{"id":3883,"date":"2014-08-27T10:00:23","date_gmt":"2014-08-27T15:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=3883"},"modified":"2014-08-27T09:51:38","modified_gmt":"2014-08-27T14:51:38","slug":"know-the-difference-identifying-obstacles-to-employment-by-ellen-mehling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=3883","title":{"rendered":"Know the Difference: Identifying Obstacles to Employment"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Ellen Mehling
\n<\/a>previously published 10\/14\/13<\/em><\/p>\n

“Know the Difference: Identifying Obstacles to Employment”<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"inalj<\/a> There is a curious thing I see frequently among those I advise: job hunters focusing on a smaller, though possible, less likely obstacle to employment and ignoring a much larger, definite difficulty – some have an almost superstitious fixation on a certain perceived obstacle, which many not in fact not be their biggest challenge at all. \u00a0Or they\u2019ll focus their attention on a big obstacle they can do nothing about, rather than attend to a smaller barrier they do have some control over.<\/p>\n

Some obstacles are big and affect many or all of those who are job hunting.\u00a0 Others are smaller and affect only some job seekers.\u00a0 Some you can do something to deal with, others are beyond your control.\u00a0 While some obstacles may be smaller than others,any of them can make the difference between having a chance at a job, or not even being considered.<\/p>\n

Examples of smaller obstacles:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Outside of your control<\/strong>:\u00a0age (or other types of) discrimination within the mind of an interviewer, a number of applicants so high that the hiring manager doesn’t even get to your resume and cover letter, employers posting positions even though they have already chosen the candidate they will be hiring.<\/p>\n

Within your control<\/strong>: lack of specific required skills or experience or education, poor verbal communication and interviewing skills, poor interview preparation, a sparse online presence, poor writing skills and\/or resume and cover letter, insufficient network and poor networking skills, inability to “sell yourself”, inappropriate attire for interview.<\/p>\n

Within your control to a degree\u00a0<\/strong>but not completely: inability to establish rapport with an interviewer, a gap in employment, job-hopping history, a bad reference from a former supervisor, switching careers, relocating.<\/p>\n

The \u201cBig Two\u201d:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now to the big obstacles.\u00a0 The largest one, and one that affects all job hunters, is the state of the economy and the resulting low number of job openings<\/strong>.\u00a0 Right now there are many more job seekers than jobs for them to find, in library and information science and many other fields, and this has been the case for the past few years. \u00a0It is not unusual for a posted position to have hundreds of applicants; the competition is very tough no matter what an individual applicant has to offer. \u00a0Things do seem to be improving, but very very<\/em> slowly; there is still a lot of instability and uncertainty in the job market.\u00a0 Unfortunately, this is an obstacle that is not within the control of the individual.<\/p>\n

Another big obstacle is entitlement<\/strong>.\u00a0 This is something I see in those I advise all the time, so much so that I was almost tempted to say it is the number one obstacle, but if the economy were in better shape even some of the entitled people would be finding work more easily.\u00a0 In a still-struggling economy, though, the kinds of behavior entitled job hunters engage in make a difficult task much harder. \u00a0Again and again I see that the job hunters who get hired are the ones that don\u2019t<\/span><\/em> engage in entitled behavior.<\/p>\n

Entitlement in this context is believing that you should have something you want simply because you want it; that what you want should come to you without effort (or without more effort than you believe you should have to expend): you deserve it, you have a right to it, things should go your way. \u00a0To complicate things further, caught up in entitled behavior are past experiences which can lead to unrealistic current expectations, and an understandable feeling among job seekers that the situation they are in is unfair. \u00a0They feel they should expect fairness and justice; that they should expect a certain result from their efforts.<\/p>\n

The pertinent words here are \u201cfair\u201d and \u201cshould\u201d.\u00a0 Whether the situation job hunters find themselves in is fair or not, if they get stuck on how they think things \u201cshould\u201d be rather than how they are<\/span><\/em>, the behavior that goes with focusing on that will only hurt their chances of success at finding work.<\/p>\n

The bad news: most people who are entitled don\u2019t think of themselves as entitled; they feel they are perfectly reasonable in their expectations and demands and any problem exists outside of them. \u00a0Another difficulty regarding entitled behavior is that it can take many forms.\u00a0 There is good news though: this obstacle, unlike the state of the economy, IS within the control of the individual.<\/p>\n

Here are some examples of job-hunt-defeating entitled behavior:<\/p>\n

Some<\/em><\/strong> unrealistic expectations<\/strong>: expecting the state of the economy not to affect your<\/span><\/em> job search, thinking the MLS degree alone will get you a job, expecting to find a job easily and quickly because that has been your experience in the past or because you<\/span><\/em> really need to find work ASAP, expecting full-time-with-benefits because that is what you have always had on the past and that is your preference, expecting networking<\/a> to work instantly<\/p>\n

Public <\/strong>negativity<\/a> in professional venues<\/strong> (online discussions and forums, listservs, blog comments, face-to-face conversations with other info pros, etc.): complaining, anger, blaming, disparaging the field of library and information science or library schools or a former employer, attacking others, saying \u201cit is impossible to find a job\u201d<\/p>\n

Inflexibility<\/a> \/not recognizing how things have changed<\/strong>: ignoring all advice and instructions, insisting on doing things your way or the way you\u2019ve done them in the past, giving excuses, refusing to network, volunteer, get required experience, build an online presence, etc., thinking that rules or requirements or directions don\u2019t apply to you<\/p>\n

Looking for someone to rescue you<\/strong>; clinging to or pestering those you think can help you in your job search, magical thinking: \u201dIf I just hook up with the right person at a networking event, I\u2019ll get a job right away\u201d<\/p>\n

When considering possible obstacles and devising your job search strategies, think of the categories for each obstacle you face or suspect you are facing. \u00a0Your goal should be to assess realistically the degree of control you have over a certain barrier to getting a job, do what you can to reduce its impact or overcome it, and when you have truly done all you can, turn your attention to the next task before you. \u00a0Spend less time and energy worrying over the obstacles you can do nothing about, and more on those you\u00a0can<\/em>\u00a0do something about.<\/p>\n

Recommended strategies for all job seekers<\/strong>, no matter what obstacles you may be facing at the moment: put a positive spin on your work history, volunteer in order to stay active and to add to your network and prevent gaps in work history, continue to learn and grow and acquire new skills, build your network and serve those in it, be enthusiastic, flexible, confident and positive, demonstrate persistence and determination, and focus on what you have to offer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ellen Mehling has been Director of the Westchester Graduate Library School Program and Director of Internships at Long Island University\u2019s Palmer School of Library and Information Science\u00a0http:\/\/www.liu.edu\/palmer\/<\/a>, and Job Bank Manager \/ Career Development Consultant for the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO)\u00a0http:\/\/metro.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Read my interview with Ellen here:\u00a0\u00a0 https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=2120 <\/a><\/p>\n

Previous articles here:\u00a0 https:\/\/inalj.com\/?s=mehling<\/a><\/p>\n

Reposted from 8\/15\/12 and 2\/12\/13 and\u00a0 4\/8\/13 and 10\/14\/13
\npreviously entitled Know the Difference: Identifying Obstacles to Employment by Ellen Mehling
\n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Ellen Mehling previously published 10\/14\/13 “Know the Difference: Identifying Obstacles to Employment” There is a curious thing I see frequently among those I advise: job hunters focusing on a smaller, though possible, less likely obstacle to employment and ignoring a much larger, definite difficulty – some have an almost superstitious fixation on a certain…<\/p>\n

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