny. A rejection letter for a job you didn’t apply to is funny. Practicing your interviews with someone who can make you laugh is funny. Finding a typo in your phone number on a cover letter after you sent it is funny. It’s stupid too, but you have to laugh at it. Can you think of any others?

Remember, we’re not landing airplanes; we’re just looking for work.

Your comments are welcome.

Glen Slingerland Skills 101 / Job Development

1 Comments:

At October 15, 2008 at 11:56 AM , Blogger Raymond said...

Good advice. Despite the layoff news, I see thousands of high paying jobs posted on employment sites -

http://www.linkedin.com (networking for professionals)
http://www.simplyhired.com (aggregated listings)
http://www.realmatch.com (jobs matched to your skills)

Good luck to those that need jobs!

 

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