Market Meltdown Change Your Job-Search Mindset

Market Meltdown Change Your Job-Search MindsetMarket Meltdown Change Your Job-Search MindsetMarket Meltdown Change Your Job-Search MindsetThe current economic meltdown is just the tip of a much larger iceberg that will have far reaching economic implications for all of us here in the U.S. Tens of thousands of layoffs in and beyond the financial industry will only be the start of more sober times as companies across the country will be forced to rethink their future hiring plans.One fact seems certain. All of these combined circumstances will have huge ramifications for job seekers. The failing economy and a constantly rising unemployment rate will require individuals to take a fresh approach to their job search.Referencing the most recent economic crisis, Neil McNulty, Principal Recruiter, McNulty Management Group states, The game has changed, but the rules remain the saatkorn now, more than ever, job seekers need to change their mindset from looking for openings to looking for oppor tunities. Opportunities are born out of crisis and chaos, and exist evenin the worst economy.This means that you, as a job seeker, must look beyond job postings and move into marketing yourself to the managers of the companies and organizations who are experiencing problems that you can solve. Heres how1. Change Your MindsetMove away from being a passive job seeker and toward being an active problem-solver. Dont just rely on the Internet to find job openings. Scour the marketplace to find the hidden jobs that arent advertised. Most jobs are not posted or advertised. The best jobs are often found through networking, word-of-mouth and informational interviews.2. Stop Thinking of Yourself as Just an Assortment of Job SkillsSee yourself as a product to package and market, and then create your own marketing campaign to find your desired job. This includes having a state-of-the-art resume and sharpening your interviewing skills.3. Sell ROIView yourself in terms of Return on Investment for an employer. See yourself as a mini-profit and loss center. Be prepared to demonstrate ways you have helped to positively impact the bottom line of your past or current employer. This means demonstrating ways youve helped make money or save money for an employer or clients. As employees, we all touch money. Some of us may be closer to it than others. Regardless, we must find ways to prove this in short sound bites when given the opportunity.Remember, its not about you, but about the organization itself. All communication with a prospective employer must answer the question, Whats in it for me (the employer)?The road ahead will be littered with casualties make no mistake about that. We could sit by and whine about the circumstances. We could wait for the government to initiate a bailout package that might somehow rescue the unemployed. Or, we could take charge of our own lives and power ourselves forward. Joseph P. Kennedy said many years ago, When the going gets tough, the tough ge t going. That statement is just as true today as it was then. Whether were employed or not, we all have this rocky, tough economy in common. We can respond as victims of the economy or we can get tough, and get going.