The ICT Job Hunter Blog

The start of any New Year sees any number of experts in any number of fields sharing their predictions for the coming 12 months, and this tendency seems to be magnified at the beginning of a new decade.  According to The Business Insider, however, the vast majority of these simply don’t come true.  When the state of the world is as unsettled as it has been during the last couple of years, that’s hardly very surprising, but in any case, when it comes to job seeking, I can’t help but think of that old saying ‘ You make your own luck’.

With reports of the expectations for the employment situation varying from ‘likely to improve’ to ‘expected to rise to 12%’, one almost has to ask whether the experts are even looking at the same data.  At the end of the day though, their predictions are nothing more than mere opinions and the only person who can really make much of an impact on your employment situation is you!

A very broad generalization I know, but in my experience, people tend to fall into two fairly distinct categories – those who talk about doing and those who do.  The former are full of good intentions but, despite often being fairly quick to offer their opinions, rarely get around to taking action.  The latter, meanwhile, are the ones who follow through.  You won’t read about the former in the newspapers or on the Internet because there’s nothing to read about.  It is the stories of the latter that make the headlines.

It’s easy to sit around and talk about how you’re going to set up your own business, improve your resume, start networking and do all the other things that could genuinely make a difference to your employment prospects, but talk on its own gets you nowhere.  Taking action is the only thing that will make a difference and bring you closer to your goals, and so if you only make one New Year’s resolution this year, determine that 2010 will be the year when you start and continue to do just that.

Another saying that comes to mind is the one that goes ‘If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got.’  If you’re still sending out tired or outdated resumes, or relying on job advertisements as your primary source of opportunities, then get reading some of the job hunting advice that you will find throughout my own blog posts and those of others.  Don’t just read it though, but act on it continually and consistently.  No matter what the experts have to say, whether their predictions are gloomy or optimistic, there are still jobs out there and it’s up to you to track them down and demonstrate that you are the perfect candidate.

The Christmas season being what it is, I’m sure that we all received countless cards and annual updates from old friends and colleagues whose current situations are no different than the ones they were in a year, 2 years or even 5 years ago.  These people are no happier or more fulfilled than they were previously, but in many cases they have done little or nothing to change their lives.  There are others, however, who have taken bold steps and determined to do things differently and who have taken giant leaps forward as a consequence.

Forget the news headlines, especially the gloomy ones, and keep your own counsel in 2010.  Work out what it is that you want to do with your life and go for it.  As an individual, there is little that you can do to change the state of the country or the world, but there is much that you can do to improve your own lot.  Go with your heart and put in the effort and you will get to where you want to be!