No jobs? Back to School!

October 21, 2011|How to find a job, Tips At work| No comments yet

Let’s be realistic - it’s hard to get a job. Period. Unemployment is the highest it’s been in 20 years, and no matter where you look, it seems like there’s just not enough work to go around. The jobs you qualify for are taken, closed, or impossible to get noticed in- and the ones that are open, you don’t qualify for! You’re caught between over-qualified and under-qualified and either way, the bills just keep piling up.

Well, you could keep trying to play the odds, and hope that you can luck into a decent job in the field you’re already in. It’s worth a shot, certainly, but it can take a while. And what are you supposed to do in the meantime? The longer you spend unemployed, the longer your potential employers will look at the gap in your work history and assume you’re unemployable, that the other employers who turned you down may have been on to something. Legitimate or not, it’s simply the way human resources works. When they’re pressed for time, they’ll take any shortcut they can to reduce their workloads, and that includes not considering an employee for something that might seem minor. And that’s not mentioning the obvious question - “How will you pay your bills with no money and no job?”

No, the best thing to do in this job climate to go back to school. Record number of former blue-collar and white-collar workers are leaving the workforce to finish their degrees, and it’s a great time to do so. They know there are a lot of student loans and grants to help cover their living expenses while they’re in school, so that they can still pay their bills while they’re in school. Secondly, it keeps you busy while you’re out of a job, and looks great on a resume, letting your future employer know how motivated and dedicated you are to personal improvement. And finally, it lets you virtually guarantee a great, higher-paying job when you get out of school. With the job market as bad as it is, why waste your time trying and trying and trying to find the same job everybody else is finding? Differentiate yourself a little, make yourself stand out, and prove that you’re as smart as you sound by furthering your education. You won’t regret it.