An Open Letter to the Unemployed

Today the news media is focusing on a growing unemployment crisis. More and more people find themselves out of a job every day. Attempts to resolve this situation in the conventional manner seem overwhelming.

When I got over the initial shock of being urged to "seek alternative employment", I found that I was just another one of the pack following the same traditional job-hunting procedures as everyone else. It seemed as though everyone is LOOKING FOR A JOB.

To be successful amid all this competition would be tantamount to winning the lottery! It sure looked like the odds were stacked against me; especially after enduring the long non-event waiting periods that never ended. I got the same frustrating non-results and suffered the same heartaches, delays and disappointments as did most all the others who were looking for employment.

Then I realized that if I wanted to break away from this seemingly dead end system I had to make some changes. I had to break the pattern of sameness that plagued everyone else.

I began to realize that businesses are not in the business of giving out jobs. They are committed to making a profit by providing a product or service that filled the needs of its customers. Needs! As I thought about it I realize that my needs would be met only when I met the needs of others.

So I decided to bypass the system and re-focus my efforts from what I wanted and needed to finding out what my prospects needed. I must stop trying to GET something and put myself in a position where I could GIVE something. I must GIVE something to the prospective employer that he needed!

I learned all I could about my prospect's situation, got him to define his objectives and worked out a game plan that showed him why he needed me, my talents, my experience and expertise in order to accomplish his defined objectives.

This simple procedure resulted in more than one opportunity. In my particular case, I took on more than one "job". In fact, without realizing it, I found that I had become a consultant.

That was more than 50 years ago. Some things don't change and these procedures work just as well today as well as they ever did. The basic axiom "Find a need and fill it" is still relevant. Whether you are looking for fulltime employment or providing your expertise on a consultation basis, the basic truth that "You fill your own needs by filling the needs of others" has been proven throughout all recorded history.

This cannot be done if you are satisfied to just run with the pack, passively wait in the employment line and make your success dependent upon the mathematical statistics inherent in traditional job hunting routines. To assure your success, you must depart from the pack, take the initiative and offer your prospect something he really needs and prove to him that you are the only one qualified to give it to him.