How To Find A Job: Career Expert's Tips For The Unemployed (SLIDESHOW)

As long-term unemployment takes its toll on the psyches of millions of laid-off American workers, career consultants like Bill Jeffries of Tucson, Arizona, are being inundated with clients who are desperate for any tips that might help them find a job in this economy.

Jeffries, a senior career consultant and former broadcast executive, has been successfully helping people land jobs and reengineer their careers for ten years but he says his job has significantly changed since the recession.

"We used to see almost all people who wanted to upgrade their careers," Jeffries said. "Now, we see about 30 percent those people and 70 percent people who are unemployed, usually for an average of about 7 months. They come in exhausted, in tears... it's heartbreaking."

Jeffries said his success rate has dipped from 80 to about 65 percent since the recession, but he still manages to put the majority of his clients in satisfying, full-time jobs with a little coaching and grooming. The difference between finding jobs for currently employed people versus unemployed people boils almost completely down to confidence, he says.

"Anyone that comes in here wanting to upgrade their career, we're with them less than 3 months, because they're much more secure, confident, and their self-esteem hasn't been shattered, and employers know that," he said. "Out of work, people lose their skill sets and they begin to undervalue themselves. It's tragic."

Jeffries says he is confident that anyone can get a job with the right amount of effort and coaching, and he has offered HuffPost a list of his most important and useful jobseeking tips.

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Avoid writing a tombstone chronological resumé

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"Normal resumes don't indicate how you can help me, they indicate what you've done," Jeffries said. "Before you start writing a list of every job you've ever had, begin your resumé with three or four professional achievements and results. The document should make an impact and give an individual a reason to want to see you."

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"Normal resumes don't indicate how you can help me, they indicate what you've done," Jeffries said. "Before you start writing a list of every job you've ever had, begin your resumé with three or four professional achievements and results. The document should make an impact and give an individual a reason to want to see you."

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Comments

[Jack Durango]

10:17 PM on 08/13/2010

Suits and fancy clothes are overrated.

Instead, do some research and find out what their corporate culture is like. You might be overdressing for an interview.

[texastrixie]

12:33 PM on 07/23/2010

The way to find a job NOW in this country? Simple! Have an advanced degree, ten years experience, and be willing to work for the minimum wage.

[mrm3]

01:46 PM on 08/06/2010

So true. And without the experience/or under 30 you're f*cked because all the older folk are applying for your entry-level positions

[AmyInNH]

11:51 PM on 08/10/2010

Not really. They don't want Americans regardless of experience or minimum wage when they can have captive labor.

[ssfahrer]

12:01 PM on 07/23/2010

Perhaps we looked at this from the opposite side of the coin. Could it be that there are simply TOO MANY PEOPLE in this country as opposed to 'too few jobs available'. As many jobs have been EXPORTED to other countries (recall 'the large sucking sound' heard by H. Ross Perot), it might become necessary to export PEOPLE as well to follow those jobs (as opposed to our present policy of porous borders and no viable fence/wall, etc. to keep illegals out)....

[Homosapient]

04:28 PM on 07/22/2010

I remember reading about Muhammad Yunus who won the Nobel Prize for starting the micro loans in India. He was talking to MBA students at one of the top schools in India. A student complained that there weren't enough jobs for all the soon-to-be graduates. Muhammad replied quite passionately that graduates from the top schools shouldn't be concerned with getting jobs, but with creating jobs. Similarly, there are not enough jobs right and no matter how wonderful your resume or your networking skills, chances are against you for landing a job. We need tons more incentives for starting businesses, eg., small business loans, entrepreneurship programs and affordable healthcare for the self-employed that starts right now, not 2012. (I speak as a small business owner.)

[mrm3]

01:47 PM on 08/06/2010

Good analysis. I'm on that path myself, it's hard to get things together in this economy but the opportunities are there.

[DSevere]

04:05 PM on 07/22/2010

Here's something else that might help: you will come off as a more confident and together person if you take good care of yourself. So, if you're not exercising every day, start now. Ditto, meditation, deep breathing, eating healthy, avoiding drinking too much, plus, working on making your appearance be the very best it can be -- good time for a stylish haircut and interview outfit that you feel really good in. Also, look at your body language. Are you slouching and hunched over (which says, "you don't want to hire me, do you?")? Practice standing up straight and looking confident and assured even when you don't feel like that.

[mjeffn]

03:14 PM on 07/22/2010

The best advise I can give to become employed is to get rid of republicans.

[ssfahrer]

11:49 AM on 07/23/2010

And Democrats....

[mrm3]

01:47 PM on 08/06/2010

True. Elect progressives

[aligatorhardt]

08:56 AM on 07/22/2010

Ms. Bassett provides good advice in preparation for a job interview. Remember that an employer is looking for you to become an asset, not a liability. Stress how you can contribute to the team, and what reasons you have for working with that particular business. Show your experience and have ideas for making your experience valuable to the employer.

[Quequegs]

05:54 AM on 07/22/2010

Awesome information and a good reminder for those of us who have been out of the game for a while.

