Looking at the new unemployment figures I am shocked by the high numbers. There has been a reduction according to government statistics but we all know that statistics can be manipulated to say almost anything. Things have been tight with businesses closing down, banks rejecting applications for loans and overdraft facilities, budgets becoming more difficult to manage due to price increases particularly gas and electricity and now more local authority unemployment and service cuts. Life is tough for everyone.



But it is worse for some than others depending on your personal circumstances and where you live. It also depends on your attitude and resilience.



So here's the nub. For twelve months now I have been running courses for unemployed people on an ad hoc basis. And during that time I have seen a range of attitudes and effort towards getting a job. In general there are certain steps that you can take that will shorten the odds in getting a job. And that's what I lay out in my forthcoming e-book that you'll be able to download shortly. That together with this blog and the opportunity you have to participate by asking questions and telling us about your experiences by commenting on any posts that I write.



In addition I have just started a new business in the last couple of months: a sandwich bar and café. A small café with seating for only 9 people but one that is now getting busier each week and will soon be breaking even. And I have worked for myself for over 30 years apart from a couple of very short periods so I have been in the deep end.



I strongly believe that there is work out there for you. It's just a question of finding the opportunities and exploiting them. Things have changed in our world. Technology changes daily and it would be hard for someone who had been asleep or cut off from the world for even 15 years to begin living in our society, they wouldn't recognise some of the ways we live. But for all that we, as humans, haven't really changed. We still bleed when we cut ourselves. We still feel anger, happiness, frustration and sadness. And that is how we can shorten the odds in getting a job.



So I'm calling this the 42 Day Challenge and challenging you to take this up through my book. Stay with me and follow theses posts over the next few weeks whilst I finish my e-book and publish it on-line. That will be the beginning of the 42 Day Challenge.