Nathan Key

I know what it’s like to be unemployed. I was laid off in November and spent the next four and a half months searching, interviewing, and hoping for someone to give me a job. It was stressful, to say the least, but now I’m not only employed, I’m also leaving the job I took for a better one.

How did I do it?

1. I treated unemployment like a job

Every day, I followed a schedule similar to the one I kept when I was employed. I held a fairly rigid daily ritual of job hunting, blogging, networking, and resume targeting. I treated my unemployment checks like a salary (albeit a really small one). I was required to make a minimum of three employer contacts each week- but I tried to find that many per day.

2. I set up a SimplyHired.com RSS Feed

I have this theory that unless you’re first or last on the pile of resumes, you’re probably not going to get any attention. So, I subscribed to an RSS feed through SimplyHired.com that would alert me the moment anyone posted a job in the keywords I’d set. SimplyHired pulls jobs from all the major online job boards- sort of like the “google” of job searches. I’d have the opportunity to apply to these jobs the MOMENT they were posted instead of having to look for them or have them delivered by careerbuilder’s “we think this is a good fit” e-mail campaign.

3. I worked toward self-employment and self-improvement whilst unemployed

I learned new programs, wrote a LOT of blogs, wrote a ton of freelance articles (mostly pro-bono), and offered to help my church leadership team in any way possible. I needed to have something tangible that I could show for my day other than a completed application. I tried to target my self-improvement toward things that would be attractive to businesses (I’m an expert in ________ and I’m honing my skills by doing ______, _______, and _______ even when I’m not employed).

4. I didn’t try to begin a new career

When the economy is doing well and businesses have a lot of flexibility, you can branch out and try something new. But during a bad economy, it’s important to stick with what you know. Even if you’re not completely thrilled with what you do (or did) for a living, apply for jobs that utilize those things that you have a lot of experience doing. The fact is that people MUCH more talented that you are getting laid off from jobs they are better at. Fighting to be noticed when you have little or no experience isn’t going to work out very well. You’re competing against the best of the best, so try to target your job search at careers that you’re really suited for.

NOTE: This could be a very good time to go back to school if you want to gain learning and experience. But that’s different than getting a job. What I’m talking about is applying for jobs outside of your career path- rather than choosing this as the moment that you’ll go back to school.

5. I was respectful and encouraging to hiring managers and recruiters

When I interviewed with Liberty Mutual back in November, I didn’t get the job. But I sent a thank you note and asked the hiring manager to consider me in the future if a similar role was available again. A few months later, I touched base with him again to let him know how much I really enjoyed meeting him and that I’d love to work for him. He called me a month ago, before a Sr. Trainer Role was even published to the job boards and asked if I’d be interested. I’m going to begin working for him in a few weeks.

When I interviewed with Florida Virtual School, I told the hiring manager that she was the kind of person I wanted to work for.  We later agreed that it’s important to find someone who is valuable and find a job for them even if they aren’t suited for the job they’re interviewing for. I made it to the final round of interviewing and even though that position was filled by someone else, she had me come out and interview for another role that hadn’t been officially requisitioned yet- she liked me and wanted to find a place for me to work in her organization.

When I interviewed with Advantor, I was in the middle of interviewing with Florida Virtual School and so I told the hiring manager that even if I wasn’t available for employment, I’d be willing to come in and meet with her to help her narrow down the other candidates. She liked that and hired me because of it (coupled with my skills and abilities of course).

Contact hiring managers after interviews (even after they’ve given jobs to someone else) and ask for leads. Tell them you really want to work for them. Tell them that you’d love to be in contact again if anything comes up in the future. This isn’t desperation- it’s networking. It’s making friends.

People want to hire people who WANT to work for them.

6. I asked for honest feedback from interviewers and hiring managers

Toward the end of each interview I had, I’d ask something along the lines of:

"What reservations do you have about my ability to excel in this position?" Or "Is there anything about our conversations or my resume that sends a red flag that I might not be qualified or accomplished enough for this role?"

I did this for two reasons.
First, I wanted to clear up any concerns (it’s called Resolving Objections in the Sales Model).

Second, I honestly needed to know if I had the chops for the positions I was applying for. If you set your sites too high, you’re not going to get the results you’re looking for.

7. I learned how to wait

The biggest problem for those who are unemployed is that they don’t hear back for a long time regarding whether or not they’ve got the job (or even an interview). My good friend Brad told me early on in the process that hiring managers aren’t ONLY searching for someone t o backfill a position. They’re at work, working. They’re doing their job and they’re also shorthanded because they’re hiring. That means that it’s going to take a while for them to get back with you. They aren’t just sitting around waiting for you the same way that you’re sitting around waiting for them.

So, have patience.

Also, in a college class I took a few years back, I remember the professor telling us that for every ten thousand dollars in salary, you’re probably going to hunt for that many months to find a person to fill the position ($60,000=six months). So, it’s probably similar on the unemployed worker’s timeline, too. If I want to make $50,000 I may need to look for about 5 months before I begin getting a lot of attention.

Believe me, if you’re looking for roles you’re suited for and knocking ’em dead with encouragement and sincere thanks, the jobs WILL start coming. Seriously, I know, because I was unemployed just two months ago and now I’m about to leave my current job for a better one.

It’ll happen for you, too.

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