THE NACHOS AND MOUNTAIN DEW BEWILDERMENT

 I received a message from a friend the other night and he mentioned that he was finished with a temp job through some agency where he'd been employed for a few months and once again he was looking for work. Another friend has taken to the roll of stay-at-home dad despite multiple degrees. My friend had been working in some financial role with a grocery store and asked me what I thought was going on. I didn't know at first how to respond. Many different things crossed through my mind. It is no secret that we are in one of the worst economies in the nation's history, and it seems everyone knows at least one or two people that is having difficulty finding employment. With HR people receiving hundreds if not thousands of resumes all of which look the same, how do you separate yours. The trick is to get into a mind set that is different then the average job seeker. You know how they are, stressed out, depressed, self-conscious, frustrated, fed up, etc. But that is simply the wrong approach. For two hours before creating a resume you have to watch videos of people like Norman Vincent Peale or Tony Robbins and get into that high octane, positive energy frame of mind. Then you need to get into a little Mark Twain or even some Charles Dickens because part of the application process and winning the attention of those bored and overworked HR reps is to be able to tell a great story, a humorous yet serious story about yourself as if you are someone else and pull it off. Sounds farfetched? It is and that is what will eventually separate you from the lot. Then when the one or two interviews are thrown your way it is back to the drawing board. It is time to get back into that frame of mind which by then will have worn off. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to keep that kind of high octane, jet fueled, marathon sprinter go-kick ass mentality but for 98% of job seekers it only lasts for a short duration and they are burned out. They come down off the "high" of the preparation, competition, performance mode and curl up in their recliners and eat ice cream and shiver, some weep into childhood blankets and others lose themselves in video games or self reflection. It is just the way it is but you have to be able to get that edge back. Some people never lose the edge. When they are back at home, sitting by themselves they are gunning to get it on, mind racing and applying themselves to some kind of work comes naturally and they just keep plugging along. You must keep it up and bull rush the desire to crawl back into the shell that had you trapped before. It all starts with the attitude change and then the creativity to reinvent yourself to satisfy the requirements for the formula for success. It all starts in the mind. It starts with you and ends with you and along the way is where all the meaning is deposited.