Working weekends on job search

Your winning job lead may come from a chance meeting at a party this weekend. Now that the taboo about discussing unemployment is gone, social contacts increasingly are the greatest source of leads, according to John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of the international outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., Chicago.

"That is why weekends have taken on a critical role in the search for employment. Those who suspend their search efforts on Friday nights, Saturday, and Sunday will likely miss out on opportunities and lengthen their joblessness by weeks or even months."

There are 8,800,000 people unemployed and actively seeking work. Another 4,900,000 stopped looking for jobs but still want to work, which means that at any moment they could reenter the fray. Making matters worse is the shrinking number of nonoutsourced, nontemporary, well-paying positions.

"In this market, job seekers need to tap every possible source for good ... leads," urges Challenger. "This is not the time to be shy or embarrassed about your job loss. Luckily, young people seem to have shed all timidity when it comes to advertising their unemployed status, which is the key reason the job loss taboo has been virtually eliminated.

"If overcoming your shyness is step one to finding a job fast, step two is to make finding a [new position] your full-time [quest] and that means working weekends."

COPYRIGHT 2004 Society for the Advancement of Education
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group