Despite unemployment being at a 50-year low, some people are coming to me, a career counselor, because their job search failed.

Here is how I troubleshoot it:

Time spent. Have you spent a total of at least 50 hours of time-effective job searching? For example, more than a few hours spent developing a resume or LinkedIn profile is usually not time-effective. And of course, time spent spacing out in front of the screen doesn’t count.

Job target. To test if a client is aiming too high, I might ask, “Put yourself in the shoes of the employer. Are you likely to be the person s/he’d hire or at least interview?”

If the client is aiming a step or two down, I ask how they’d explain their rationale for doing that to prospective employers. I’d assess if my client’s answer would make the employer wonder if the stated reason isn’t the truth but rather that s/he has, for example, a serious disease or just got out of prison.

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