Bad luck, bad plan or bad attitude?

 With record-breaking job opportunities, why are some people still looking for work?

By Marco Buscaglia for Tribune Content Agency
Published in the Chicago Tribune on April 17, 2022

It’s a great time to be looking for a job. Companies are hiring, job candidates are jockeying for better benefits and long-time employees know that greener grass—and the power to negotiate a nice raise with their existing employer—may be just a resume away.  

But not everyone’s basking in the hiring frenzy—some by choice, some by situation and some by approach. 

“I’ve been out of work since last July, and yes, that’s a long time,” says Chicago resident Keith D., who didn’t want his last name used. “I hear it from people all the time. They think I’m lazy; they think I screw up my interviews or they think I just don’t want to work. And I think there’s a little bit of truth in each.”

Keith, 31, says it wasn’t much of a challenge making ends meet after he lost his job. He says he tapped into his banked Covid-19 payments, received a small severance package from his former telecommunications company and cashed his unemployment checks from the government. “That all ended, but I’m lucky that I have parents who help me out,” says Keith. “I know that’ll sound pathetic to most people, but I’m young enough to do some cool things with my life, and I think my parents respect that.” 

But not everyone is as lucky as Keith. Eduardo Perez, an adjunct math professor in San Antonio, Texas, lost his job last year and hasn’t found a reliable job since—and it’s not for lack of trying. “Look, I’m working in a convenience store because the market for adjuncts these days isn’t that great, and I need to make money,” says Perez, 29. “But I’m out there as much as I can be. I’m making calls, filling out applications—whatever needs to be done.” 

His best bet, Perez says, is a job as a UX analyst and designer in the future, thanks to online classes he’s been taking and a former co-worker who followed a similar path. “He’s basically holding the door open for me,” says Perez. “His boss loves hiring people from academia, and business is booming, so I may be doing that soon.” 

For now, Perez is still holding out for a teaching job. “I’ll move if I have to, but I have no problem going into Me 2.0,” he says. “I can reinvent myself at any time.” 

State your worth

Mark Anthony Dyson, career consultant and host of “The Voice of Job Seekers” podcast, says potential employees looking for work must be able to articulate their value to the modern working world. “A job seeker must show they are the prescription to the employer’s job description. Their mindset must be centered and focused like a business consultant,” Dyson says. “You must know what the employer’s challenge is and you must demonstrate how to solve their problem. Everything from the resume to the interview must address their concern and offer a possible solution.

Dyson says long-time unemployed workers of all ages can leverage volunteer and temporary work to help fill resume gaps. “Volunteer work in your field shows your applied knowledge of the industry. Even if it’s a new industry, gaining results and honing a skill makes you a more viable candidate and hire,” he says. “Temporary work is an opportunity to get paid while you’re looking for work. While you’re training with employees, create a positive experience that will turn into a relationship. Combined with good work, you can get yourself hired at the company.”

Closing the gap

Rob Barnett, headhunter and author of “Next Job, Best Job: A Headhunter’s 11 Strategies to Get Hired Now” (Citadel, $27), says most candidates are concerned—and rightfully so—about showing extended breaks from work on their resume. “Your gaps of unemployment make a bad first impression on any potential hiring manager,” Barnett says. “Deciding to ‘hang a shingle’ represents a positive effort to learn, earn and deliver value to companies when you’re stuck in between jobs.”

Barnett explains his ‘shingle’ approach. “Gaps in your work history may be due to parental or medical leave, personal time off, troubles and of course, a painfully long job search. But one of the most effective strategies for filling these working gaps is to ‘hang a shingle,’ Barnett says. “Prove that you’re unafraid to demonstrate your entrepreneurial spirit by listing any independent work projects under your own self-appointed company name. You don’t need anyone’s permission to be the master of your own domain. You can show any potential employer you were doing more than just looking for full-time employment when you list specific examples of relevant projects you’ve been working on independently.”