How Job Hunters Get Around Job Obstacles

If there are obstacles to getting that job, it is important to consider possible approaches. The way these barriers or obstacles are handled will shape progress in getting that job. 

Here are some approaches you can use to get around these barriers.
Find Reliable Resources
You may have identified a number of barriers blocking your employment and you realize the need to address them. Talk to family or friends you trust. For example, you may have child care responsibilities that you need to before an interview. To get around this will mean finding some resources. It might be making an arrangement with someone. Let your contacts know, including your local community service. Perhaps a local consultant from your community may be able to offer some assistance. 
Learn a New Skill
If you want a job that requires driving and you can’t drive, one thing to do is get your driving license. Or, if you need to improve on your computer skills, get some training. There are endless examples. Think about the obstacle and then about the new skills you could acquire to get around your barrier. Those new skills can be useful for finding work generally or they may be relevant to a particular work you want. Find out also how and where you can learn these skills.
Some of these training are in accounting, computer, customer service, sales, consulting, communication, leadership and executive coaching. Some skills to be learned are related to presentation, negotiation, and team building.  
Develop a Good Response
There will be questions that potential employers will ask relating to your obstacles. It is best to be ready for answers and to answer them with confidence. Employers are interested in why someone might leave jobs so quickly so often. They may want to know why you left your last employer or why you have not worked for a long-time. Sometimes there are also questions that potential employers are not meant to ask, such as your family responsibilities or even your age, but the question may still be implied.
You need to develop a good answer the employer is asking, or may ask. Better still, you need to rehearse the answers so that you are ready when you need to use them.       
Adjust Your Outlook
Attitude is important. Potential employers often say that the thing they look for most in employees is the “right attitude.” For example, many businesses depend on people working together well and getting on with their customers. Employers also want staff who are positive about work. If an employer thinks you are negative, abrupt or discourteous, it is unlikely you will be offered a job.
This is going to be an important issue particularly if you are feeling that you are being forced into work because of circumstance beyond your control. If your response is I’m doing this because I have to … you will not feel too good and employers will spot it too.
If you approach your application with a positive outlook you have a better chance at securing the job.    
(This article was originally published in Suite101, March 27, 2008. It is reprinted with modifications.)