Dear Pundits, Posturers and Pontificators in Washington D.C.,
I hope you had a wonderful August recess. While you were out relaxing, we regular Americans were out trying to bust our butts to find a way to make ends meet. It's tough out here and all we're hearing from you guys is a lot of talk of job creation, but as far as I can tell, it's all talk.
I think that I can speak for most Americans when I say that we're up-to-here with all of it. If I hear one more discussion by politicians discussing when they're going to discuss jobs, I think I'm going to be sick. This, quite honestly, is ridiculous. It's not as if the "Jobs Issue" suddenly materialized once you got past your debt crisis pissing match. Jobs have been an issue since we started bleeding them in 2008. I can't quite figure out why it's taken you guys so long to become part of the conversation. I mean, jobs ARE the real issue, aren't they?
I think it's time for Americans to stick our fingers in our ears, hum loudly and just STOP LISTENING. The more bad news we hear, the more arguing and backstabbing we hear, the more layoffs about which we hear, the more we're going to crash on the couch, eat bonbons and feel completely defeated about our job prospects.
As I wrote about in a recent AOL article 10 Tricks to Landing a Job After The Great Recession, Americans need to stop waiting for you in government to give us permission to get back to work. I'm calling for a nationwide agreement that we are going to ignore the job numbers, ignore Washington, ignore Wall Street and get our collective heads back in the game. It might be hard out there, but it is NOT impossible.
As a businesswoman who has worked for, or consulted to over 50 companies, I KNOW how to find and land work. I have been speaking, writing and coaching about work issues for as long as I can remember. Since our leaders in Washington are not currently doing anything concrete, I've decided to put my butt on the line and PROVE that people CAN GET WORK.
How? I'm running a contest where three lucky and determined job seekers will win the chance to experience my "A Little Tough Love & A Lotta Technique" training program. I will teach these winners the tools and techniques that are essential to identifying jobs in today's turbulent times, and together we'll demonstrate to America how these methods can be applied toward landing work.
I know my methods work, and I'm out to prove it. With a little coaching, Americans CAN get back into the workforce. So while you folks in Washington dance around the issues and let all kinds of jobs programs expire in the coming weeks, I want to encourage job seekers everywhere to grab the bull by the horns, get out of the doldrums, and get ready to do the hard work it takes to land work.
Over the coming months, I'll be focused on teaching Americans how to develop a Personal Career Brand, Reverse Engineer the Job Market, Harness Luck, Find "In" People, Network by 5s and Know What to Do When Luck Strikes. I'm assigning myself the job of teaching folks how to make themselves into a person that people can't wait to hire. People can learn more about the contest at www.susannegoldstein.com.
To job seekers everywhere I say: Please stop waiting for Washington to give you permission to start your job search. Government isn't set up to be the Great Employer. You, me, the guy who owns the neighborhood shop, the gal who runs the big corporation in your city or town -- we are the engines of economic growth. Not government. No matter who wins the battle -- Republicans want less government programs and more trickle down, Democrats want more government programs and more taxation for the super rich -- neither groups' platform of tax reform, trade agreements and regulatory changes are going to affect us for a long, long time. That means it's just us.
To our dear elected officials in Washington I say: Shut up already! Please stop the arguing and the posturing. THIS IS NOT NOVEMBER 2012 and we aren't so stupid that we can't see through your thinly-veiled tactics. If it weren't for the difficulty of overcoming incumbency and entrenched party politics, you'd all be out of work anyway. Or maybe American voters will get it right this time, and you'll all be heading for the unemployment line.
If that's the case, give me a call. Perhaps I can help you land your next job.