How to Jumpstart a Stalled Job Search
by Janet Farley, Ed.M.

Months have gone by since you sent out that first hopeful resume out into the world, followed by so many others just like it.

Unfortunately for you and your malnourished bank account, you're still unemployed.

Your initial enthusiasm for the whole job search process is starting to wane as you begin to wonder if you will even find a job before you have to move again.

You may be in a bad place right now, professionally speaking, but you don't have to stay there. You can jumpstart your job search with these proven strategies.

Strategy #1:  Stop doing what you're doing. It isn't working.

Learn from Einstein. Understand that doing the same thing over and over again won't lead you to new results. You have to do something different in the process. It doesn't have to be a big thing. Or maybe it needs to be a big thing. Think about it and make the right call for  yourself.

For example, let's assume you want a job working with Uncle Sam. You have what you believe to be a killer federal resume that highlights your many ever so marketable skills. You've used the same resume for nearly every job you've applied for to date. Sometimes you get referred; sometimes you don't.

Einstein would stay just stop it. A little success isn't working in this case. Instead of using the same resume again, revise it. Totally rewrite it if need be to more effectively target the skills and abilities in the job vacancy announcement.

It's worth repeating.  You have to do something different in the process.

Strategy #2:  Get a second opinion.

You're a smart person, but you could be guilty of tunnel vision. When we are so close to a situation, we don't often have the clarity of vision we need in order to move past the status quo.

Clarity can be yours simply by asking trusted or in the know others for their educated thoughts.

For example, visit the employment readiness program manager at the family support center nearest you to get a second look at your resume. Maybe that oft under-rated expert could quickly identity the error of your existing job search methodology.

Did you make it to an interview and still not land the job? Call the employer back and ask why you didn't get hired. Maybe you did something, lacked something or said something that didn't quite resonate. Or not. Maybe someone else was just more qualified. You'll never know unless you ask. Closure isn't such a bad thing, either.

Strategy #3: Up your networking.

Networking, as you well know, is important. Through good times and bad, you should be able to rely on your own circle of friends, professional and personal, to give you sage advice, timely job leads, encouragement andfree lunches.

You may feel more comfortable sitting in front of your laptop, revising your resume while watching Games of Thrones in a minimized window, but you have to do more.  You have to be a part of the big bad world in order for windows of opportunity to be opened up to you.

Note to self....reach out and touch someone soon. And don't forget to return favors granted when the planets are once again aligned in your world.

Strategy #4:  Think outside your box.

You've always been an "x" and you want your next job to be doing "x" too. It's who you see yourself as in life.

Perhaps, dear borderline long-term unemployed person, you are being a little too focused. Try stepping outside of that professional box you've apparently trapped yourself in. Stop stereotyping yourself. You're unintentionally limiting your professional trajectory in the process.

You can do other things. Maybe you should give them a try. If you don't like them, you can always go back to "x" when the opportunity presents itself.

Strategy #5:Get smarter.

Instead of resting on your academic or savvy skills laurels, upgrade your marketability. Do a little research and see what new and expected workplace skills are out there that you may lack or have an interest in learning. Whether you opt for formal training, self-directed learning or learning through volunteering, just do it and don't forget to add it to your resume afterwards.

Even the smartest among us can always learn a new trick or two. 

Janet Farley is the author of Quick Military Transition Guide: Seven Steps to Landing a Civilian Job (Jist, Inc, 2012) and The Military Spouse's Employment Guide: Smart Job Choices for Mobile Lifestyles (Impact Publications, 2012). Get more workplace and lifespace ideas from Janet at Life's Too Short to Hate Your Job. 

Have an employment question for Janet? Ask here. Your question/answer may be printed in a future issue.