I hear many people these days complain about how difficult the job market is and how they will never find a job as good as the one they just lost. Even more troubling, some people I know who have lost their jobs are not really actively searching for a job. A friend told me she was going to take the summer off because she thinks the job market will be better in the fall. Several others are taking their time because they received a decent severance and are getting unemployment benefits.
Then there are those individuals who are aggressively out there looking for that next opportunity. The other day, I attended the kickoff of the Monster.com Keeping America Working Tour at the Marriott Marquis in New York City.
This "tour" is a series of job fairs being held across the country.
When I arrived at the job fair, there was literally a line around the block to get in. According to a spokesperson from Monster.com, 3,700 job seekers attended the event. While clearly that is a lot of job applicants, the real news was that there were 92 employers in attendance with more than a thousand job openings they were seeking to fill.
Many, but not all, of the attendees were unemployed. What impressed me about the attendees I spoke with was their unfailing optimism, in contrast to the reporters who I had just watched on television talking about the latest dismal unemployment numbers.
A smiling Annette Melendez, formerly the director of public operations at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, told me she decided to come along with a friend at the last minute because she "thought she might get lucky today."
Elaine Miralglia, an assistant website producer from Old Bridge who has been looking for a position since September, was undaunted by the large number of applicants attending the job fair. She was confident she had a lot to offer the right employer and "besides, everyone there wasn't looking for the same job." Her approach seemed to hold her in good stead, since a number of employers had asked her to e-mail them her résumé because "they might have something for her."
That kind of positive outlook is what makes a candidate stand out as a potential hire. Shauna Brice, a South Orange resident who was looking to fill a number of financial analyst positions for her company, DCG, noted the importance of the attitude a job applicant exhibits. While they "have to have the right skill set to get hired," there are some candidates who are so enthusiastic they make you "wish there was something you could give them."
How do you demonstrate that attitude? Show a potential employer not only that you really want to work for them and but also that you have something to offer that they need. Doing that requires learning everything you can about the company and the challenges they face then demonstrating how you can help them.
According to Randi Hoberman, a recruiter at the job fair from Hackensack University Medical Center, the people who stood out are individuals who are "confident, show enthusiasm for their organization and come dressed professionally."
When I asked Eric Winegardner, vice president of Client Adoption at Monster.com, about the odds of finding a job at a job fair with 3,700 attendees, he responded, "You only need one job." And according to Winegardner, "although less than last year, every sector has jobs listed on Monster.com, with over 10,000 job postings in the New York metropolitan area."
The job market remains tough. Although unemployment is at a 25-year high, a number of people will get jobs tomorrow. Some will even get better jobs than the ones they lost. The individuals who succeed in this economy are the ones with a positive attitude -- the ones who go to a job fair and, instead of focusing on the 3,700 applicants waiting in line to get in, are excited about the thousand job opportunities waiting for them at the end of that line.
