Hope your week has gone well. I'm just living for the weekend...and it will actually be sunny and warm here. About time.

How's your job search going?

If you're still struggling...or at the end of your rope...here are a few ideas and thoughts to perk you up, plus...don't forget to read my short article in the next section:

• In last month's newsletter, I told you I was tracking job postings by employers in 5 Midwest cities. If you recall, I was excited to report that every week job postings were steadily increasing. I haven't seen a positive trend like this in 18 months.

  I'm pleased to report the upward trend is continuing. Go out to my Job Interview Blog to see the actual numbers.

  Why should you care...especially if your job search is still in the pits?

  Because if there is no job growth, it's tougher to find a job. It's like paddling up stream against the current. So, we are slowly paddling out of the rip tide and may soon be able to give our arms a little rest.

  It may not feel like it yet, but the job climate is definitely improving...regardless of what Dr Doom and Gloom say on the boob tube every night.

  Cheesh...they're annoying.

• Are you following my Job Interview Blog? I'm now posting to my blog every day. I'm on the front lines of the job search war and want to share with you the latest intelligence.

  My blogs are only 1 or 2 paragraphs, so they get right to the point. All you need is one good idea to literally change your world over night.

  You can bookmark my blog page and go out to this page every day, or it's a lot easier if you link to my blog via RSS. RSS is kind of new, but it's totally safe and convenient. And, there is no cost.

  There are instructions on how to set up an RSS feed on my blogpage. Click on the (?) on the orange RSS icon box in the left vertical nav column.

• For the past month, I have been developing an enlightening online course for job seekers who have been unemployed for a long time and are getting desperate.

  The idea of my course is to literally take someone by the hand and guide them step by step through a 21 day systematic approach of finding a job.

  I'll keep you updated through my blog and newsletter as to when the course will be available.

Happy Hunting!

Mike Petras

Don't Totally Rule Out Relocation

• kids in high school
• home values are too low
• watching over an elderly parent
• kids love their sports or other activities
• enjoy the weather, culture, or lifestyle of the area
• extended family lives in the area
• have never relocated before
• lots of friends and ties to a community
• enjoy their church stewarship

These are all very legitimate reasons not to move.

However, when you've been unemployed for months on end with no job prospects on the horizon, you need to step back and ask yourself:

How long can I go without a job before I hit the wall?

You may be in love with your location...but if you can't find work after months of trying, you need to consider every option under the sun to shake something loose...including moving.

Even if you are adamant about not moving...please keep reading.

If you're a person of faith, I'm sure you've spent many days and nights praying in earnest for God to help you find a job. Perhaps your faith has even been shaken to the core because it doesn't seem like God is hearing your prayers.

Have you considered that maybe God has a calling for you elsewhere?

Maybe He is leading you to a special place you would never, ever consider moving to. And...the only way to get your attention is to say, no, to your prayer to find a local job.

So, perhaps your pain right now...is actually an answer to your prayers...but you're not listening.

Try this.

Set a drop-dead-date in your quest to find a local job. Make this commitment to yourself:

Over the next 60 days, I'm going to pull out all the stops and do everything in my power to find a local job.

I'm going to pray for God's help.

On the 60th day, if nothing promising is happening, I'm going to expand my search to within a 200 mile radius of home to see where my faith takes me.

If that doesn't yield any results in 30 days, expand the radius of your search to 500 miles.

If still no results, look for a job from sea to shining sea.

Pearl of Wisdom: In each and every job interview, you have the power to say yes or no to a job offer. But, if you don't get an offer, you have no options. Trust your instincts and feelings. What have you got to lose by interviewing with a company 500 miles from your home? It's possible, and even likely, that you will receive a powerful witness of what you're suppose to do.

Hope this lifts your spirits a bit on your job search journey.

Mike Petras, job-interview-wisdom.com

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