No job? Go out there and get one

We keep hearing that this is a tight job market, with some people out of work for as long as two years.
I agree that things don't look great. But that's as far as I'm going. You can call me a Pollyanna, but I will stand firm on the message I have been giving for the last eight years in this column: There are jobs out there, and you can get one.
Even if you accept this rule, there's a chance you won't like its corollary: If you don't have a job, it's your fault.
Ouch. Keep reading and you may agree with at least part of my thinking.
But, first the caveats: Workers with physical and mental disabilities and illnesses, people with criminal records and people with extraordinary caregiver responsibilities are exempted from the "get-tough" tone of this column.
For a variety of reasons, job search is exponentially more difficult for these people, and they usually need more than personal resolve to get back into the market.
If you do not belong to these groups but you are unemployed, grit your teeth and read on. I'll use my own experiences to explain how I came to this point of view.
My experiences
Before I opened my job search company in 1985, I worked at more than 50 jobs and started and closed two solo businesses. Most of the jobs were part time, and I needed two or three at a time to make an income. Some ended well, but I was also fired from some and laid off from others.
Sometimes, readers who don't know this background write to say that I don't understand how difficult it is to make ends meet or to look for work. They're wrong on that point, but they are right when they say I don't know what it's like to be unemployed.
I have never been unemployed. Through a combination of poor advice and my own ignorance, I didn't know about unemployment payments when I was struggling to make ends meet. Without that option, I was forced to find a new job immediately each time I lost a job. This was during the early 1980s, when, I have since learned, the national unemployment rate hit 10 percent.
How did I do it? By not being choosy. By streamlining my expenses so I could afford to not be choosy. By partnering with others to share housing and food costs and by buying used clothes and cars. I couldn't get a credit card, though I tried many times. Today I'm glad about that, as I would probably still be paying for pizzas I ate two decades ago.
I had two huge advantages that you may not have: I had no dependents. And I had good health. With these assets, I could work on the third shift, I could do physical labor and I could bike between jobs when my car was down.
Get focused
The point isn't that I was tougher than people who are currently out of work. Rather, I was more focused. It didn't occur to me that there was any alternative but to keep pushing ahead, so my energy wasn't divided.
That might be counted as a third advantage.
So, what are your advantages? Perhaps you have patience and a good voice -- there's a telemarketing job waiting for you. Maybe you have a good throwing arm and a reliable car -- how about a paper route? If you're meticulous and physically fit, you can clean houses.
Am I kidding? Absolutely not. These jobs may not be your ideal, but they are almost always available, in cities all over the country. You don't have to take one of them, but remember: If you do not belong to one of the groups mentioned earlier, and you are unemployed, it's by choice.
And guess what? There's nothing wrong with that choice -- if you can afford it.
But if you can't afford it, you have to get a job. Start by getting what you can, as soon as you can. If it doesn't pay enough, cut back expenses or pick up something else.
If you absolutely can't get a job, stop trying and earn money some other way. Mow lawns, take neighbors on errands, make crafts. Just don't give up. The only wrong answer is to ignore the problem. It will not go away, and neither will your bills.
If you've gotten this far, thank you. It's not easy to be taken to task when you're already struggling. Next week I'll go over some strategies to help you move forward from here.
XAmy Lindgren, the owner of a career-consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn., can be reached at alindgren@pioneerpress.com.