Job Search 101

A couple of years ago, there were too many jobs and not enough talent: We all learned about the talent wars. This year, there aren't enough jobs and too much talent: We're all learning about the talent woes. This new environment has all kinds of people facing the hard reality of pink slips and coming to terms with the challenge of a new, dramatically reduced sense of themselves.

Why does the loss of a job also carry with it a loss of self-esteem? Because for many of us, a job represents more than just a paycheck; it's also a vital part of who we are. So what's the right response to tougher times? How about reading a book? Not just another book on the color of your parachute or the inner search for the real you. Instead, what about a tell-it-like-it-is book from the trenches of the world of work? What about Selling Ben Cheever: Back to Square One in a Service Economy (Bloomsbury, 2001)?

About a decade ago, at the height of the last recession, author Ben Cheever lost his job as an editor and condenser at Reader's Digest, as did many other employees. He also happened to be a resident of Westchester -- a suburban New York community hit hard by the closing of an enormous IBM plant nearby. In response to his own sudden job loss and to the general unemployment all around him, Cheever decided to write a book about starting over. Where do all the jobless go? What does it take to find a job in a downtrodden economy? And once you locate a job opportunity, how do you actually land the position?

To answer those questions, he spent five years applying for, training for, and -- more often than not -- getting rejected from dozens of low-wage service jobs in the greater New York metropolitan area. Cheever describes his (un)employment odyssey as "eating dog food in discreet little bites." But the experience also left him with a wealth of job-hunting (and job-attaining) information that's more relevant now than when he discovered it. In an interview with Fast Company, Cheever offers advice on starting over in a tough job market when you're so far down that the only place to go is up.

1. You are not your job title.

It's a familiar observation that we define ourselves by what we do. Five years ago, that was considered a good thing. Hundred-hour workweeks, sleeping at the office, Foosball tables in the conference room: All of those were signs that your life and your job were inextricably intertwined. But even now, with the economy and its accompanying fervor cooled, it's difficult to separate your life -- and yourself -- from your work. "We spend a lot of time at our work. It's difficult not to invest feelings in something that draws off that much energy," says Cheever. "Where we go wrong now is to identify too closely with a particular employer."

With jobs and companies vanishing during these turbulent times, it's important not to equate yourself with your place of work. Instead, think bigger. "Don't concentrate on the employer," he advises. "Concentrate on the industry and on your particular skill. The employer may cut you off at the knees. The job may vanish. The industry probably won't."

2. Get past the shame barrier.

"I've worked with many people who felt that their state of joblessness was a reflection of their character," Cheever says. "I think that's a mistake." Instead, he advises, acknowledge that it hurts to lose a job. Give yourself a little time to wallow, but realize that in a recession, layoffs happen. Then pick yourself up and move on.

You also have to recognize that your next job may not be your dream job. In fact, it may not have anything to do with what you were doing before. It may even be a step down. But that's okay. Holding out for an ideal job that could be months or years away isn't going to help you right now. "It makes sense to just get a job," says Cheever. "The hard thing is to go out there and admit to yourself that you're in this kind of position. At the very worst, you'll do it for a little while. At best, you'll find something that's related to what you want to do someday."

In fact, that's exactly what Cheever did when he got a job selling books for Borders Books and Music in Manhattan. It was a far cry from his dream career in writing, but it brought in a paycheck, kept him close to the world of books, and taught him quite a bit about the process of selling and marketing them.