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I’m writing today from a Starbucks in Florida. Our family is on vacation this week and I have been spending a few hours each morning working at the local Starbucks while the rest of the family sleeps in (favorite vacation activity). I decided to write another post to my “Hey Recession…” series. If you want to find my two other posts on this topic, you can find them here:

Hey Recession ~ This Too Shall Pass

Hey Recession ~ My New Definition of Success

Yesterday, my morning visit to Starbucks went from peace and calm to sudden panic and confusion. I got my typical White chocolate Mocha Grande, found a spot to connect to the wi-fi, and got to work. Everything was going according to plan and I was getting a lot done and then I realized that something was missing….

my car keys!

The thing is I know that I brought my keys in and set them down on one of the tables with my laptop and briefcase. I only turned my back for less than 30 seconds but Starbucks was pretty busy at the time. I’m thinking…someone grabbed my keys!

Ever have one of those sinking feelings?

First thing I did was look in my briefcase…..nothing. I looked on the floor….nothing. So, I went to the counter to see if any keys have been turned in….no luck.

So, I go outside to the parking lot to make sure my car is still there! The car is there and I begin to walk around the parking lot looking to see if I can see anyone suspicious. I do have one of those remote key controls and I am picturing someone walking around clicking there way through the parking lot until they find the “gold mine.”

No luck.

So, I head back into Starbucks and sit down and decided to look through my bag again. After all, there is a lot of pockets in the bag. So, I meticuluosly go through the bag thinking I must have just overlooked them. Still no luck (all the while trying to keep my eyes on my car.)

Then I remember that my wife did bring her set of keys…so I will just call her.

No cell phone!

Great…I’m thinking. They stole my cell phone as well!

So, I actually borrowed a cell phone called my wife and woke her up. She comes rushing to Starbucks to give me the other set of keys (by the way, she rolled out of bed and came straight to Starbucks and was not happy to be in public 30 seconds after waking up!)

We decided to drive my car back to the condo for safe keeping. Meanwhile, I am looking for any suspicious cars that might be following me back to the condo that is only a few blocks away. My wife then finds my cell phone at the house so at least some of the mystery is solved.

The rest of the day I keep going to the parking lot at the Condos to be sure that my car is still around.

Fast forward eight hours.

That night, I am still puzzled as to what could have happened. So, I decided to check my bag again eventhough I have checked it at least 8 times around my wife has 2 or 3 times as well. Again, I slowly go through the bag and….

VIOLA! There are my keys! I just started laughing. I can not believe it! That is impossible…I’m thinking. All the panic and turmoil and it was under my nose all along.

Moral of the story?

SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO JUST KEEP DIGGING

Once relief set in I thought of so many parallels to the job search. Lately, I have doing a lot of writing (behind the scenes) and answering many questions posted through my blog on how to tap into the “hidden job market.”

You see, what most people do not realize is that there is an entire hidden job market that they can uncover to locate the right job.

Here are my take-a-ways for you to learn from my story.

1. Sometimes you have to just keep digging – What most people do when it comes to a job search is they look at the newspaper, look at the major online job boards and then determine with absolute confidence that there are just no jobs out there.

Meanwhile, I am talking with candidates every week who are getting hired for positions that are not advertised (and that I didn’t even know about) right in the middle of one of the worse recessions of our generation. Do not fall into the trap that there are no positions out there. Did you know that over 52% of people surveyed said they found there last position through some kind of networking.

You need to keep digging!

I have a great poem to share with you that speaks perfectly to what I am talking about. No, I am not a big poetry guy, but this one is worth repeating. Let this be your theme and the fuel that you need for your job search.

The Little Black Hen 
Author: Anonymous

Said the little red rooster, “Gosh, all hemlock, things are tough!
Seems that worms are getting scarcer and I cannot find enough.
What’s become of all those fat ones is a mystery to me.
There were thousands through that rainy spell, but now where can they be?”

The old black hen heard him, didn’t grumble or complain.
She had gone through lots of dry spells; she had lived through flood and rain.
So she flew up on the grindstone, and she gave her claws a whet,
As she said, “I’ve never seen the time when there were no worms to get.”

She picked a new and undug spot; the earth was hard and firm.
The little rooster jeered, “New ground. That’s no place for a worm!”
The old black hen just spread her feet; she dug both fast and free.
“I must go to the worms,” she said, “the worms won’t come to me.”

The rooster wanly spent his day, through habit, by the ways
Where fat worms had passed in squads, back in the rainy days.
When nightfall found him supperless, he growled in accents rough,
“I’m hungry as a fowl can be — conditions sure are tough.”

He turned then to the old black hen and said, “It’s worse with you,
For you’re not only hungry, but you must be tired, too.
I rested while I watched for worms so I feel fairly perk,
But how are you? Without worms, too? And after all that work!”

The old black hen hopped to her perch and drooped her eyes to sleep
And murmured, in a drowsy tone, “Young man, hear me and weep.
I’m full of worms and happy, for I’ve dined both long and well
The worms are there, as always, but I had to dig like hell.”

2. Make sure you have the right mindset – I can not emphasize enought the importance of having the right mindset in your job search. If you are defeated and discouraged it ALWAYS seeps out into your interviews and phone conversations. I know it is difficult to keep your spirits up when you feel constantly beat down but you must understand that staying down is not going to help either. For a source of encouragement read my blog post Unemployed for 18 Months – What Do I Do?

Bottom line is this: Attitude, energy and chemistry plays a huge role in your job search. It takes more then just being qualified on paper. You also must display the right presentation to get the job as well.

Not only that, but when you are not in the right mindset, you do not think clearly. If I would have stopped being in a panic and instead relaxed and took my time searching my briefcase, I would have come across my keys a lot sooner and would not have put everyone else around me in a panic either.

The same is true in your job search. You have to check your mindset and attitude everyday. Especially, if the bills are pilling up and you have been out of work. As difficult as it might be, change your attitude. Fake it at first if you need to or you can do my favorite activity. Take out a piece of paper and number from 1-10 and then force yourself to write down 10 things that are going right in your life right now. This simple activity is powerful. Give it a try.

So….do me a favor. Hang on closely to your keys while at Starbucks. Mine is in my pants pocket today and that is where they will stay!