How many of you know people that have been unemployed for 1-2 years and are lamenting that there are no jobs to be had? How many of you are those people?

It's not something to be ashamed about, but if you're going to fix it, you need to change your outlook on things. First of all, you need to stop looking to others to give you a job. I'm not saying to stop applying for work, going to interviews and the like. What I'm saying is that you need to stop being passive about it.

I recently had a conversation with somebody that has been out of work for nearly a year. She was stressing because her unemployment was potentially going to run out if her extension wasn't approved. I asked her how many interviews she had been to recently and she told me none.

Does this sound familiar?

I asked why she hadn't been to any interviews and her reply was "because nobody has called me to come into an interview".

People, wake up. When the economy is down and unemployment is high, you cannot be passive about getting a job. You have to assume that there are 400 people applying for the same job you are.

There are 2 ways out of this scenario - landing a job or creating your own. I recommend a hybrid of the two. Read my article, Teach your kids to build a business instead of working fast food for excellent tips on how to create your own job. Doing that takes time; however, so you'll want to start as soon as possible. In the meantime, you're going to need to land a job working for somebody else for a year or so while your part time business picks up speed.

To get your name to the top of that list of 400 applicants, you have to be aggressive. Learn everything you can about the company. Read their website and all their press releases. Try their products, if possible. If they're a public company, check out their financial statements and see if they're making a profit or not. See if the PR and Accounting departments are saying the same thing and use this to your advantage.

If they are hurting, how can you solve their problems? If they are doing well, how can you make them even better? Be prepared. Become a marketing or salesperson because that's what you are.. you're selling yourself. How would a salesperson handle it? Would they come in with PowerPoint slide shows, marketing materials, and other things to land the sale? Sure they would. If you take charge of the interview and prove to them that you are their solution, not just more overhead then they're going to be impressed - and you're going to get hired.

And then call them. And call them. And don't let the receptionist filter you. Use LinkedIn and other sources to find additional contacts in the company that you can use to finally get to the right person. Call their phone number and randomly try different extensions. One of them will work and that person won't have the silver tongue of the receptionist. Likely, they'll transfer you without hesitation.

Do this for several companies and one of them is sure to hire you. You may even be surprised at the outcome. Sometimes the company realizes that you're of a higher caliber than the position you're applying for and may offer you a better job. I've seen and experienced this myself.

Think of it this way, what type of person would YOU hire?  A passive person or somebody that not only gets the job done, but knows enough about the company and its direction that they're able and willing to come up with ways to get the job done much better.