Summary: Dr. Randall Hansen recommends five strategies for job-seekers struggling to find employment in weak job market, help overcome Job Market Blues.

(QUINTESSENTIAL CAREERS: DeLand, FL) – More and more Americans are being affected by a malady that Dr. Randall Hansen calls the "Job Market Blues." Hansen, who also is known as the Career Doctor, states that "job-seekers can employ five strategies for staying upbeat and fighting the blues in a weak job market."

Hansen, a nationally recognized career and job-search expert and founder of Quintessential Careers (QuintCareers.com), one of the oldest and most comprehensive career development sites on the web, notes that job-seekers, especially those who are currently unemployed, can increasing feel high levels of anxiety, fear, and depression, when faced with limited job prospects and daily accounts of a struggling economy.

"Just about every day we hear about another company laying off workers or some economist predicting more months of job losses and higher unemployment," Hansen states. "And it's not just bad job market news, but we also hear about higher inflation fears, the ongoing mortgage crisis, and faltering financial companies."

Hansen's five suggestions include:

1. Keeping a positive focus. "While it can be extremely difficult to do, job-seekers must show confidence and a positive attitude when job-hunting," Hansen states.
2. Surrounding yourself with support. "Too many job-seekers keep the pressure bottled up inside, adding further stress. Instead, job-seekers should seek the support of family and friends -- some of which may even be able to offer job leads," Hansen states.
3. Not believing everything you hear or read. "With all the bad economic news that abounds, it's easy to get caught up in the negativity," Hansen states, suggesting that job-seekers focus on positive aspects, such as programs that offer free job advice and retraining.
4. Having a long-term focus, but short-term goals. "Job-seekers who have the most success in finding a new job are those who set daily job-search goals, such as tracking down job leads, applying for jobs, making new network contacts, or going on job interviews.
5. Remembering that everything counts. "The job-seeker who gets hired is not always the most qualified but the one who did the best job-hunting effort," Hansen states, adding that job-seekers should be sure they have perfected all aspects of job-hunting, including finding job leads, developing strong resumes and cover letters, and polishing interviewing skills.

A complete transcript of Hansen's advice can be found here: Job-Hunting in a Weak Job Market: 5 Strategies for Staying Upbeat (and Improving Your Chances of Success).

Quintessential Careers includes more than 350 articles and tutorials on all aspects of job-hunting, from career exploration to job offer negotiation and boasts more 3,500 pages of free content. The site also reviews and links to more than 1,400 job boards and company career centers, including job sites in all industries and located in the U.S. and around the world. Visitors will also find career information on writing cover letters and resumes, mastering job interviews, and negotiating salaries. The QuintZine newsletter keeps subscribers current on college, career, and job-hunting trends while listing all the latest additions to the site.

Quintessential Careers is the main site in a network of empowering sites (EmpoweringSites.com), including: CareerDoctor.org, Quintessential Careers Press, MyCareerBlast.com, and Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, among others. Quintessential Careers has earned more than 100 awards and honors, been recognized in numerous career books and magazines, and welcomed the praises of career counselors, job-seekers, and employers from throughout the U.S. and around the world.

Editorial Note: More background about Quintessential Careers can be found at http://www.quintcareers.com/home.html.

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