Special note: On November 11, 2010, Andrew Hudson’s Jobs List will host its annual “JobsGobble: Secrets of the Successful Job Seekers” a  networking and job seeking seminar.

This year, life coach and job seeking consultant Linda Sollars (www.cretingpurpose.com) and Andrew Hudson will lead a panel of successful job seekers who will discuss their job seeking journey: how they overcame common job-seeking obstacles and the must-have skills they learned to become employed.

For more information and to register for JobsGobble: Secrets of the Successful Job Seekers, click here.

I was meeting with a job seeker who was complaining about the lack of response they were getting in their job search and was reminded of an old country song called “If Your Phone Don’t Ring, You Know it’s Me.”

Lack of response to job postings is perhaps the number one frustration for job seekers.

On the flip side, one of the most common misconceptions about job hunting is that the shot-gun approach (going to the Internet and sending out hundreds of resumes to job postings) is going to result in numerous job offers.

Most job seekers experience numerous and common frustrations in their attempts to become employed.  Among them:  lack of responses which leads to reduced self-esteem which leads to frantic, desperate and often self-imposed ‘stinking thinking’ about what they are doing wrong and what to do next.

Reduced self esteem is often the most difficult barrier to bust through.

Let’s face it: looking for a job is a very personal thing!  A job is a major part of our personal identity.  Many professionals who were laid off are still dealing with that loss and then have to cope with the possibility of rejection as they begin their job search.

Motivational speakers remind you to “Remain confident and be sure about yourself!”  It’s one of those great phrases that sounds good when you say it fast enough, but when you aren’t getting the responses to your resume and the bills are piling up the only thing on your mind is, “What the hell am I doing wrong?”

Step back for a second and take a deep breath.

Did anyone ever teach you how to find a job?  When is the last time you really had to search for a job?  You might be an expert in your chosen field, but are you an expert at finding a job?

Job seeking is a skill.  It is a skill that is learned.  And like anything in which you want to become proficient, its important to learn from others who have mastered the skill.

There are a lot common things unsuccessful job seekers do to sabotage their job search, but there are also a lot of common things SUCCESSFUL job seekers do to find a job that best represents their strengths, values, dreams and aspirations!

According to life coach and job seeking consultant Linda Sollars from creatingpurpose.com, “A common problem is that job seekers do not know their strengths, only their skill set.  Your strengths have to be represented on every job-seeking touch point you have  – from your resume and cover letter to talking about yourself effectively in interviews and networking sessions.”

Sollars has coached both job seekers who have hit the proverbial job-seeking wall as well as professionals who are unsatisfied with their careers and wanting to make a change.

“Successful job seekers know WHO they are before they determine WHAT they want to do;  they recognize and internalize their strengths rather than desperately sending out resumes to every single job they see.

Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on FacebookShare on Google+Share on RedditEmail this to someonePrint this page