Janice Worthington MA, CPRW, JCTC, CEIP Email

Buying into the Message...And Remaining Unemployed  For years I have been a news junkie - As a young person long before CNN or Fox I was hooked to Huntley & Brinkley and before that John Cameron Swazye. (Anyone remember him?) I love CNBC, MSNBC, the networks, and national public radio/television until they begin to discuss the hopeless job market. Then I begin to throw things at the TV screen...harmless items like slippers and pillows. Don’t get me wrong, the negativity of the media motivates me to throw my microwave at the TV screen but that wouldn’t be prudent. (Thank you G. Bush senior!) So I continue with my slow burn over the media representation regarding one’s ability to get hired in 2002. Consider the following August statistics from the Department of Labor: About 1.4 million persons reported that they wanted and were available for work but they had not actively searched for work in the four weeks proceeding the Department of Labor’s unemployment report. Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached, were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them. So I hate the media right now and I’m very conflicted because I AM THE MEDIA! In the 1980’s when we were in that recession I tried to call Tom Brokaw after he featured a story about an executive riding on a New York subway train all day reading the classified ads. Here I was, in Columbus, Ohio putting folks to work and there he was broadcasting doom and gloom. He didn’t take my call. Could his cronies be contributing to the lack of hope of the current 1.4 million who have given up? Without question! Are you a member of that 1.4 million...a number that has probably grown now that the stock market is down and war looks closer every day? Are you "buying in" to the media pessimism and all the statistics? Well if you are, please know that 281,421,906 Americans are working! And please know that you only need one job! And please understand that the fact that my colleagues and myself continue to put folks to work, much like we did two decades ago, indicates that there are jobs available! Week after week, people like you are getting hired! If you are not getting hired there are only three reasons why not. Your search is being conducted incorrectly, you are being outperformed by someone else, or you have allowed your negativity (those of us that are human constantly fight with the innate negativity of human nature) to win that angel/devil conflict. Employers are hiring. The guy two rows behind you at church is worried because his IT Manager wants to move to Sanibel Island and just gave two weeks notice. The guy behind you at the car wash fired his sales manager for underperformance and your kid’s teacher’s husband’s department is desperate for a technical writer. There are jobs, so throw a Twinkie at Tom Brokaw and tune in next month for in-depth instructions on how to make it happen. I’ll meet you here! Janice Worthington is President of Worthington Career Services, Ohio’s oldest resume preparation firm and one of the oldest in the U.S. With 14 years of corporate recruiting experience, Worthington Career Services opened its doors focused on applicant empowerment in 1973. She is known for advising some of America’s highest-ranking industry leaders. Please send Janice your questions at janice@worthingtonresumes.com . For more information on Janice, please visit her website at http://www.worthingtonresumes.com/!