“Create Your Own Opportunity”

unemployment by gender

Suze Orman shared some great insights on CNN last night about how men differ from women in looking for work. Male unemployment is significantly higher, and she attributes a few reasons.

(1) men look for a new job at their old salary level – women will take lower paying jobs to earn money

(2) women are paid less and thus employers save money by hiring women, and

(3) men turn job hunting into a full-time effort, or take time off, rather than settle for a lower paying job like women

The conventional modern wisdom was that you would have many jobs in your career vs. having a job for life. It looks like that is changing for men and women.The new reality is men may go from job to contract to partnership to contract to business to job to job. Today, don’t bet on one job after another.

Imagine going to an interview with loads of experience (most of which is quickly outdated) competing with someone younger and cheaper.

You will likely strike out.

Why? The interviewer knows that you will be chronically unhappy at a fraction of your previous pay. The person interviewing you  is likely to be closer in age to the younger and cheaper candidates. Union and Government jobs may be an exception.

So what is the answer?

The solution is to change your approach and by that I don’t mean buy a franchise or start a business. The new approach is to…

• shed your pattern of job hunting and stop applying online for dozens of jobs. Spend your time each day on the 1 or 2 jobs in your “sweet spot”. Stop applying to those online jobs that aren’t 100% on target for you. And when you find a job that is a perfect fit, pick up the telephone and start calling the company to get an interview asap
• stop going to job networking events, filled with other jobseekers – go to events every night and on weekends like special interest meetups etc. – anywhere that career or jobs IS NOT THE FOCUS. Never say “I’m looking for a job”  If the subject comes up, and you think you can help someone, or someone they know,  talk for a few seconds about… “What I Can Do For You” and then shutup.  Be in demand and be busy. and of course get enough contact info. for follow up.
• build a unique “What I Can Do For You” resume for each opportunity follow up. see here
• Learn how to “Create Your Own Opportunity”

“Mancession.” The term may spur a few smiles and snickers, but for thousands of men, it is no laughing matter. For the first time in economic history, the male unemployment rate has surpassed the female unemployment rate. The December 2008 unemployment rate for men was 7.9 percent, versus 6.4 percent for women. The U.S. economy lost 2.956 million jobs in the last year, and a full 82 percent of pink slips have been handed to male workers. This translates to more than two million unemployed men in America compared to about 460,000 jobless women. The worse news for men is that the gap in jobless rates between men and women has been increasing for the last eight months and may continue to do so. – Bright Horizons