Woman Wins $50,000 While Seaching For a Job!

Yesterday, I was listening to the NPR show, "Talk of the Nation."  They were talking about people who had been out of work for a very long time and how they finally found work (yes, there is hope I promise). One woman they interviewed said that she decided to go on the TV game show, "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" to make some money to tide her over while she kept searching for a job. She ended up winning $50,000 and she used this information to answer the question, "What have you been doing since your last job?" in the job interview. How's THAT for an interesting answer! It landed her the job by the way.

Well, while I loved hearing her story, I can tell you that most job seekers are not so lucky. In fact, according to several statistical studies, the odds of actually getting a job goes down significantly each month you remain unemployed. After 6 months, it becomes extremely difficult to land a job. On this same talk show, they reported that many employers actually advertise job listings that openly state that only employed people should apply. Only one state, New York, has made this practice illegal but I personally hope that all the other states will follow suit. I believe this is another type of discrimination that should not be tolerated. Many employers assume that there must be something wrong with a job candidate if they haven't had a job for a while. However, this just isn't true and you CAN turn it around I promise - I know because I work in a job center.

So what is the answer if you have been unemployed for a long time? How DO you get a job under these dire circumstances? What can you change that will make the difference?

I have good news for you - in fact, great news for you. I have worked with many job candidates that have been desperately searching for a job for more than 6 months with no luck (even if they are willing to take a big pay cut) that HAVE turned it around. Through working with these fine individuals, I have discovered that the single most effective change you can make is a radical change to your cover letter - a complete do over. Submitting a totally unique custom cover letter that contains persuasive marketing language that makes those reviewing the applications want to meet you can easily increase your odds 1000% or more. This is no exaggeration. I have seen it work many times.

I've worked with job candidates that were never called in for an interview suddenly start getting called in for interview after interview as soon as they changed their cover letter. Once you start getting called in for interviews, the odds of getting the job improve drastically. If you want to read how I discovered this originally and why I think it works so well,  you can read my post, "Cover Letter Templates - Should I Use them?"

Most people can not write the kind of cover letter I'm referring to but this software (which I review at the top of this page) produces really impressive perfectly worded and very unique cover letters in just a few minutes. Literally all you do is answer some questions and then hit a button. I can't even begin to tell you how happy it is has made many of my clients. It really does make a big difference. You can go here and review it for yourself.

Good luck to you - I'm sure your luck will change soon.