[Cleo Creech]

03:58 AM on 07/22/2010

Actually this article highlights one of my BIG pet peeves these days. All these HR professionals, that obviously aren't placing a lot of people, and have tons of time on their hands to tell people how to get jobs. Yet the advice is generally the same sort of old school powerpoint slides that they've been pushing for years. I don't think a lot of them understand the fundamental collapse of the job market.

If unemployment, foreclosures, consumer confidence lags we can really be facing a "lost decade" like Japan went through. We don't need so much incremental, piece-meal approaches but some bold creative thinking.

[glassfin]

05:47 AM on 07/22/2010

yes it's all the same crap that you'd find on any self help pamphlet or book - for decades.

During the time that you're unemployed - DO SOMETHING! anything that leaves you with something that you can say "I did this!", it's not just employers who like that but people in general. thats the best resume.

whats different now than some decades ago is that cost of tools compared to food, alcohol, rent etc. have plummeted. there's more "junk" around than ever, free parts, free materials and perhaps most of all free information. even computers good enough for learning enough to score a job in IT can be had from dumpster bins and the needed software can be acquired much, much more easily than in '90s(or god forbid 80's).

you don't need bogus cheap suit shirts and a fake rolex for making an impression, what you need is some history, the more the better. my ace in the sleeve is that I'd be doing the field I'm employed even if I wasn't employed. I've been told by number of times over the years by HR-"professional" types that one couldn't roll like this though, however people with skills to do the actual work don't grow in trees - HR professionals do however grow in trees, so does middle-management(for the record, last time I looked for a job I sent one email reply to an inquiry - 5 sentences - had two meetings and was signed on).

[mrm3]

01:48 PM on 08/06/2010

Faved for an excellent post. HR are leeches

[Charley Miller]

11:01 PM on 07/21/2010

Sorry, this article is BS, at the expense of the unemployed.

LISTEN, PAY ATTENTION.

here's the best tip I heard yet, and it actually works, you can twitter me at charlym2010

if it doesn't work, and if you don't noticeably get more interviews (whats an interview) or call backs (whats that) than before, fair enough? Pius its absolute free to anyone who is unemployed, underemployed or seeking a new job!!!!

#1 FACT - most HR (human resource departments) are not people! they are software systems designed to weed out the thousands of apps, resumes one job gets in one day.

every notice that one job listing is gone the next day, its not because its filled, its because there is alot of people applying, ok.

Soooooooo.....

You are the typical unemployed today, unlike what Washington wants you to believe you are NOT, the new welfare state sucking a system to malinger and want food stamps and unemployment, thats BS.

Instead, you are someone that has a wealth of skills that were gained over alot of years, ok, so do this ..

Three things.


1. throw away that old resume
2. One page, first list a statement of who you are, mission statement
3. Skill set, bullet the same skills they want and that you have regardless of dates you acquired that skill.

thats it! write the resume based on the job, take the skill words tag words bullets


Good Luck, allows the Software to select you rather than REJECT

[Kenright]

11:23 PM on 07/21/2010

good point, I like it. Thanks. Plus, my first thought on this articule is that is all we hear at the UI office, now we get to be taught something on HP. Last thing I want to hear after being at the UI office all day is to come home to look at it on HP.

[SusanParks]

11:58 PM on 07/21/2010

There is nothing this writer can do except profit from someone's untimely unemployment. The idea that a confident person is going to way outshine the person who is shaken by the experience is preying on our worse fears- it is still your fault that you are not getting a job right now. The job market is awful. Time to vote unemployed people. 10% of the vote is very interesting...

[DSevere]

07:06 AM on 07/22/2010

But unfortunately, it's true -- if you come across as a depressed, anxious, negative person, or like someone whose personal life is turbulent/in crisis, no one is going to want to hire you, because employers don't want those qualities in their workplace. Employers want people who are enthusiastic, gung ho about the company, who are problem solvers, and who are going to be fun to be around on a day to day basis.

And it doesn't matter if you have good reason to be depressed, anxious or negative. That is just reality.

[Cynthia Tun]

10:09 PM on 07/21/2010

I am torn. I support providing unemployment to those who need it, but as a business owner, I resent that people come to apply for the job only so show their unemployment/job service worker that they were job hunting. People come in and literally take the job application with them.
But then I have the guy calling to say he needs a job cause his kids are hungry, but he never showed up for his first interview with me in the first place! I mean really! I have been unemployed, I know how hard it can be to find a job, but sometimes you have to be a cashier for a while until you find the job you really want.

[sueinmn]

10:42 PM on 07/21/2010

Ill work for wages, any! Im a 99er and hungry as hell. I will even stoop so low as to accept minimum wages. I dont want to but I need to. This is what we are being forced into these days. Its shameful that we must beg for help. Im an electrician by trade and willing to do most anything (legal) yet cannot find anyone willing to hire me. Of course I will go back to being an electrician to fulfill my retirement when possible but on the interim, I will work doing most anything to make my pymts. What state?? Many of us do want to earn a living but we need to earn enough to pay the ever increasing cost of living. So PLEASE dont hold your experiences against the most of us. Poosibly we haave been spoiled in America but the spoilers are still at large.

