The Hangover

January 4, 2010 | (No Comments)

***From my weekly newsletter to our 3.5 million subscribers…***

“The Hangover” is a movie about going to Vegas, having a better time than you remember, and waking up bleary-eyed with a headache to deal with the aftermath.

Maybe we all feel that 2009 was a year that we had a worse time than we want to remember, and now we’re waking up bleary-eyed with a headache to deal with the aftermath.

If you’ve been actively looking for a job these past few months, you might feel like you need to take two aspirin and just go back to bed. But that’s not what the doctor ordered. Herewith are my tips to get through the loooooooooooooong “morning after” feeling that comes with a job hunt during the Great Recession:

Log in. I’ve mentioned on my Twitter account here that I’ve been spending time reviewing ‘microscopes’. These are detailed studies we do where we study a job-seeker’s activity on TheLadders to understand what makes people successful and how we can improve everybody’s chance of finding their next great job ever more quickly.

Well, it’s no secret that finding a job is a job in itself, and those subscribers who log in regularly and consistently, and follow up on job leads, have a better chance of success. A lot of folks have a burst of initial activity but then let the drudgery of the job hunt wear them down. “You’ve got to be in it to win it,” and that means logging in to TheLadders every week to see the new job listings.

True or false? Your resume should be about you.

This is one of the biggest myths in the job search. Your resume, although composed of your accomplishments and background, is not about you.

It’s about catching a hiring manager’s attention – really, it’s about what that hiring manager needs, not what you want. That’s a subtle difference but a pretty important one. The better your resume answers the question of “what can this person do for me?” the more it stands out from the pile.

For all of our resume articles and advice, check out our News & Advice section, or have one of our professionals rewrite yours to catch a hiring manager’s eye.

Cheer yourself up. Yes, the job hunt is a drag. But if you let that feeling sneak into your phone calls, your interviews, and if you let it sap your strength, you’ll never make it through.

You need to take mental health breaks regularly without letting them turn into Cheetos-on-the-couch-channel-surfing procrastination. (I’m particularly susceptible to the Cheetos Crunchy Flamin’ Hot – dang, they’re good!)

Set aside five minutes an hour where you’re going to get off the job hunt and do something relaxing: watch a few of our favorite videos on YouTube like laughing Swedish baby (I defy anyone to not smile after watching that) or the autistic basketball star to get in a good mood or get inspired, and then get back to work.

Look, folks, from everything we’re seeing, 2010 is starting off a lot better than 2009 did, and let’s hope that momentum keeps us going. We’ll be here rooting for you.