If you are looking for a job, now is not the time to let the pressures of your job search keep you down. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve had conversations with many, many people that have spent the last 6 months+ on the job hunt. In their minds they have tried every tip or tool known to man:

- Rewrote resumes
- Posted and searched on every job board
- Attended every network meeting (including virtual) in a 60 mile radius
- Sent resumes to countless warm leads and contacts
- Joined a job search club or group
- Googled, Tweeted, Linked and FaceBooked until numb in the finger tips

Do you know what they have to show for all of this activity - nothing, zip, nadda - they are still unemployed. They call and ask, “Duane this is what I’ve done. What else should I do?” If you are in this situation, I say take a step back and review the process that you’ve used to find a job. You are a grown up with grown up bills to pay. Now is not the time to throw in the towel; it is the time to begin again with renewed energy.

Are you so busy looking for a job that you aren’t doing the things you need to do to land a job?

What are you doing to track your job search. I’ll readily admit that I’m biased given the focus of my product but, that being said, you still need to do something to know who you’ve called, when you called them, when you are going to get feedback and when to follow up with them. If you aren’t doing this things, it’s like driving a car without looking at where you’re going. Any road will do. You don’t know where you are going to end up; in this case nowhere. To make matters worse, you won’t event know when you’ve arrived at your destination.

Go back to all of the people you’ve contacted (or tried to contact) and talk to them again. Be specific about what you are looking for and why you are asking them for help. Don’t just email them CALL THEM.

You must use Twitter, FaceBook and LinkedIn the correct way. On Twitter you are asked “What are you doing”? Don’t just talk about the fact that you are looking for a job. Talk about other interest. Contribute to the global community. Add value first and then sprinkle in the fact that you are looking for a job. The relationship won’t work if it’s one way. In other words, don’t be the guest who shows up at a house warming empty handed expecting to sip the bubbly and sample the appetizers. If you want folks on the social sites to help you give them a reason to by being someone worth following; add value. This could be as simple as posting recipes or links to your favorite news stories. How many LinkedIn groups do you participate in? I don’t care if you are a member. How many times have you answered a question and provided your expertise? Being a member doesn’t count. If you haven’t been doing these things it could explain why you haven’t been getting much love from your followers or contacts.

I coach a competitive girls softball team. One of the things I tell them is there’s a difference between just being on the field and playing the game. There’s also a difference between playing and PLAYING; champions PLAY. You need to figure out how long you want to look for a job. Are you tired of playing with the job search and ready to do the things you need to do to land a job or are you going to just keep doing things the way you’ve been doing them for the last several months. Don’t bury you heard. Get up off your butt and change the game.

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