“Nobody Is Hiring.” Do You REALLY Believe That?

Job searching is frustrating. It can be depressing, exasperating, disappointing and financially draining. It taps the mental and physical energy too. So it’s completely understandable when from time to time you feel like you’re making no progress whatsoever and getting passed over for every job you apply to. I get that. But to then say no one is hiring is a statement of exaggeration. I don’t believe that for a second, and I suspect you really don’t buy that either. So why say it at all?

It’s one of those expressions isn’t it, that communicates a broad perception of reality but isn’t meant to be taken literally. Or is it? Maybe – just maybe mind – you REALLY do believe NO ONE is hiring? Were that true, it’s not only you who’s got a problem, it’s an entire economy; a country, the whole world.

Sometimes people say, “No one is hiring” out of frustration and they only mean in their field, in their community or at their level. In other words, what they actually mean to say if they wanted to be accurate is something like, “No one is hiring Senior Executives in the field of IT in the geographical area I am willing to work in”. But it’s so much simpler to say out of frustration, “No one is hiring.”

Okay, so if in that earlier statement it is actually the case that there are no advertised jobs in your field, in your neighbourhood and at your level, you either have to wait things out until opportunities arise, or you have to alter one or more of your desired work criteria. So maybe you expand your search and look further, open yourself up to working at a middle Management level, or you go beyond the niche of IT only. Any one, or combination of two or more factors that you change opens the door to locating more opportunities.

So what if you for example, decided that you would expand your geographical job search area. And suppose you had no vehicle. How would you resolve the problem of getting to work on time at a location that is slightly outside your desired or comfort area? Consider public transportation, carpooling, calling a cab, the train, or as the case in the city where I work, take the bus and put your bike on a carrier attached to the front of the bus. When it lets you off, you ride the last mile or two in order to get to a location where the bus doesn’t run. Could these options open up work possibilities at places you’ve previously dismissed?

Another thing to come to terms with is that not all companies post all positions. In some organizations, when they have an emerging need or indeed a pressing need, they often have a ready supply of resumes from which to select candidates. How do they get these without advertising jobs? The go-getters aren’t waiting around for job postings on computer screens, they took the initiative long ago to contact companies directly and submit unsolicited applications. They may have already had face-to-face meetings with decision makers either at their businesses or at networking events.

And then there’s LinkedIn. A company can either on its own or through a Recruiter or Head-Hunter review the profiles of people who may be interested in moving over to their firm. They look for candidates by searching out the keywords they desire and see who pops up. They review profiles, read endorsements and recommendations – and these people they are reading profiles of don’t even know this is happening. Then they get an exploration call to see if the person would be interested in an after hours chat regarding a possible job change. They may eventually have an interview and get hired, and the job itself is never posted. So you may be sitting at home waiting for a job ad, and never see it thinking seriously that, “no one is hiring”, when in fact they are very much.

Maybe it would be more accurate to say, “No one is hiring using the conventional methods to advertise work that I’m using to look for a job”. But to say this is to make an admission few want to make. The admission is basically that you’re unaware of how employers are going about recruiting personnel in 2014, and this ignorance is yours to do something about. (or not).

Employers ARE ALWAYS hiring. Why? Same reasons as always really; pregnancies, departures, retirements, firings, layoffs, relocations, promotions, expansions, new ventures, contractions, new emerging needs, diversification and more. A keen job searcher does more of course than read job boards. Follow companies, look for their needs BEFORE they arise and seize opportunities. Read newspapers and listen to the radio. Are companies thinking about coming into your neighbourhood? Even when a company is getting leaner or is contracting, they often need people on short-term work assignments to make tough decisions. Can you offer your services for that?

Small fledgling organizations and small businesses are always starting up and might need someone with your expertise. That IT job seeker might not find one employer to hire them, but perhaps 7 or 8 need just a little help every so often. Contract with all 7 or 8 and all of a sudden you’re busy, working, getting paid, and created your job where none previously existed. Then other people will ask you how you got a job when, ‘no one was hiring!”