by David Duncan

Created on: August 01, 2009   Last Updated: August 05, 2009

At the time of this writing, I am searching for new employment. Fortunately, I am still employed while looking for another job. Still, whether your situation is like mine or you are in a full-out hunt to replace your old job, I believe the following four factors strongly influence the level of difficulty in finding employment.

First, how well you take care of yourself during your job search is crucial to success. You may in for a long employment search; you need rest, maybe even more than usual. Looking for a new job should be treated with the same effort you treat your existing or former job. When you are staring job changes in the face, it is easy to get wrapped up in your job search for hours and disregard other commitments. But, to help manage your anxious thoughts, try seeing the employment process from an employer's point of view.

To employers who are hiring, time management is everything in trying to run a life and a business. Successful employers learn to set a schedule for hiring practices that doesn't absorb energy needed for other parts of their lives. Looking for employment puts you at the opposite of the hiring game from employers, but you can take a lesson from successful business owners and keep a healthy balance in your life by setting a schedule for working on resumes and interviews and sticking to it, no matter how much your mind wants to resist your actions.

Second, avoid undue stress in your job search by coming to terms with the way economic factors, especially local economics, shape the way business is conducted in your area. The recent recession has left every business owner guarding his profit margin with his life. More and more, they are looking to increase productivity and value in their employees to widen their profit margin, making them screen applicants much closer than they might in more lucrative times. For example, in my chosen field of Restaurant and Hospitality, I watched how rising food and transportation costs caused employers to tighten business hours, slow hiring, set new food production and waste levels, and decrease promotions.

Do your research on employers who interest you, looking at their mission statement, track record, location, and their competition. If possible, try to find out what is the common-held profit margin for the companies you target for employment opportunities. Remember, businesses may show charity and good deeds for their community and abroad. But, businesses are primarily in business to move

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