Why Your Job Search Is Taking FOREVER!

How’s your job search going? Is it taking longer than expected to find a job? That’s pretty typical of the modern job search.

When people ask, “How long should the job search take?” It’s nearly impossible to give them an answer because it depends on so many factors. The job search may last a week, a month, or well over six months.

Every job seeker wishes there was a big magic button for finding a job, but in reality, the job search is more like a maze. Here are a few reasons why your job search seems like it’s taking forever:

• Lack of motivation – Motivation helps you do just about everything. If you aren’t motivated to find a job, you won’t find a job.
• Limited amount of time networking – One of the best ways to find a job is to enlist the help of your professional contacts. Go out and meet people. Your network is one of the most valuable job search tools available.
• Holding out for something that doesn’t exist – In the job search you have to be realistic about what type of job you are willing to take. A new college grad isn’t going to become a CEO of a Fortune 500 company. An ex-welder isn’t going to be able to apply to be a doctor. Focus your job search on jobs that you have a chance of landing.
• Lack of flexibility – Employers need you to be flexible. From schedules to pay to location, you need to adapt to the job market.
• Waiting for the job to come to you – It’s unlikely that recruiters will find you on Facebook or on your couch. It’s up to you to go out and find jobs.
• Bad attitude – A positive attitude will take you far in life. A negative one will hold you back from accomplishing anything.
• No idea how to job search – The job search of today is drastically different than the job search of ten years ago.  The online world and mobile technology have changed the way the world finds jobs. Take the time to study up on how recruiters select and choose candidates.
• Sending out terrible job applications – If your resume stinks and your cover letter is a disaster, you’ll never get to the job interview round.
• Looking in the wrong places – Focus your job search where the jobs are located. If you’re scouring the local newspaper for jobs and are striking out, try the Internet. The jobs are there, you just have to know where to look.

Finding a job can be a struggle. Whatever happens, prepare yourself for the long haul. When the job search starts to drag on and on, it’s easy to imagine worst case scenarios, but that’s when you need to keep your spirits up and stay positive.

If you’re starting to get frustrated, here are a handful of things that will help you speed up your job search:

• Be realistic – Adjust your job expectations and be realistic about what you are capable of doing.
• Build your personal brand – Take the time to build your personal brand. Create your web presence so that recruiters can find out more about you.
• Follow a routine – Develop a routine that turns your job search into a full time job. This will help to boost your productivity.
• Reward yourself – A life without rewards is boring. When you accomplish something in your job search, reward yourself.
• Consider relocating – If you can’t find a job in your current job market, expand your job search to other cool locations.

You can find tons of great job advice on the JobMonkey Blog. Use the search function and you’ll be able to find plenty of tips to help you figure out your job search. The JobMonkey JobCenter is a great place to search for jobs. There are thousands of job listings to choose from and they are located all over the world. Are you ready to be employed?