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On the Job Hunt is a web log for IT professionals looking for work. Our current job hunter is Chuck Drobny, an IT consultant seeking a new fulltime job. Two other people are contributing to On the Job Hunt, an executive recruiter and career coach and the owner of a consulting firm, who will provide advice from the perspective of a hiring manager. TechRepublic career editor Judy Mottl will also provide links to TechRepublic articles on job hunting. Get your free TechRepublic membership here. E-mail the web loggers here.
Note: Unless you specifically request otherwise, all e-mail received will be considered eligible for publication in all or part on the web blog.
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I can only imagine the frustration and doubt that go with an extended job search. That is probably compounded by financial concerns. The good news that you are aware of this and of the possibility that it may be noticeable by others. The last thing that you want to do is be perceived as negative or depressed.
Be careful not to fall into the rut of finding excuses for why something did or did not happen. That is not to say that you should not analyze each event and look for ways that you could have handled things differently or better.
Think about the types of questions that were asked, what your response was, and what type of response you received (silence, follow-up question, request for clarification or examples).
Also, are you asking questions? I am always far more impressed with a candidate who has "done their homework" by researching us (or a client company) and is able to convey that with a few short questions or statements. If nothing else that could make you more memorable than other candidates.
A good recruiter can be very helpful with this type of post-inteview analysis. They may get honest feedback that the interviewer would otherwise feel uncomfortable giving you (or possibly unable to provide due to corporate guidelines).
In lieu of that you should keep doing what you are doing--asking for feedback yourself. You could even frame it in such a way that they are providing advice rather than critiquing you by asking something like "Do you have any interviewing tips or suggestions that might help in my professional search." This provides an opportunity for someone to help without
necessarily opening the door for a rebuttal.
Moving forward you should focus on the things that are going right. You are teaching part-time, following a schedule, etc. Set realistic goals (e.g., make 5 contacts per week) and track them. Anything positive to help maintain a positive attitude.
And if that doesn't work just take a week off. Don't think about the job search. Do something that you haven't been able to do for a long time (camping, fishing, read a book) and just try to have fun. That might be just the jump-start you need for next week.
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