5 Reasons You Still Can’t Get a Job

It’s been many, many months since you were laid off from job. In these months, you have been frantically looking for another job but nothing much came in your way. No calls for job interviews. Let alone a job offer. Your online job application status either got the rejection mark or was left idle and rotting below other impressive applicants who get more priority.

Your job search has proven to be futile and you just don’t get it. You are disillusioned. You desperately want to know why.

Take a moment alone to think the possible reason. Perhaps, one or more below could be it:

1. You are still doing the same thing

It’s almost 2010 and you’re still using the same method you did successfully back in the 20th century. You sent one or two job applications, sit back, relax and wait for opportunities to come knocking on your door. You figure, it worked wonder for the past six years and you will again hit the jackpot with the same boring, old fashioned way.

There’s no taking the extra mile to find new ways to market your skills. No strategy was drawn up to get in touch directly with the prospective employers. No initiative was made to understand the power of social network in your job search. You have also made no effort whatsoever to assess and review your resume, cover letter and job application method to identify your weaknesses and shortcomings. You are outdated, and are now far trailing behind.

2. You follow what others are doing

Having little knowledge, no sense of security and lack of confidence make you nervous to embark on your own job search strategy. As a result, you tend to follow what others are doing. The problem is, whenever you follow people, you are with those on the trailing pack. More often than not, when they think they find a new opportunity, that opportunity has been filled up, leaving no more room for them.

Think of a poor guy wanting to make big on the stock market by following the indication from yesterday’s index prices. Buy the time they buy, it’s already too late and they realize they’re on the slaughtering chamber. For as long as you keep on following, you can’t never be a leader.

3. You saw it, you just didn’t realize it

For decades you think that a job vacancy comes in the form of a job ad. Other than that, you are oblivious to the other hidden opportunities. The fact that the new township development coming up in nearby in a few months means jobs will be around, but you did not prepare for the possibility and embracing for new career with new organization.

You also discovered that the manufacturing sector you are working now is systematically being replaced by the booming services industry, yet you did not sit down and think how to maneuver your career. Instead of preparing to change, you wait for your surroundings to change. Instead of being sensitive and alert to the external environment, you choose the convenience of being arrogant. You will be up for a harsh reality.

4. You’re ‘digitally smeared’

Some people went silly, crossed the line and post photos, blog writing, videos and which ultimately scar them for life. Employers are now cleverer than ever. They do not need your references these days; they can just do employment references by googling your name and discover your past dirty little secrets. You are now smeared in the digital world and you can count yourself lucky if a job offer comes by.

Make no mistake. Once you have made a negative mark in the digital or online world, it will be a stamp that remains there perhaps forever. It will be there when you’re no longer around, and will last for generations to come.

5. You’re just not good enough for the job market

This is the combination of some or all of the above points. In short, you just don’t cut it and perhaps do not deserve a job at the moment. At least, not until you learn a thing or two, and start acting differently.

But don’t take it too hard. Look at the big picture, and from a positive angle. Perhaps, employment is not meant to be your world. You’re probably destined to fill the entrepreneur shoes and change your life the way you’ve been wanting to since you’re 5 years old. Still remember?

Other posts you may want to read:

1. Quiz: Should I Make a Career Change?
2. 10 Reasons To Quit Your Job
3. ‘Jawatan Kosong’ Searches Continues Upward Trend
4. 25 Reasons Why Blogging is a Real Career
5. 5 Reasons Graduates Must Not Be Choosy
6. Former Lawyer Now a Policeman
7. 5 Reasons Why You Need to Find Another Job
8. Apple is Now the Biggest Tech Company in the World

Author's bio: Zul is the founder and principal contributor for the SKOR Career blog. He is the author of two books, The Malaysian Job Seeker's Dilemma and Buat Duit Tanpa Kerja Makan Gaji (How to Make Money Without a Job), available in major book stores nationwide. You can reach him at zulkiflimusa[at]gmail.com.