[SusanParks]

12:06 AM on 07/22/2010

I would like to say it is a confusing mess to look for a job. The way the
jobs are organized on the government employment web sites etc. make no sense. Every tried for
a grant to advance your skills? Good lordy. It is as if you are needing to rid yourself of any
straight and clear thinking and delve into a world of muck when looking for a job. It is a huge
disservice to American citizens. Break your spirit? It as if it is set up for just that.

[4 All Americans]

09:54 PM on 07/21/2010

My unemployment runs out in six weeks (I'll be at 26 weeks) and I'll be paying $1,800 a month for health benefits starting 9/1. An extension of unemployment beneifts and the the COBRA subsidy program would be great but, do you know what would be even better? If Obama had spent the last 18 months putting programs in place to create jobs instead of shoving a healthcare law that no one wanted and that doesn't help anyone (especilly the unemployed) down the throats of Americans, bailing our Wall Street for $4.7 trillion and allowing two wars to continue at a cost of over $130 billion per year.

Blame whomever you want but Obama has been President for a year and a half and the Democrats have had a majority in both houses since 2007. I blame Obama and the Democrats.

http://uspolitics.about.com/od/usgovernment/l/bl_party_division_2.htm

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Total_Wall_Street_Bailout_Cost

http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home

[4TJefferson]

10:07 PM on 07/21/2010

a) Remember the Clinton Surplus? b) Horrible health care kills people and the doubling of premiums wipes families out that are working. c) The TARP bailout was Bush/Paulsons idea and it cost $800 Billion. d) Who started the Iraq War in 2003??? e) Who did not finish the Afghanistan War from 2002??? f) Who was looking for "Yellow Cake" from Niger? g) Who said the Iraq War would only cost $60 Billion Tops? h) I Blame Bush and Republicans and you can blame whoever.

[4 All Americans]

11:02 PM on 07/21/2010

Obama has been in office for a year and a half, Democrats have had majorities in both houses of Congress since 2007 and you're still blaming Bush?

[Cleo Creech]

03:48 AM on 07/22/2010

Yeah I have to agree - absolutely - still blaming Bush.

[Was Not Born To Follow]

10:12 PM on 07/21/2010

Blame the corporations who have created jobs, overseas, not here in America. It's that business thing, use lowest price materials to have higher profits. Obama nor Congress can force these companies to hire people to do these jobs here in America, and when asked about being Americans, the corporations merely say they are multi-national.

Or were you suggesting Obama create more government jobs?

[jholman2987]

09:40 PM on 07/21/2010

If there really is only 1 job available these days for every 5 appliers, then any job hunting tips will still only get 1 person the job. What are the other 4 supposed to do? Are they supposed to go to an organization who is not even looking to add any employees and convince the people there that they should hire him/her? That's a pretty tall order, don't you think?

Seriously, what is left for these people? Start their own business? Not everyone has the skills and personal characteristics to create a sucessful business. No good answer.

[sueinmn]

10:47 PM on 07/21/2010

Also to start a business, you need to sell or service something to make a living. What is in demand these days that do not take an arm and a leg to start up? It takes money to make money and many of us simply have none to spare. None coming in means none to go out. Banks dont help and if they are willing, they want blood in return just in case it falters. Its pretty difficult to start something on the fly.

[IWantAJob]

01:05 AM on 07/22/2010

Not much is in demand these days. Very few people shopping except in the thrift stores. Rents are still too high in most areas for an entrepreneur to make a go of it, even though there are so many vacancies. For Lease and Available signs decorate every other building. The ony ones able to make it are the large corporations that own all the chain restaurants and retail . And no, banks won't lend to the unemployed unless you have plenty of capital already.

[inorbit]

10:00 AM on 07/23/2010

You can only do it if you have a skill to sell and can do it in a home office with a computer you already own. I know an out of work PR specialist whose been able to do some freelancing that way.

[Acharn]

09:38 PM on 07/21/2010

These are all good points for people who are looking for work, but how does this address the fact that there are AT LEAST five people for every job opening? New jobs are being created more slowly than the population is increasing. The most optimistic projections are that unemployment will be down to 8.5% in 2012, and I think that's driven more by hope than by data.

[cornelison]

09:34 PM on 07/21/2010

Another tip for conservatives who are out of a job & are furious with The Republicans; Remember, "Democrats for Reagan?"

Your answer could be, "Republicans for Obama." Just a thought.

[sueinmn]

10:49 PM on 07/21/2010

Many of them helped him get elected. They along with many of us have been very let down. Congress is more at fault as they simply do not know how to handle a majority to get things done. They are all bought off. So much could have been but has been lost because of Obamas NEED to have Repubs in his cabinet only to turn on him first chance or to get their vote which WILL NEVER HAPPEN!

[cornelison]

11:36 PM on 07/21/2010

The 60-40 vote hurt the Dems in The Senate. There is a division in The White House. 1/2 of that division agrees with you. All is not lost.