A lot of times, clients will ask me something like, “Are there any jobs out there?” or tell me with conviction that this is a difficult time to get jobs.

 It’s clear that they think something scary is going on and they’re in a bad position.  Listening to statewide and nationwide unemployment statistics will tend to support this view.  What they won’t do is help my clients discover whether that news has anything to do with them, personally.

Whatever the economic situation, the job market is active and positions are always opening up. The rules for winning one of those positions are the same, whatever is happening with the economy.  More important than knowing unemployment rates is being able to answer some of the following questions:

• What positions am I prepared to fill and what contributions do I have to make?
• What companies in my preferred geographical area have those positions?
• What do employers value most in the people who hold those positions?
• How up-to-date are my skills, including technical skills?
• How much do I understand about the challenges companies face that I could help with?
• Who knows about me and believes in my talent?
• Who would be willing to speak for me or tell me about opportunities?
• What can I do to present myself effectively to employers?

It’s easy to blame a difficult economy when the problem is that we lack job skills or job hunting skills or the resolve to get what we want.  Take this opportunity to do an evaluation of your own readiness to find and obtain a new position – and do this even if you are presently employed.  Job security is not what it used to be, and you or your employer may have allowed your skills to become narrow or rusty.  Losing a job is bad enough without discovering at the same time that you need to do some re-training before you can get to your next position.

At the same time, check to see how much you know about conducting a successful job search.  Companies like mine exist to teach you how to play the game and we also provide practice as well as support and motivation to keep going.  Whether you need to up-date your resume, have it critiqued, develop confidence, create a network of contacts or find information about positions, make sure you have what it will take to obtain your next position.