I was driving to the YOU NEED A JOB presentation I’m doing with Stephanie A. Lloyd, and I saw a man on the side of the road holding a very large sign. It read, “PUBLIC SALE.”

My first thought was, “Hmmm…wonder what that means.” Then, all I could think about was that it was so sad for this man to be out in the heat, holding up a sign that did not offer any clue whatsoever as to the nature of the sale or what was being sold. I don’t know many people who would pull off the road to investigate an ambiguous sale. What a waste of time and effort!

Since I look for job search lessons and inspiration in everything, it occurs to me that many job seekers are actually doing the equivalent of holding up a “PUBLIC SALE” sign.

Think about it – is your resume clearly targeted to appeal to the employers you want to address? Or, is your resume all about you, without a thought given to what will interest the employer? Are you using lingo and jargon that your targeted employer won’t understand? Including details that are irrelevant to the job of interest?

When you meet someone, can you clearly state what you have to offer and, if appropriate, what you want to do? Or, are you going around saying that you can “do anything” are “open to anything,” “flexible,” “can learn whatever it is.”

You get the point – if you are not specific and clear, you are the job seeking equivalent of the man holding up the “PUBLIC SALE” sign. You are wasting your time and unlikely to move forward with your search.

Take a good, long look at your materials. Think about what you say when you meet people. Spend some time evaluating what you are doing. Is it clear what you offer? If not, it’s time to make a change.

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