Will you be forgiven?

Good Monday morning,

Lehman Brothers failed and the government bailed out AIG two years ago, Readers, and things haven't been the same since. It's been a calamity for the country and for the job market.

If you're one of the unlucky ones — just doing your job well when the ax came along and hacked away over 8 million jobs out of our economy — it's been a period of frustration bordering on despair.

Some of you were skeptical three years ago when the declining price of black town cars in midtown Manhattan had me calling a recession. But come it did.

And it's been hard to find a job these past few years. You know it, we know it, and, most importantly, the companies looking to hire you know it.

That's why we've been hearing increasingly about "candidate forgiveness," the idea that a lot of good people are out of work through no fault of their own, and that their unemployment shouldn't be counted against them.

But rather than simply throwing yourself on the tender mercies of hiring managers and recruiters, there's something you should do about a period of unemployment during this "Great Recession": make lemonade out of lemons. That is, take the bad situation and turn it to the best advantage you possibly can by demonstrating that you've used the hiatus to become even more valuable to your next employer:

• Volunteer your way to a new job. Volunteerism equals networking, education and activity. Working deeply with one charity, church, or philanthropic organization is preferable to spreading yourself too thin. Involvement that is substantial, particularly in a leadership capacity, has many similarities to full-time work and can be presented in a similar light on your resume.
• Take classes or get accreditation. If your field has a hierarchical series of professional acronyms, now's the time to do the work without having to squeeze it in between a full day at the office and full weekends at the soccer field. And using this time to get caught up with Microsoft Office 2010, or improving your understanding of finance, marketing, sales, or technology issues related to your industry can only make you look like a go-getter.
• Choose contract work wisely. If your goal is full-time employment, try to get contract opportunities that show off your best skills and that support your personal brand. This will give you relevant and up-to-date accomplishments to discuss during your interviews.

Bottom line: Don't let grass grow under your feet. If you're a self-starter who turns adversity into opportunity, all will be forgiven!

Have a great week, I'll be rooting for you...

Warmest regards,

Marc Cenedella, Founder & CEO, TheLadders.com

Follow me on Twitter here.

Author's note:

I've been writing these newsletters weekly for almost a decade in order to provide you with the advice, encouragement, and assistance you need in your professional job hunt. I'll take what we've learned at TheLadders during the week, or experiences I've had with job-seekers all over the country, and try to find a usable lesson, a valuable insight, or a helpful tip to share with you on Monday morning (my writing deadline is 3 p.m. every Sunday afternoon).

I do read every one of your replies to this newsletter. Because of the volume of replies — typically over 1,000 per week — I'm unable to answer you personally, but one of our very qualified staff from our Job Search Support team will get back to you — most of the time within three hours or less.

As I am interested in every reply I get, I'll also occasionally reach out directly by phone or by email to say thanks, or ask a question, or to see how we can solve your problem better. Thanks for reading!