Job Challenges

Seeking employment is a practical and personal challenge. Whether you are just entering the job market or between jobs, obtaining employment is a multi-layered operation.

It is a fulltime job to identify opportunities, craft an effective resume, obtain an invitation to interview, present your qualifications convincingly and negotiate a mutually satisfactory relationship.

New Fulltime Job

Fears and Your Job Search

Seeking Employment Check List

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Surviving Unemployment

Adapted from lds.org

https://www.ldsjobs.org/ers/ct/articles/surviving-unemployment?lang=eng

Prepare for the Future

Even ideal employees may find themselves needing to find new employment. This is an opportunity to rely on the Lord, grow, and be strengthened. Express your gratitude in prayer for all you have been given. Heavenly Father and his Son have promised, ‘All these things shall give [you] experience, and shall be for [your] good’

Increase your Faith in the Lord

It is common for job seekers to experience a roller coaster of emotions during times of unemployment. However, when they lack faith in the Lord’s desire and power to bless them, they deliberately decline the blessings they are praying to receive.

The following suggestions will help you turn your faith in Jesus Christ into action:

· Seek a priesthood blessing.

· Pay an honest tithe.

· Organize a family fast, and pray daily.

· Study your patriarchal blessing.

· Attend the temple as frequently as possible.

· Fulfill your calling.

· Dress each day for an interview, even if you do not have one scheduled.

Ask for Help in Finding a Job

Job seekers may spend time looking for jobs online. However, most people find jobs through word-of-mouth referrals and contacting companies directly. The following suggestions will help you find others who can help:

· Talk with family, friends, acquaintances, and others about your job search.

· Update your reference list and ensure they understand your situation.

· Seek counsel from your bishop, as well as quorum and Relief Society leaders, home and visiting teachers, and ward or stake employment specialists.

· Obtain a Bishop’s Authorization for Services form, contact a LDS employment resource center or self-reliance center, and visit www.ldsjobs.org.

· Identify and ask someone to be your job coach or mentor.

· Work an 8 hour day at finding a job, strive to make 10 employment-related contacts, 2 face-to-face meetings per day, and record your daily activities.

Live within Your Means

Regardless of your current skills or unemployment benefits you might receive; it is best to prepare for long-term unemployment. Most job searches take longer than expected. Start by identifying ways to increase income and decrease spending.

Identify Sources for Increasing Income

· Find temporary employment.

· File for unemployment and other available government benefits.

· Start self-employment (for example, music lessons, yard care services …).

· Sell unnecessary items.

Discover Ways to Decrease Expenses

· Use public transportation and consolidate errands.

· Suspend memberships, such as additional phone lines or cable television.

· Request a modified repayment schedule or lower interest rates from creditors.

· Give handmade gifts or gifts of time rather than purchased gifts.

· Conserve utilities - raise or lower your thermostat by several degrees

· Shop with a list and coupons, and supplement shopping with food storage.

· Reduce eating out or purchasing of prepared foods.

· Mend clothes and make do with what you have.

New Fulltime Job

LDSJOBS

https://www.ldsjobs.org/ers/ct/articles/job-search-planning?lang=eng

You now have a new Full Time Job

People spend the least amount of time during their job search contacting companies directly or talking to people about their job search, and they spend most of their time looking at ads in papers and online. People find jobs from four major sources

· Word-of-mouth referrals

· Direct contact with companies

· Advertisements and Internet listings

· Employment agencies and recruiters

Of these four major sources, most people find jobs through word-of-mouth referrals and by contacting companies directly. However, all of these sources produce results.

· 35% Word of mouth

· 30%Contacting companies –

· 14%Ads and internet –

· 11% Agencies and recruiters –

· 10% referrals from schools, unions, trade journals, and government services

Successful job seekers spend some time using each source, and they spend the most time using the sources that produce the most success.

To achieve job-searching results as quickly as possible, you should:

· Contact at least 10 people or resources per day, 5 days per week.

· Get 2 new referrals from each contact.

· Set up at least 2 face-to-face meetings or interviews each day.

A goal of contacting 50 people or resources a week, will help you optimize your search.

· Word-of-Mouth Referrals – Make at least 18 networking contacts weekly.

· Contacting Companies Directly – Make 15 contacts with companies weekly.

· Advertisements and Internet Listings – Limit this source to 7 leads per week.

· Employment Agencies and Recruiters – Limit this source to 5 leads weekly.

· More Contacts – Make 5 more contacts during the week using 4 main sources or through schools, unions, trade journals, or government services.

Evaluate Your Job Search

Record your daily activities, and compare your job search to the suggested model. Over time, you will see how well your search is progressing and how long the search might take. Evaluate your experiences with a job coach to determine what works well and what you might do to improve.

Remember

Maintain a neat appearance, including good hygiene. Body piercings and shorts can give employers a negative impression.

Be complete, honest, and accurate on applications and résumés or curricula vitae.

Exhibit a good attitude (be polite and eager, maintain good eye contact, mile …)

Prepare for meetings by researching companies, practicing interviewing, and bringing your personal information.

