I’m extremely excited to release my eBook this Friday, February 19! My hope is that people are able to find some help, hope, inspiration, and affirmation. The book is about how I survived unemployment and what worked for me in getting an interview and eventually a job. It’s called…

What To Do When You’re Not Doing Anything: Surviving Unemployment and Securing Full-Time Work

Here’s an excerpt:

What Doesn’t Work?

There are things that absolutely did not work for me. I want you to know so you can avoid the same pitfalls and failures. It’s okay to admit you’ve done these, too.

Copy and Paste – For some cover letters, I would copy and paste but then change the name of the company or hiring manager. You can see where this is going. John Doe at Company X was very surprised to get a cover letter addressed to Anonymous Pete at Company Y.

Name Game – I really need to work on remembering names. I am so worried about what I am going to say next. Pay attention to names! If you do forget, the trick I used was just saying “sir” or “ma’am” until they corrected me.

Eye Spy – This isn’t a mistake I made but I watched someone else do it. In the lobby, the secretary was sending us in to interview one at a time. One of the men waiting kept cursing and yelling at her about how precious his time was. We all found out that she was not the secretary but the regional manager. Respect everyone.

Know Your Resume – There are jobs I would omit from some resumes. A hiring manager would call me and ask me questions about the information on it. I didn’t lie, but after sending out a hundred resumes, it’s hard to remember every resume. That’s why I highly suggest putting your application materials into folders for each job.

Begging – Please, do not beg people for jobs. Fast-food restaurants are always hiring for part-time positions, but you want full-time status. Know your worth! Maybe a fast-food restaurant is where you want to start; I’m not going to tell you that is a bad decision. Climbing that ladder is an excellent way to become successful, but no one does it begging.

I’m not going to lie. There were probably tons of mistakes that I made en route to finally being employed. No one is perfect and no one likes the same things. All you can do is position yourself to have the best chance of success and make adjustments.

Make sure to check out the book section this Friday to get the whole thing!