Kate Lorenz, Editor at Career Builders shares Top 10 Reason Why You’re Not Finding a Job. I first saw the list on Guerrilla Job Hunting Blog.

In summary, the top 10 are: 1. You’re not making finding a job a job itself! Many people don’t adopt a committed, passionate, failure-is-not-an-option attitude.

2. You haven’t developed a system of finding a job. The system should entail everything from goals and intentions that dictate planned activity to role-playing of interviews.

3. You have an unrealistic idea about the market for your skills. There is a tendency for people to over-inflate the ease of their ability to find a job.

4. You aren’t acknowledging the psychological and emotional stress that changing jobs entails. They confuse activity with productivity and focus on minor things that appear to be job-finding activities, but aren’t the most fruitful activities.

5. You ignore small businesses. You’ve forgotten or don’t realize that 97 percent of the businesses in the United States employ fewer than 100 people.

6. You don’t recognize that face-to-face interviews are the only things that matter. Pulling out all the stops by doing anything you can to get in front of a hiring authority with pain (the need to hire someone) is key.

7. You don’t prepare well for interviews. Most people are either not confident in themselves or act arrogant in the interviewing process simply because they are not as prepared as they should be.

8. You’re not selling yourself. The vast majority of people going into an interviewing situation simply don’t sell themselves very well..

9. You have the attitude, “What can you do for me?” Most people don’t realize that there is nothing to consider until you have an offer.

10. You give poor reasons for leaving your job. Whether it’s why you left your last employer or why you want a new job, most people present the reason from a selfish point of view.

Excellent list. My favorites are 2 and 9. When it comes to securing a new position, too many people shoot from the hip – and miss. An effective “system” will include Guerrilla networking; Careful analysis of job descriptions (preferably through the core competency schema); Customized resumes which address desired knowledge, skills, abilities, and job behaviors; Developing effective career stories (something I call �Memory Triggers”) which capture relevant career experience, Preparing for the interview (company research, etc.); Competency-based follow-up notes; and Salary negotiations.

When you develop a comprehensive strategy, then item 9, “What can you do for me?” begins to take care of itself. By thorough preparation, you begin to see the position from a new perspective, more closely replicating that of the hiring manager. When this happens, then suddenly you are “talking the same language.” It is much easier to build rapport when you are on talking the same language. Building rapport is critical your interviewing success. The hiring manager is going to hire a) someone that is qualified and b) someone they like.

Don’t think of the interview as the hour you are in the hot seat, but the 20 or 40 or 100 hours you spend to getting to the chair. This is the investment that will reap rewards.