Recently I had coffee with a colleague and during the discussion he mentioned that sister had graduated in marketing and communications at the end of 2008 and her whole class was currently unable to find a job. While fellow Marketingmag.com.au blogger Zac Martin is helping graduates Graduate like a rock star, it can be still very difficult to find a job in the current depressed market.

During the job search process it can be very easy for you to become unfocused, disenchanted and generally feeling down. This is normal. To help it can be beneficial to have a support partner or group. You will need someone or a group of people to help you move through the ups and downs of the job search process. They can also keep you focused on days when you feel like doing nothing and sitting in front of the DVD player.

Warning signs you are unfocused

• You don’t want to get out of bed
• You sit and watch DVDs or play video games all day
• You decide that finding a job is not worth the effort and ignore the obvious fact of how will you pay your bills
• Look for any job that you can do, even ones with low pay
• Wish you were back in your old job regardless of how bad it really was, and
• You stay awake all night wasting time so that you are too tired the next day to actively search for a job.

The right approach

• Do not lose hope. Easy to say, but remember the job search process can take several months, even longer if you are seeking an executive position
• Set up specific job alerts on your favourite job boards; make sure you are targeted in your keywords so you receive relevant results.
• Let your network of contacts know you are looking for a job, many times someone will know of a job.
• Make sure every day you get out of bed and do at least two things to further your job search. You really should be focusing six to eight hours a day to find a new job but when you get down make sure you do at least two, even if they are going out for coffee to speak with your support person.
• Ensure you stay current with your industry and target companies.
• Continue to research the market for jobs and potential employers who are hiring. Remember many jobs are never advertised they are filled through contacts.
• Keep building your network, every day look for opportunities to add someone to your network.
• Accept you will get rejections, but do not let them affect your confidence during the interview process. Remember the more rejections you have the closer you are to finding the right job.
• Continually review your job search process and tools. Look for what is working, do you always get interviews for a certain type of role? Also look at where things might not be working, if you always get the interview but not the job do you need to enhance your interviewing skills.
• Ensure you look after yourself both mentally and physically. Do something enjoyable everyday and make sure you exercise.
• Speak to you friends and work colleagues, get an idea what improvements you can make both professionally and personally.
• Consider speaking with a career coach to evaluate what you are doing and where improvements could be made.