So much is written about the failing economy and daily job losses in the thousands. Advice on how to survive job loss, find new work and find solace in support groups, is everywhere in libraries, newspapers and churches. Suddenly, looking for a job is the thing to do, the latest cultural rage. Even the five o’clock television news has segments and snippets of job fair reports and how-to suggestions. One cannot click onto the Internet without finding Interview Blunders to Avoid and other caveats such as Recession-Proof Careers.

The media reports between seven and eight percent of Americans are unemployed, according the US Dept of Labor. Relying on those statistics would mean, then, that 92-92% of Americans are still working. That is encouraging and one can assume that those stats address Americans of age to work.

One of the many painful things most people wish they didn’t have to do in life is look for a job.  If they’re not (yet) rich and famous and think they don’t know anybody, they have to face the dastardly unpleasant task of looking for work. And that task just got a hundred times harder. Cave men hunted for food, modern men (and women!) hunt for work. Survival tactics have not changed much. Today we call it a job hunt.

As an employment counselor, I often hear one familiar voice among the people I serve:  futility and self-defeat. I see people spinning their wheels in place, avoiding the inevitable. I know it’s a jungle out there.  We feel we should be ushered in to opportunities tailored to us and not have to do a soft shoe in the process but the work world is not like that.

Things will one day turn around—or will they, we wonder? For the displaced worker who has become comfortable in a niche that no longer exists, it may mean an overhaul in thinking. Before one rushes out to retrain in new skills for a new profession or dye one’s hair to look younger, adopting a can-do attitude can make all the difference. Like the adage, Think Positive, this may simply be the best advice because when one releases fear, one is open to new ideas and thinking out of the box.

I feel that people out of work would best serve their own interests if they simply took a tally of what they can do (strengths) and minimize their lacks (weak points). To all who are hurting, I kindly and humbly offer the following advice:

Love yourself. Be your own best friend in your job search. Don’t wallow in a self-pity mode or resentment too long as it becomes who you are. The job-seeking process is ripe with opportunities for self-bashing. Take the bad marriage, childhood and former boss to another boxing ring before and during interviewing preparation. Remember that the interviewer across the desk is a human being just like you with similar life problems. That person just happens to have a job—at least now.

Don’t make the mistake of waiting for someone else to do it all for you.  You need to bring enthusiasm and some tangible contribution to the composing of your own employment story (resume) – and catch the misspelled words, too. Your story needs to be provocative and compelling. It’s YOUR marketing tool. I always tell people a good resume looks like a woman without makeup. A great resume with an equally provocative and compelling cover letter is like a woman dressed to the nines for a night on the town! Once you let go of anger at being forced to adapt to this tremendous life upheaval of losing a job, you can be open to assessing your current skills and how they match up to your industry, consider changing careers and starting over (which could be a blessing in disguise), knowing why you are pursuing a job and what you have to offer. These categories of preparation choice will flow more smoothly once attitude is adjusted. You may also be open to creative ideas and find out that it is possible to find new work. People have found work in these times from tapping into all areas—networking, internet ads, cold canvass mailings to companies of one’s choice without waiting for an advertisement. A successful job search is built on a foundation of a lot of common sense and can-do and cultivating an attitude of gratitude, letting go of resentment.

Don’t take your job search personally. Approach it like playing tennis. No one wins all the time. The interviewing process is not always nice. Sometimes it is downright nasty, inept, and loaded with hidden agendas. Recognize the limits of the business world.  Try to strike a balance within yourself of what you will and will not tolerate. Come to terms with behaviors for success at work. A lot of life is ultimately compromise, but you want to be on the winning side. After the punches and wallops from left field, lick your wounds but come up stronger. If you stick to it, you’ll get there. You’re not alone. The hunt for work is the same as for every other area of life. Maybe we can’t be winners all the time – but sure as hell – we don’t always have to be losers, either.

-By Gloria Schramm, Career Counselor & Contributing Writer