Linda Lupatkin, Career Counselor, Coach and Consultant

You’ve done the work, made the grade and gotten the revered degree; or you’ve had a long and highly successful career, filled with accomplishments and promotions, but you’re going nowhere in your job search.

You’re stalled and you don’t understand why. The problem could be a sense of entitlement. A feeling that upon graduation you have a right to a job. For those further along in their careers, it could be the hubris derived from years of awards, accolades, and bonuses; you’re a proven top performer and anyone should be happy to hire you.

As the saying goes, “anything in life worth having is worth working for.” That has never been more true than in today’s competitive job market. The people who are getting jobs, and they ARE getting them, are putting in the effort. They realize that running a successful job search is akin to running a successful marketing campaign.

The first step is realizing that searching for a job is not a passive endeavor, it’s a job in and of itself. You should have a plan of action to follow, a marketing plan if you will. You should think of yourself as your product and determine your target audience. You’ll then need to develop a pointed message for use in your written (resumes, bios and cover letters) and verbal communications. The next step is to develop and execute winning strategies to get in front of your audience.

You can accomplish this on your own but, more often than not, the help of an expert career coach can save you time and ultimately money (fewer weeks and months of lost wages) by dramatically reducing the length of your job search.

Of course the first step is understanding that a job is not an entitlement and that while you may be the greatest thing since sliced bread, unless you’re actively getting your message out, no one out there knows it.

–Linda