Don’t miss our webinar, “Identify Your Ideal Job”, on February 2 at 9am Pacific.  Register now! Then be sure to come back and finish reading this post!

With 10% of working Americans without jobs and only 45% of people satisfied with the jobs they have*, if you’re like the majority of people you’re either dissatisfied at your job or unemployed.  But since many of us don’t know how to find an employer we love, we tell ourselves to just be grateful to have a job or even a job opening to apply to.  The question is, how do you find your ideal employer?

The answer is – go shopping for one.  There have been a number of Best Employers of 2009 lists released.  We’ve complied our granddaddy list and offer links to all the lists at the end of this post.  Of course, if everyone is seeing these lists then the application rate at these employers is exploding.

The way to use these lists to go shopping for your ideal employer is to use the lists to dig a bit deeper into just what makes these employers great.  Identify the characteristics that get you most excited, that are critical to your success and happiness, and add these to the list you probably already have of aspects that you absolutely cannot live with in an employer.  Once you have this start looking for companies that have these characteristics and didn’t make the lists because they were too small or because your tastes in an employer aren’t the same as everyone else.  You can look by asking your friends, family and colleagues – read articles – start a survey – put on your explorer’s hat and go on a treasure hunt.  The reward in your professional satisfaction and quality of life will be enormous!

Based on a compilation of the best employer lists of 2009 here are our top candidates for ideal employers.

Here are links to the lists for you to do your own research:

Best Companies to Work for

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2009/full_list/

Top paying companies

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2009/pay/

Top 100 entry-level employers

http://www.collegegrad.com/topemployers/2009_entry_level.php

Top companies for working moms

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/News/Top100EmployersForMoms.aspx

Top 50 employers for workers over 50

http://www.aarp.org/money/work/best_employers/best_employers_list_2009/

* No exaggeration! http://tinyurl.com/yeuks3q

To survive as a job seeker in this job market the critical skill to learn is how to turn rejection into recovery.  I speak constantly with well educated and experienced job seekers who are feeling defeated, are losing their confidence and are sometimes downright angry.

In a New York Times poll of unemployed adults, almost half reported to have suffered from depression or anxiety.   This is very natural, and it begins a dangerous downward cycle.  In this market where 80% of positions are filled before they ever hit a job board, relationships are critical.  Being attractive to friends, family, colleagues and everyone in your network is more important than ever.

Of course, being attractive is something that can’t be faked, it’s something that comes from within and the way to cultivate attractiveness is by learning the skill of recovery.

The place to start with recovery is reclaiming your identity.  You are not your job or employment status – and you never have been.  Defining personal self worth and identity by a profession is a mistake many people make and now is the time to stop.  We are defined by who we are as people and how we show up in the world, not by any title, car we drive or house we live in.

Secondly, do not take rejection personally.  I know that being turned down for a job you think you’re perfect for feels incredibly personal.  Keep in mind that employers are looking to hire a fit for both the stated and unstated characteristics they desire in a specific job.  Unless you want to take it up with the hiring manager, recovery is a matter of making peace with the decision about this opportunity and moving on to the next.

Third, stay in the present.  If you didn’t get the interview today, that’s all that means.  Avoid the tendency to blow that out of proportion and start believing you’ll never get another interview.  It’s called catastrophising and it’s no good.  Recovery is found by staying in the present.

Fourth, experiment to find your recovery style.  Your style can be talking with people who empathize or finding that rare person who you’ll listen to when they tell you to get a grip.  Maybe your recovery style is in listening to music, reading a special book, or digging in harder to find the next opportunity.  Maybe recovery for you is walking in nature, volunteering in your child’s classroom or talking about nothing important with a dear friend.

You’ll probably find that you have many recovery styles and strategies that work for you in different situations.  Recovery will only happen if you devote time to it.  Devote time in your schedule to caring for your self and investing in your recovery.

The benefit for you in learning how to recover is that you will feel better and be able to interact more positively with the world.  The added benefit is that you will also be more attractive to the people and opportunities that will connect you with your next job.

Many of us unfortunately fall victim to the dismal job market news we keep hearing about and feel it best to just stay put for security sake. However, now is a great time to set yourself up for your ideal job.  The path to achieving your ideal job can take some time, especially if you’re changing careers.

Here are some initial steps you can take starting now.

• First, begin by identifying your ideal job and developing a target list of ideal employers.
• Second, make yourself an ideal candidate.  Develop needed skills and experience to be the obvious choice to hire.  Also develop unique statements about yourself that will make you stand out.
• Third, begin building relationships with people who can provide a solid introduction to your future ideal employer.

The job news will get better as we create our path to a new future.  If you get started on pursuing your ideal job now you’ll be in great shape to make it your reality quickly when hiring picks up.

IS THE TIME RIGHT FOR A CAREER CHANGE?

The answer to the question in the title is, “It depends.” If you have recently been laid off or are perhaps desperately unhappy in your current career, then yes the time is probably right for a career change. On the other hand, if you’re doing well financially in your current career and can find some satisfaction in it, then you probably should sit tight right now given the current economic climate.

For those that do find the time to be right for a career change, there are definitely smart and not-so-smart ways to go about finding the right career path. First you should decide what resources you can marshal up to help – the best and most effective being your personal and professional network. Who do you know that can help you land a job or introduce you to someone else that can? Are you on LinkedIn or Plaxo? If you aren’t, you need to be. These sites offer tremendous networking opportunities for you when considering a career transition. They help you get in touch with past colleagues and meet new ones.

Another resource you can enlist is a career coach. While money may be tight if you are out of work during this process, sometimes a small investment can pay huge dividends in the long run. Plus, some career coaching professionals and career guidance tools aren’t that expensive. Some coaches offer a career test of sorts to help you determine what you are best at doing and perhaps what you should have been doing all along in your career. The career test will ferret out for you those innate or highly honed and marketable skills and attributes you possess and find ways or career paths to capitalize on those.

Whatever means, resources or career path you choose, just make sure they lead you down a road that will make you happy and fulfilled. Life is too short to be stuck in a dead-end job even if it pays the bills and then some. There is a lot to be said for mental happiness as a counterpart to financial wellbeing.

By Michelle Randall

President and Founder of www.Job-Right.com