The news is continuing to warn us about the next wave of redundancies and the threat of a double dip recession, are we getting the true picture of the Yorkshire Job Market? Are things as bleak as the statistics show? In truth the statistics never provide a true picture as many senior level candidates have not crossed the thresh hold of the job centres and are living from savings and investments. These hidden job seekers do not appear on any stats and as a result we are unaware of their challenges and more importantly when they find success!

I have mentioned networking many times in my previous columns and how the most successful people are those who have created their own opportunity by implementing a strategy to their job search. Identifying the people they should be speaking to and having quality business conversations. As senior level candidates our identity is often integrated with our job title. When the title and position are lost it is difficult to maintain our place within the corporate world. This is when we have to network to raise our profile on the corporate radar.

Social Media in the job search is it good or a bad thing?

The most common response I receive from those who feel that they are networking is “I’m on Linkedin, one of the most popular professional networking sites. They have a profile, have connected with a few people they may have worked with and see this as networking. Is this effective networking are people securing interviews? Karen stated, “I hate to say this, using social media insofar as making a job search hasn’t really helped. While sometimes it’s comforting to know that I am not t alone in feeling discouraged and even lots of times despairing, at other times hearing about other people’s discouragement makes me even more anxious and despairing about the jobs situation.