Friday 6 December 2013

Why are you still unemployed? Questionnaire and Competition

Have you been unemployed for a while now?

In support of my last two posts on the importance of creating a Job Search Action Plan, which you can read here and here, today I am posting a Job Search Questionnaire that I often give to my new training groups, as it is highly useful in helping participants understand some of the possible reasons for them still being unemployed.

Note: I usually provide participants with a worksheet for them to complete, but you can just record your answers on a blank sheet of paper if you like.




Tick whichever reason(s) you consider are the cause of you being unemployed:

What do you feel is the main reason(s) you are still unemployed?

__ I don’t know how to apply for jobs properly
__ I don’t have a decent resume
__ I don’t write decent cover letters
__ I don’t address selection criteria properly
__ I don’t interview very well face to face / over the phone (confidence, knowledge, nervousness etc)
__ I don’t have confidence at job interviews
__ I don’t know how to sell myself effectively to employers
__ I don’t have the necessary / required skills
__ I don’t have the necessary / required qualifications/licences
__ I don’t have the necessary / required experience
__ I don’t have suitable interview clothing
__ I have poor employment history
__ I am too old
__ I am too young
__ I don’t have enough / good references
__ I have personal issues / barriers that interfere with my being able to look for, accept and or keep work (e.g. transportation problems, criminal history, personal circumstances, medical problems etc), please specify: ________________________
__ Employers / agencies don’t give me a chance
__ I don’t want to find work, and or my efforts are only half-hearted
__ Other: please specify: _______________________________________________
 

In group training situations I usually have my clients complete the exercise and then we have a group discussion afterwards: I go through each of the points listed one at a time, asking for a show of hands who ticked having this - or possibly having this, because I lot of clients are unsure - and then I invite the group to contribute ideas and discuss ways and means for how they can resolve that particular problem and these are all written on the whiteboard.

In coming posts, I will address some of the solutions to each of the problems, but for now, why not contribute some of your own ideas and suggestions on how some of the problems can be easily resolved.

And then, head over to my Win a Free Rescue-My-Resume Review page, here, to see why you should participate!