Steve Jobs on Work.

We all know the big business news last week was the resignation of Steve Jobs as CEO of Apple. He said he stepped down because he no longer felt able to do the job. His leaving Apple reverberated throughout the business world and likely will continue to do so for years since his tenacious creativity will not be there to continue to lead technological innovation. And, although his letter of resignation did not explicitly state illness was the reason for his leaving, we all need to keep Steve Jobs in our thoughts in hopes that he will recover from recent known health problems.

Here at Go Get Your Job!, we were reminded by a recent WSJ online article of Steve Jobs' 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University where he talked about, among other things, loving the work you do. (See a video of the entire speech at Ted.com (http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die.html.) Here's an excerpt from that speech that resonates with us and that we hope will inspire you:

"Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle." (You can also read the transcript at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903596904576520690515394766.html#ixzz1Wc2OMIXA.)

ADP's private-sector employment report came out this morning, and the numbers are not impressive. (Find report at http://www.adpemploymentreport.com/.) The Labor Department will release its montlhly nonfarm jobs figures on Friday. Whatever these statistics, let us learn from Steve Jobs and strive to do what we love. If the major companies don't want to hire and the bailed-out banks don't want to lend, let's become individual and collective visionaries like Jobs, and find or create our own jobs.

We want you to go get YOUR job, not just a job. Heed the words of the former Apple CEO: Don't settle.

Sorry for the rant, but...

It's getting harder these days to accentuate the positive, like we like to do here at Go Get Your Job! Private sector employment increased by 114,000 jobs last month, according to ADP's monthly jobs report. That's down from the month before (which was revised down from 157,000 to 145,000 jobs added). Washington's debt ceiling drama which just ended in a last-minute deal, has the left the U.S. economy wounded, and probably has damaged the nation's global financial reputation for the near future. Sixty-six thousand-plus job cuts were announced by some very large companies (among them, Cisco, Lockheed Martin and HSBC) and government in the month of July, says the consulting firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas. All of this comes ahead of U.S. Labor Department's non-farm payroll numbers to be announced this Friday That initially irksome term, "jobless recovery" is just too real and is now more chilling than annoying. Recession talk is back.

But, CNN Money says 3 million jobs remain unfilled in the United States. How can that be? Well, U.S. companies claim workers don't have the right skills. Is that why the Wall Street Journal reported that business leaders are pressing the U.S. Senate to change immigration laws allowing companies to hire more highly skilled workers? What about training the unemployed and underemployed that are already here to fill those vacant positions?

We, the working people, must insist that the politicians, the financial pundits, the flush corporate CEOs and all those forecasting economists implement a plan to put money into the hands of people who will spend it with businesses who will hire more people who will then have more money to spend and get this economy running again. It doesn't make much sense to implore people to go get a job unless there are real opportunities for individuals to actually gain employment. 14.1 million unemployed Americans is a lot of people--in fact, it's a significant political and economic bloc. What if there were some way to mobilize that people-power towards opening up the job market? Food for thought. 

Today's blog is a rambling rant borne out of frustration this week with trying to find relevant information that will help you go get your job. So, let's try to close with a bit of positive news. If you haven't already done so, check out CareerBuilder's recently released list of hot areas where workers are in demand. Titles like, Cloud Developer, SEO Strategist, Truck Driver and Healthcare Administrator are among the top areas. (See the full news release at PRNewswire.com.) "While the U.S. still has a very competitive job market, there are areas within technology, healthcare and other fields that have a growing deficit in talent," says CareerBuiler's CEO Matt Ferguson.

If you already have the skills, read that article and go get your job. Figure out how the skills you possess qualify you to get one of those jobs. If you need to get your skills first, do that. Then, go get your job.