Today I read that jobless claims were up, no down, no up.

Huh?

It would be silly if it wasn’t so pathetic. The popular media (a description given to journalists and their publications who tend to be unpopular) seem to think that the crafting an isolated statistic into a juicy headline will case us to feel better. And, lest we forget, a subtle tick-up in the stock market on any given day is cause for celebration and declaration that “the worst is over.

The moral: do not be deceived by headlines. We are in for a long haul.

That same attitude that should be taken when it comes to a job search. The long haul is not meant to be a discouraging description of the search for your next position, it’s about taking a long view of your career.

The current economic malaise / disaster / recession (pick one) will teach the wise one thing: from this day forward we can and must take a different attitude about our career. Today’s job, be it 5 months of happiness or 5 years of drudgery, is one part of a much larger career portrait that will be painted over time.

Today is but one day. Whether you are searching for a job, happy in a position or dying to get out of the 4th ring of Dante’s Inferno, make the most of today. Take time to reflect on what will be the longer story. While it’s composed a day at a time, you will find that all-too-quickly days become weeks and weeks become years…

If life was just a spontaneous daily headline, we’d all have the same one:

“Fine, and you?”

“Even when your hope is gone,
Move along, move along just to make it through”
Move Along – All American Rejects

• May-05-2009
• Job Search