The BLS came out with their figures today for August. Here is my synopsis:

1. 26.2 million people are in trouble= 14.9 mil. Unemployed + 8.9 mil. Involuntarily working part-time + 2.4 mil. who are not even counted (e.g. 1.2 mil. or almost ½ who have given up looking). Those 26.2 million workers  (up 500,000 from July) represent 16.8% of the entire workforce or 1 in 6 of everyone you meet!

2. The recession has killed off 7.9 million jobs. Many of them are not coming back!

3. BLS said that the National Unemployment rate was up .1% to 9.6% in August.

4. Illinois unemployment rate was 10.3% in July or down .1% (was 10.4% in June).

5. It is not good news that 9.6% is only up .1% from July. Instead, many people have given up looking for work and are no longer being  counted by the BLS stats!

6. Loss of 54,000 non-farm jobs in August.

7. The biggest losers were: a) government employment, which lost 121,000 jobs especially due to the loss of 114,000 temporary Census workers, and b) manufacturing, which lost 27,000 jobs in August.

8. The gains were: a) Health Care which rose by 28,000 in August (on top of the 27,000 it added in July) b) Temp hiring rose 17,000 in August c) Mining was up 8,000 in August (on top of the 7,000 it was up in July) and d) Construction was up 19,000 jobs in August versus losing 11,000 in July).

9. How bad is it? Employers would need to add 400,000 net new jobs per month for the next 3 years to fully recover from the effects of this recession!

Last Friday’s monthly figures from the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) continued to show almost 26 million people who were either: 1) unemployed or 2) working part time because they could not find a full time job (e.g. the cab driver who drove me to the airport who is a degreed electrical engineer) or 3) have just given up looking for work! That is 17% of the total workforce or 1 in 6 people you meet!

However, there were a few glimmers of hope. Manufacturing actually rose by 36,000. Health care continued to be an engine of growth by adding 27,000 jobs. Additionally both transportation and warehousing (added 12,000 jobs) and mining (added 7,000 jobs) were also up.

Unfortunately, you still need to work extra hard to secure what few jobs are available. This is the case because there is a backlog of talent competing for those scarce positions including the 7.9 million who lost their jobs from the recession and the countless students, from the last few graduating classes, who still have yet to secure their first jobs. To assist you, I have created the 12 Commandments of Interviewing. Please go to

http://www.strategicsearch.com/interview-preparation-tips/index.php

to view them all.

I am once again reminded this morning, while tediously preparing my daily food logs, that weight loss and maintenance are a never ending battle. I have lost 32 pounds over the last 3 years and have kept it off for over one year! Unfortunately, I have to battle every day to prevent these pounds from coming back. One terrible weekend can result in almost a ten pound gain!

This is one reason why I can truly sympathize with job seekers during one of the worst jobs markets in my over twenty years as a technical recruiter. Many of your thoughts of despair, depression and hopelessness are ones I face daily in my quest to conquer my propensity towards obesity. It seems like The Myth of Sisyphus in which you constantly roll the boulder to the top of the mountain only to have it roll down when you are almost at the top. The philosopher Albert Camus likened this to modern life working in futile jobs in factories and offices. He said, “The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is tragic only at the rare moments when it becomes conscious.” Though originally published in 1942, these thoughts are very apropos today during these times of severe unemployment.

As in my case of battling weight gains, there is no easy solution. I am a strong advocate of the Power Of Push. This means that you need to push yourself hard on a daily basis to do things that you do not want to do even during your most dire moments of despair. One item that works for me is keeping a daily food log of all food intakes. In your case, I recommend keeping a daily jobs log including: 1) all successes 2) all failures and 3) thoughts for what to do differently in the future. Remember there is no easy solution during these tough times.

Late last night when I was mopping around, a friend of mine named Greg called to encourage me to go out. Though I didn’t want to I pushed myself to do so and as a result I had a great time. This is a vivid demonstration of the POWER OF PUSH! When you do not want to engage in job-hunting activities is the precise time that you should push yourself to do so. In my case if I stayed home I would have binge ate many needless calories. Instead, I pushed to go out, pushed to not eat when I was out and had a great time including meeting many interesting contacts. Once again, this is an example of what you need to do when you are “down in the dumps” and do not want to exert any effort.

Remember: LIfe is not fair and the world doesn’t revolve around you. For example, just because you sent out 1000 resumes and didn’t get an interview does not mean that you should give up! On the 1001st resume you may land a top interview which will lead to your dream job!

The BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) figures for May showed 431,000 jobs created, which lead to the May  unemployment rate dropping .2% to 9.7%. Unfortunately, 411,000 of those jobs were temporary Census positions. As a result, things remain very gloomy!

