Fighting Doom and Gloom for the Unemployed?

A survey has revealed a strong vein of pessimism among job-seekers in the UK at the moment as long term unemployment grows. Can anything be done to bring optimism back?

The survey, by totaljobs.com asked nearly 6,000 job-seekers in the UK what they hoped for in future to a rather depressing response. The results show a whopping 27 percent expect nothing, saying they imagine they will still be looking for a job in 12 months time and this percentage grows the higher in the country you go, with Scotland the highest for job-hunt pessimism with only 35 percent hopeful of finding work within the next year.

It’s safe to say the unemployment situation in the UK looks bleak at the moment so growing pessimism is hardly a surprise. After all, it must be hard to remain optimistic when 17 percent of job seekers have already been looking for work for 12 months and the average number of applicants per job is 23. According to the report, the biggest problem job-seekers feel they face in finding work is the effects of the Government cuts and the private sector’s inability to offset public sector job cuts is also cited as a hurdle to employment. However, it is vital that these are overcome if our economy is to get back on track.

One flaw in the figures is that it is not clear how many of the respondents are actually unemployed, or simply looking to change jobs, which could make a difference to how the results are interpreted. Nevertheless, the report highlights the increasing employment gap many of the unemployed are in. What can despairing job-seekers do to get out of an unemployment rut? Duncan Taylor, MD of recruitment service people4business gives this advice:

“Being unemployed for twelve months before even getting an interview is incredibly demoralising and, the worst of it is, it doesn’t look too great on your CV either, whatever the reasons behind it. Given the economic situation in the UK, employers may be more understanding of an employment gap, but the truth of the matter is that a gap is still off-putting to prospective employers as they will be wary of employing someone who has, as far as they can see, done nothing for the last 12 months.

This might just cause pessimistic job-seekers to slip further into dark despair but they should instead use this knowledge to their advantage. An inactive job-seeker is, admittedly, right to be pessimistic about employment prospects, but a gap in employment does not necessarily mean you are inactive. This is what the long term unemployed should prove to prospective employers.

An employment gap should be viewed as an opportunity to build up your CV and experiment with other skills to ensure you get back into employment with a strong sense of purpose and a firm skills foundation behind you. This could mean volunteering at a local charity or school, taking courses in new skills or to maintain and update existing skills or even working freelance in your area of expertise or a confident second skill.

Not only does this look better on your CV and give you something to talk positively about in interviews, it naturally makes you more employable by improving your skills and experience and can even give you a better idea of which direction you want to look for future work.

Another advantage job-seekers should embrace was revealed in a survey recently. It was shown that the UK is the top country in Europe for hiring online and the third in the world. This is a clue as to where the money is when it comes to job-hunting. Job seekers need to make the most of this online advantage to ensure they limit the amount of time they spend unemployed. Read more on this subject here.

Understandably the outlook of many is bleak, but the trick is to focus on a bad situation with a positive angle. After 12 months of fruitless job-hunting you may be feeling hopeless, but the truth is, a business will be much more likely to employ you if you don’t show this pessimism. Even in the depths of despair don’t give up and spend the next 12 months sitting gloomily at home, be active in seeking work and equally active in ensuring you are ready for it when it comes.”