Finding a new job is a full-time job. Work at it with the same discipline you would if you were working full-time. Keep regular working hours. It is important that family members and others support your efforts. Help them understand that if you work half-time on your job search, you will be unemployed twice as long.

Your job search is expensive. assume you will be making $50,000 yearly at your new job. Most people work 50 weeks per year, your job search is costing you approximately $1,000 per week, try to make it as quick and efficient as possible.

Fears and Your Job Search
Marcelle Yeager https://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/articles/2017-08-04/how-to-crush-fears-and-get-on-with-your-job-search?int=careers-rec
A job search can produce a lot of anxiety. After the preparation process of getting your resume and cover letter together, you still have work to do. There’s applying, networking and interviewing. You may find that your search keeps getting pushed to the bottom of your to-do list and the needle never moves. You may chalk up the delay to lack of time. But is that really what’s going on? Or could it be time to evaluate the mental roadblocks getting in the way? According to Danielle Droitsch, , there are three top mental offenders that hamper a job search: Confront and drop fears. Fear, worry and insecurity are natural feelings during a job search for anyone. You may have started the search with a lot of enthusiasm that over time turned into disappointment. This is common. Like countless other job seekers, you may be afraid of not being good enough, being too old or being rejected. These feelings present an obstacle to confidence when you’re in the thick of a job search. Fear will fuel inaction and procrastination. It makes people feel less confident in networking and interview situations. Fear will sabotage the entire search process, and can impede a job search in such a way that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. How can you confront and drop fear? Droitsch says take time to reflect on what's really going on inside, understanding that fears are fears, but not truths. It is helpful to write out your fears and then rip the paper up. The real trick is knowing that fear will be present in a job search but it does not mean your fears are valid. Invest in your strengths. We often compare ourselves to others rather than focusing on building ourselves up to be the strongest candidate. As you work to overcome your fears, concentrate on figuring out what you bring to your next employer. Think about your successes over	the years and acknowledge how these are derived from your talents. Droitsch suggests investing time into knowing and then cultivating your strengths. When you focus on what makes you special, you will not only fuel your job search but also develop a positive attitude, which will help you attract and land opportunities. Think about the following. What do colleagues or clients say about you? You can gather this information from performance appraisals, verbal comments or emails. What do you notice differentiates you from your teammates? Organize and follow through. Droitsch says most job searchers think that if they deserve the job they want, it will come easily. This is simply not the case, and you must drop any assumptions that it should be easy to find work you love. In truth, the search for a new job – especially one that you really want – will take work and more time than you may think. And it will take being organized, tenacious and committed. While finding work you love is not easy, the reward is worth it. Droitsch says to remember that you are the CEO of your job search. It’s up to you to drive that process to closure using good project-management skills. Managing confidence is an important skill to foster regardless of whether you're job searching, it will help you stay positive, increase your likelihood of success at work and make you more open to opportunities that could come down the road. Start doing so by taking time to celebrate your accomplishments. Take a reflective moment and say quietly to yourself, “You worked hard, you earned this.” This will give you the confidence to push through future challenges and help you invest in your strengths. Don’t let your fears paralyze your job search. Take control of them, acknowledge your strengths and get moving. It’s going to take work but if you don’t crush your fears, you’re not going to move out of the stagnant place you’re at.

Seeking Employment – the Check List

Adapted from: https://www.careertoolbelt.com/top-20-things-to-do-if-you-lose-your-job/

Job loss is emotional and traumatic, even more so to be fired. Look over this list of activities you will be engaged in throughout your job search. The Blog will focus on details for the following activities to support your job search efforts.

File for unemployment. You should be eligible see pointers here.

Check on health insurance. See HR on options for continuing coverage.

Consider your retirement plan. See HR on status and options available.

Create a personal budget. Can you survive on the smaller unemployment check?

Review ‘30 Days to a New Job’. Consider an online accelerated program here.

Google yourself. Search for yourself and nicknames, see what employers will see.

Clean up social media. Make sure your posts are fit for an employer to see.

Revamp your resume. Tailor it to the job requirements with most relevant skills.

Update your LinkedIn profile. Verify your resume is consistent, see pointers here

Network connections. Help your search with alumni network, professional and personal.

Line up references. Line up a few references now, so they can expect a call, hints here.

Check job listings. Use search engines like Indeed, be ready to post a resume.

Focus your job search. Use refined techniques for more detailed searches here

Write targeted cover letters Make a compelling case for why you should be hired, here.

Know what you are worth Salary history and salary expectations are important.

Use salary reports. Be prepared to negotiate salary, investigate here.

Get an interview outfit. Prepare to dress for the job and company interview.

Practice interviewing. With the most common interview questions employers ask.

Say thank you and follow up. Take time to follow up and thank your interviewers.

Don’t get discouraged. Most companies don’t notify applicants who weren’t selected.

Feel free to ask for help. Friends and family need know you need assistance, speak up.

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