However, I am reminded today by my own trials and tribulations of food loss that life is not easy. For example, I need to continue to prepare a daily food log of all food intakes to prevent me from binge eating and gaining weight. The same is true for you as a job seeker during this tough times. You need to prepare a daily log of all job-hunting activities to gauge whether you are working smart or just hard.

To commemorate the passage of Memorial Day and the great sacrifices our armed forces have made to make our country great and free, I have just released my 12th and final commandment of interview preparation. Please go to http://www.strategicsearch.com/interview-preparation-tips/index.php and click on 12th (below) to view.

I have created these twelve complimentary commandments to assist you with your all-important job interviews. This month’s tip deals with one of the most overlooked parts of the interview process; follow up (or lack thereof) after an interview. It is entitled, “After the interview is over send a sales letter.”

A sales letter is a thank you letter on steroids! It is 25% thank you for your time and 75% salesmanship reinforcing 2 or 3 reasons why you are best qualified for the job. 
For example, “Mr. Jones, I really enjoyed our interview yesterday (the thank you part). As a result, I feel even more than before that I am a great fit for your organization. I say this because (list 2-3 reasons why and give examples= this is the sales part). “ 

This will provide you one more opportunity to sell yourself as a solution to that employer’s needs! So remember to send a sales letter after all your interviews.

This concludes my 12 Commandments of Interview Preparation. Please feel free to return and review all twelve at your convenience. I hope they can be a benefit to you.

Is higher learning currently worth your time and expense? An Ivy League education now costs around $200,000. Yet, 2 million college graduates are now out-of-work! Traditionally, many continued on after college to graduate programs because of the high payoffs. For example, law school had historically been a ticket to financial security. This spring 40,000 law school students braved three additional tough years of classes and the huge expense in hopes of a brighter future. Unfortunately, their situation is so bleak that many students and industry experts are rethinking the value of a law degree.

Landing a job continues to be a Herculean task especially with the official unemployment rate at 9.9%. The actual figure may be a lot higher due to many workers giving up looking for work, which leads to them not being counted by the official statistics. This problem affects young and old, skilled and unskilled. What is a worker to do?

Tough times require tough measures. One proven historical technique is networking. Instead, many candidates spend a lot of time and money developing and sending out their resumes. Regrettably, most human resource people only spend 5 to 10 seconds, when they do review your resume at all, only to screen you out! Instead, I recommend networking to generate interviews.

Though networking is not easy, it has a huge payoff. There are two types of networking: 1) traditional and 2) new, e-networking. Traditional networking has two types. First, is telling everyone you know that you are looking for a job. This includes friends and family. The second type is business networking. This includes joining associations in your field and meeting key decision makers.

The second form of networking is e-networking. This encompasses leveraging social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to meet people in your field, engage them in discussions and uncover key information about companies and bosses you wish to work for. E-networking is like networking on steroids because you can exponentially ramp up your Rolodex of contacts in a very short time! Also, you do not need to directly approach contacts for job opportunities. Instead, you can contribute to online discussions and create blog posts to become a recognized leader in your niche. This will get you noticed by hiring managers.

Whichever form of networking you choose, a valuable tool I recommend is the 30-second elevator pitch. Your goal during this pitch is to quickly convey three key items: 1) who you are? 2) What you are looking for? And 3) your 2-3 greatest strengths that you can offer an employer. You need to repeatedly practice this pitch in the mirror, in a tape recorder or on videotape until you perfect it. Then share it with everyone you know and meet.

Unfortunately, the job market remains tough. Fortunately, there are some proven techniques you can employ to increase your chances of success. One such technique is networking. By doing so you will meet key decision makers who can help you land a job.

Finding a job, like losing weight is a difficult task especially during these tough economic times. I have been fighting a propensity towards obesity my whole life. Fortunately, over the last few years I have lost over thirty pounds and kept it off for over one year! In order to achieve this success I have had to develop a stringent routine including keeping a daily food log of everything I eat, exercising hard at least five times per week and regularly employing positive self-talk to keep me on track.

Unfortunately, I do relapse including this weekend when several nights I stayed out very late (e.g. 5 a.m. on Friday night/Saturday morning) and binge ate! In order to end the rut, I had to push myself very hard today including an hour-long workout before lunch and very closely monitoring my food intakes. It was not easy, but the alternatives are disastrous. The caveat is there is no quick fix to weight loss. Instead it takes employing a lot of positive self-talk to encourage you to push yourself especially during those times when you really don’t feel like it!

The same it true for your job search. It is very easy to get discouraged during these rough times. However, as I have shared previously, you need to keep a daily journal of all your activities (similar to my food log). Furthermore, you need to push yourself when you don’t want to do certain things (e.g. networking). Keeping a daily journal keeps you on task similar to how it has assisted me during my major weight loss.