The depression was a horrible time. Unemployment at 25% and no Unemployment Insurance.
The economy had just turned from the Roaring Twenties where money and work was plentiful.
There was a massive change in the way people lived due to technology. The life of a twenty year was significantly different than the life of a 40 year old.
In fact, there are many similarities to the job hunting environment of today.
In this series of articles, I want to demonstrate to you, that things are haven’t changed that much. The tactics used by successful job hunters in the 1930′s will work just as well today.Think the job market is tough now?
It’s been tougher. A lot tougher.
Now, do you think the best job-search methods from the Great Depression might help you find work now, in the Great Recession, when fewer than 10% of people are jobless?
I do.
Here is a Depression-era job search tip, adjusted for the current time.
The first book is “We Are Forty And We Did Get Jobs,” by C.B. Thompson and M.L. Wise, two forty-year-old women spent 10 weeks perfecting a job-search system by looking for — and getting — jobs in cities across America.
Of their system, they write: “It proved, in short, the touchstone that had magic even during the depths of the 1938 recession.”
Here are two of their tips, with modern applications for you …
1) “Look your best. Nothing runs you down like that run-down look” (page 28).
Before you think, “Everybody knows that,” think, “How often do I leave the house looking like a hobo?” In my case, the answer is, “Too often!”
Only last week, I was in a coffee shop near an industrial park, typing on my laptop, unshaved and unkempt, feeling anonymous. Not so.
In walked a business acquaintance, whom we’ll call Jack. Embarrassed by my appearance, I pretended not to notice him. A day later, Jack sent me an email, “Didn’t I see you at Caribou Coffee yesterday?” Awkward.
Now, what if I were unemployed and Jack had been a manager I had recently interviewed with? My unprofessional appearance and actions would have torpedoed my chances.
So, know this: Because business can be transacted anywhere these days, from coffee shops to parks, never leave home looking less than your best. The person you see in Starbuck’s today may be your boss tomorrow. Dress and look your best.
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This job hunting post was adapted from content provided to by my good friends Kevin Donlin and David Perry, co-creators of the Guerrilla Job Search System.
Finding a job is hard, most people don’t know how to do it, and the results are months of needless waiting.
I recommend that you check The Guerrilla Job Search System to get a job and stop waiting.
Click here to understand how the Guerrilla Job Search System can shorten your job search significantly.
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