I have seen many stifled by these kinds of fears and excuses. "No one will hire me, I am too old." "I don't have the right skills, the right education, the right experience or the right connections..." I can fill this entire post with a 10,000-word enumeration of these excuses for what? Nothing! Or perhaps just sow cynicism to those who read. I do not want that.

Excuses and fear of failures work like gangrene that eat out your motivation slowly until you realize later that you have none left.

Reality Check

Finding job during a recession may be difficult because of the scarcity of jobs, and the increasing number of unemployed. In fact, the stats released by the Labor Bureau two weeks ago have caused the stock market to dip. While I agree with most economists that the economy is showing signs of bottoming-out, nevertheless the growing number of unemployed will continue to rise, as companies are not likely to hire in the coming months.

I know.

When the Asian economic flu hit us towards the end of the 90's, many organizations, including mine, started streamlining. Employees who were retained were asked to multi-task. In fact, there was a time that I had to oversee 3 departments. When the economy rebounded, most companies who survived (or even did well during the downturn) were satisfied with their lean and mean workforce, thus they never bothered to hire additional people or rehire former (displaced) employees.

Alright, I have laid down some facts or scenarios from an HR perspective. And yeah, you can include them in your list of excuses. Nevertheless, the fact remains, you are still jobless. Unless you get out of your comfort zone and free yourself from the grips of unending excuses, you will never get a job.

Focus and Determination are Essential to Job Search Success

The key is focus, and a dash of determination on your job search. Do not take a rejection from a potential employer as something personal. It simply means that there is another organization waiting out there who is more than willing to take you in. Take heart. For more often, finding job is a numbers game. "The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you find new cheese." Spencer Johnson, wittingly puts it in his bestselling book, "Who moved my cheese?"

Note: I have posted a similar entry, although more on an action-oriented different perspective: Finding Great Job Opportunities in Recession; while here I just want to encourage you - I hope I did! Good hunting!

Article by HRM Business Practices and Notes

Courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates seeking entry-level jobs and other career opportunities, and posted on MN Headhunter.