The Journey Continues

There is no doubt that this is not a great job market.  I have a tendency to slip into kicking myself for not making a move a few years ago when there were jobs for the taking.  Speaking of a waste of energy!  So when I go there, I have to remind myself that I've been engaged in productive work during the past few years and jump into the here and now.  I talk about having a fan.  The primary fan you have to have is yourself.

Back to the job market.  While there are fewer jobs and more candidates for each, there are still openings every day.  You just have to work harder to find them and be willing to think more broadly.  The wider I cast my net, the more opportunities I find.  It isn't enough to go to the regular sites to find openings.  I have a set list of sites I visit each day or week like Indeed.com,  nj.com/jobs and higheredjobs.com.  I also scour individual web sites for schools, companies, colleges or universities I have on my list.  I am pleased that there are still new openings, as most of my targets staff up before the school year or semester begins.  Those of us engaged in job search have to remember that 'stuff happens' resulting in openings on a regular basis.  These unexpected openings need to be filled and my goal is to be well positioned so that when a potential employer is looking for someone, I'm there.

Finding the listings is one piece.  Even more important, and often more difficult, is finding a network connection when there is an opening.  Here, too, it seems the more I put my request out there, the greater the likelihood I'm going to find the someone who knows the someone who may get me on the inside track.


I know.  I know.  It keeps coming back to networking.  I do have colleagues who are being found after they file their resumes at on line sites, but admittedly, this is rare.  Networking is generally the key to those who are landing jobs.

So I'll continue to be the cheerleader for the networking crowd.   And I'll continue to remind myself to get out and do it.