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Singing the "Turned Down" Blues?

What do you think the real reason is that you have not found a job if you have been looking actively? What do interviewers say is the reason that you have not been offered a job? Are you getting interviews?

Take a moment now to review your resumÂ£ and copies of the marketing letters you sent out. The problem could be right in front of your eyes! If you have been actively looking for a job to no avail and have been going on interviews, what were the reasons that you were given for not being hired?

"No openings at this time." "Not what we are looking for."

"Hired someone with better credentials/better skills/more experience." "We decided to hire from within." "You were our second choice..." "We are not filling the position." No response at all.

There is a song with the lyrics, "If you want to be somebody else, change your mind." If you are trying to be somebody else, change your ways! If inÂterviewers are saying, "You were this close...," persevere; you are on the right track. If interviewers tell you that they went with someone with better skills or more experience, they are telling you something that you should hear. Either you are targeting the wrong jobs or overvaluing your own skills.

Does this sound familiar? "I feel like I have been on a hundred interviews and have not gotten one job offer. I am getting depressed. I really need a job now .... 7 will take anything offered!" If this is how you feel, you are probably telegraphing your desperation to every interviewer you come across. No organization (and no recruiter) wants to be "any port in a storm."

Try this:

1. What are the reasons you are being given for not being hired? Is there a trend? Are you talking yourself out of the jobs? How are the interviews themselvesâ��are you connecting with the interviewer? Obviously, there was something in your resume that made the organization feel you are a possible hire. Why did this change after the interviewer saw you in person?

2. Examine your resume and marketing letter; are they specifically targeted for the jobs and organizations you are looking at? Or are they just copied and sent to "Dear Sir or Madam"?

3. Look again at jobs you are aiming at: do you have the right and current skills needed? Do you need to aim higher or lower or in another area entirely?

4. Is there a skeleton in your closet you don't know about? If employers are checking references, is one coming up poorly? Is your credit ratÂing revealing your fiscal faults? If you are a recent graduate, your schools may be called to verify your graduation date as well as the type of certificate or diploma you received. Were you honest about this information?

5. Do the reactions you get seem totally unreasonable? You have had job offers (or near offers) dissolve and you have no idea why. Do you know-i what is being discovered about you in a background check? The inforÂmation may be incorrect or not even yours! Even though this is not aj widespread problem, it can and does happen. A few incorrect keystrokes by a data entry clerk and your credit history could be changed from glowing to deadbeat. It only costs about $40 to do a background check on yourself; use any search engine to look for "background check." Theni find one and do one for your peace of mind. (For stories on stolen identities see msnbc.com; search for "stolen identity" in the database.) 1

6. Assuming that you have made a credible presentation at the interviews and no other solutions come to mind, seek out a career counselor at the unemployment office, your local community center, or your school career development office.

Assuming that you are targeting jobs that are probable and are just beginning your job search after an extensive hiatus, you literally have to get back into the loop. You have to account for the intervening time, explain why you are looking now, and match yourself to the job openÂing and the organization. You are competing with all those other candidates who have not been out of the workforce so you will have to sell your reasoning to an interviewer. You will have to show that you are up to date, energetic, and interested in the position in addition to being qualified.

Never give up, visit CareerTRADE.Net and start searching for more jobs