This past Saturday in the Business Section of the New York Times, I was quoted in Shortcuts as this critical topic often confuses job seekers. What do you do if you’re asked for a sample marketing plan or project as part of the hiring process? My advice is limit the amount of work you do for free, let the hiring company know that your project will be incomplete, and if they’d like a finished product, you’d be glad to work on a contract basis. Be flexible but don’t work for free.

If you’re like me, you’ve eaten a lot of pie and you know that another month of cookie eating awaits you. For those looking for work in this season, that’s a small worry as many believe that no one gets hired before the New Year. In my 16 years as a career coach I’ve never experienced this season as a dead time in the job market. And in fact it’s the best time of the year for networking and often is a great time to reach people who are otherwise hard to get. Stay active and you’ll succeed.

Happy to report that my book is getting some nice media attention. CNBC quotes from it in an article on “High Paying Seasoanl Jobs” and the Chicago Tribune will also quote me toward the end of November about ways to help your resume get attention. If you’re local come to Borders on Saturday, Nov. 13th, 2-4 in Langhorne, PA for a workshop and signing. Should be fun.

My book on finding your way from job-loss crisis to career resilience is currently available for pre-sale on both Amazon and Barnes & Nobel. What makes this book different is that it uses examples or case studies to show what has happened to job seekers of all backgrounds, functions and levels during the search process. And it’s helpful with a list of do’s and don’ts in each chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

The book I’ve been working on, ELIMINATED! NOW WHAT? will be coming out in November, published by JIST Publications. Closer to that time, I’ll become more active in terms of updating this blog and connecting to others. Stay tuned. Jean

I’ve recently received a few emails from people visiting my website, and a few are at their wit’s end. They’ve either exhausted Unemployment or don’t qualify, they’ve tried to find a new job, and now they’re in a state of panic and they risk losing everything they’ve worked so hard for.

There is no easy answer to this, but one thing that I’ve learned from my work with those in transition, is that most of us don’t do very well when our backs are to the wall. So first of all, see what you can do to reduce your expenses. If you can’t pay your rent or make your mortgage payments, talk to your bank. See if there are any ways they can help you. Visit your Congressman’s local office and see what resources they have to help you. And then make a list of the people you know and be very clear about how they might help you. Be open to a temporary job that may feel “below” you. Some money is better than no money and will buy you time to look for a better job.

In my work as both a career counselor and a writer, I’ve witnessed successful methods for encouraging others to help, as well as tactics that are sure to fail. Since both looking for work and trying to get published as a writer involve a lot of rejection, I thought it would be useful to share what I’ve learned.

So, what are some good ways to get help? Be prepared. This means being able to talk about your goals and your contributions (or your book) in a natural and conversational way. In job search, it also means having your resume completed and preparing  a list of companies that you’re interested in. The less you ask for, the more likely you are to succeed. So if you contact someone in your network and ask if they’d have time to look at the list of companies you’re targeting, this is probably going to get a “Yes.”

On the flip side, asking for too much too soon, usually makes others uncomfortable. So what you don’t want to say is something like:  “I’m out of work, I need a job and I’m going to send my resume to you.” This places a huge burden on the recipient and is not likely to motivate him/her to help you.

Practice your written and verbal requests, get feedback from others so that you’ll know if you need to refine your message, and get out there. People you know as well as those you don’t know yet, want to help you. But you’ve got to ask.

For those of you in transition (that’s the polite way of saying out of work), this may be a particularly challenging time. As an active career counselor who has partnered with thousands of people looking for work, let me share my perspective.

The first thing I remind my clients is that they only need to find one job–not turn the economy around. Secondly, we look at where they’re the strongest, which in most cases is a similar function in the same industry. Why? It’s easier to get hired for things you’ve done than for things you haven’t done–even if you know you could easily take on a new role. But you could run a two-pronged search so that some of your efforts are spent exploring new options. This can not only keep you motivated and engaged, but also can create more activity as when you run out of things to do for one part of your search, you work on the other.

Being up-to-date in your field is critical as we know job seekers face competition, and the message that taking a new course or learning a new skill conveys is that you’re motivated and a hard worker. Lastly, how you “sell” yourself makes a difference. Upbeat people get hired–sometimes even when they’re less qualified than other candidates– because the hiring manager feels that they’d be a good part of the team. So practice how you pitch your skills and abilities, not just what you plan to say. And good luck. Let me know if you have questions or if there are specific areas where I can be helpful.

What you do in the first few days of job loss matters. And the same applies to how you handle an on-going career crisis. So first of all, recognize that this is an emotional time, a difficult transition, and that you’re not making any big decisions. Secondly, you want to keep your dignity intact. You don’t want to lash out at your boss or former boss and co-workers. If you’ve been let go, you need simply to get out of the office and go home.

Call your spouse or best friend, get back to your home, make yourself a nice lunch, and then take a walk or do something that allows you to burn off some of the hurt and anger. It’s too soon to update your resume or begin calling your contacts. Keep things simple.

One client I worked with lived in New York City but worked in New Jersey. When I met with him, just after he’d been notified that he was no longer needed by his company, it was the end of the day and most of the other employees had already left. He and I talked about how he was going to get home since he usually got a ride to the train station with a co-worker. So we asked HR to hire a car for him to drive him back to his apartment in the city. We could have asked for a ride to the train station, but he and I agreed that, given the circumstances, it was the least the company could do for him. He told me later that riding in that hired car gave him the quiet and private time to begin processing his job loss and what he might do next.