Why Is It So Difficult for an Unemployed Person to Get a Job?
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
The answer is simple and, no, it is not that all employers have entered into a conspiracy against unemployed people. (From the archives)
I’m Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. I’m the head coach for JobSearch.Community. And the question is, why is it so difficult for an unemployed person to get a job? Now, to me, the answer involves confronting a belief that a lot of people have about all the bias that companies have against hiring unemployed people. That’s the easy answer.
The more honest answer, the one that you don’t want to hear is, either number one, you don’t have the skills that the market is looking for, or number two, you don’t know how to job hunt. Let me break it down for you. In terms of job hunting, if you’re not getting interviews, your resume stinks.
If you’re getting interviews and not invited back, you don’t interview well. If number three is if you’re getting invited back and nothing further happens, you’re not connecting with people all that well. See where I’m going with this? There are clear skills deficiencies that you have that can be corrected.
Now, there are lots of different ways to learn how to do things better. Yes, you can hire a professional resume writer to write your resume for you. You can also join a site like mine, JobSearch.Community, where I have curated information that can pick you up anywhere along the line and help you dissect the problems.
Plus, you can ask me questions that allows me to help you dissect it because you’re not an expert at job hunting. After all, as Malcolm Gladwell points out so well in Outliers, an expert is someone with 10,000 hours of job search experience. You have how much? So, you’re my no means expert and you don’t really know what firms look for.
You’re guessing at it. Get some help. That’s really the thing that you need now is help.
It’s not that firms discriminate, although some firms do for chronic long-term unemployment. They do that because they believe in a good job market like they believe it is now. There’s a reason why someone’s not getting a job and it’s poor skills.
So, they use your being out of work for a long time as code for other people have screened he or she. They found them deficient. We’re not going to find anything different.
So, that’s the problem. You don’t know how to do the search properly. You’re an amateur and you think you know what you’re doing and you don’t.
Again, tough message but one that needs to be heard. Hope you found this helpful. Again, the site is JobSearch.Community. Have a great day!
Group Interviews: The Way to Answer Questions
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
People hire Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter to provide No BS job search coaching and career advice globally because he makes job search and succeeding in your career easier.
You will find great info and job search coaching to help with your job search at JobSearch.Community Subscribe to No BS Job Search Advice Radio, the OG of job search podcasts with more than 3000 shows, wherever you listen to podcasts
Schedule a discovery call to speak with me about one-on-one or group coaching during your job search at www.TheBigGameHunter.us.
We grant permission for this post and others to be used on your website as long as a backlink is included to www.TheBigGameHunter.us and notice is provided that it is provided by Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter as an author or creator. Not acknowledging his work or providing a backlink to www.TheBigGameHunter.us makes you subject to a $1000 penalty which you proactively agree to pay. Please contact us to negotiate the use of our content as training data.
This is true. I know by experience as well. My resume is good, however , i was exploring higher paying jobs and my interviews were lacking. I wasnt ready for the questions they had for me. i had a 3rd interview with 3 companies and didnt get hired. the feedback was i interviewed well but could present good examples to show my experience or i didnt have experience in that field, but im sure its because i stumbled, hesitated and chocked on the questions i wasnt prepared for. so now after putting time and effort into interviewing i got 3 job offers on the table. I totally agree with you Jeff. wish i wouldve seen this video 3 weeks ago. thanks man!!
Jeff, you learned your lesson the hard way but you learned your lesson. Good for you. Next time, be proactive and learn your lessons in advance so that you don’t lose out on opportunities you are qualified for. Good luck in your new job!
Thanks Jeff
This is true. I know by experience as well. My resume is good, however , i was exploring higher paying jobs and my interviews were lacking. I wasnt ready for the questions they had for me. i had a 3rd interview with 3 companies and didnt get hired. the feedback was i interviewed well but could present good examples to show my experience or i didnt have experience in that field, but im sure its because i stumbled, hesitated and chocked on the questions i wasnt prepared for. so now after putting time and effort into interviewing i got 3 job offers on the table. I totally agree with you Jeff. wish i wouldve seen this video 3 weeks ago. thanks man!!
Jeff, you learned your lesson the hard way but you learned your lesson. Good for you. Next time, be proactive and learn your lessons in advance so that you don’t lose out on opportunities you are qualified for. Good luck in your new job!
Thanks Jeff
What a joke!
Unfortunately, it isn’t joke.
What a joke!
Unfortunately, it isn’t joke.
I cant agree with the resume stinking bit, mine has been redone 2-3x and nothing by a professional, alot of age discrimination out there and more and more its who you know to get a job within the employer and if you dont know people you are screwed
Respectfully, you are taking the easy way out. If you are not getting interviews by sending your resume, your resume stinks vis-à-vis the job you’re applying for. Yes, there can be age discrimination, but if you’re not getting in the door, your resume is not selling you with refer the job that you are applying for. I don’t know your specific circumstances, Darren, but this is what I see time and time again. People submit resumes for jobs that don’t demonstrate a fit for the role that they are applying for. Then, they complained about the employer when, in fact, the issue is
been there done that nothing and my resume has been professionally redone and i only have applied for jobs i have experience in, did the temp agency and job fair bs also total waste of time
So why do you think you are not getting interviews?
Age,Bad Credit,Dont know anyone, and possibly a former employer saying things they shouldnt be
Depends on the firm . . . bad credit usually involves financial firms. Bad references is a problem. No knowing someone internally . . . that has nothing to do with the resume but is a networking issue. Watch my playlist about networking. It will help you learn how to network IF YOU FOLLOW MY ADVICE. It will help you avoid the applicant tracking system. But If you watch and don’t do anything, if you watch and don’t practice interviewing, you will keep getting the same results. Lastly, most of the time, people use age as a cop out. You have given several other reasons and those are often bigger problems.
thanks anyway but i have done it all and now am too old to get anything because i cant get any training anymore and sure am not going back to school at my age, be a total waste of time and another bill and end up right where i am now