At Jobcase.com, we pride ourselves in being the social media platform for every aspect of your working life. The members of our community represent a rich diversity of work and life experiences that we all can learn from. Read on to hear the perspective of our featured Jobcaser – Doug Carroll. (https://www.jobcase.com/p/doug.carroll2)

Doug is a sales professional in Danville, NH. He spoke to us about how Jobcase boosted his morale during his job search and why he contributes to our community to help others who are in a similar situation.

How did you find out about Jobcase? Doug: Actually I just went online and Googled some job search engines and you came up! It’s pretty cool to know that other people are going through the same thing you are and the same challenges as you are. Because when you are unemployed, you’re alone a lot of the time looking for work and you’re disconnected from everything. You tend to think, “why is this happening to me”, when it really isn’t - it’s happening to a lot of people unfortunately.

What keeps you coming back? Doug: Going online and being able to communicate to other job seekers - it’s kinda like an online family... even though we barely know each other, you know there are other people out there doing the same thing you are. It keeps you from thinking you did something wrong on these interviews. When other people say they are going through the same thing, it just shows it’s the way of the market now , which is unfortunate.

What’s your job background, you’ve given some great advice on our community! Doug: I've been in retail sales just about my whole life, so I have a knack for starting conversations, and becoming very personable with people. In the sales field you want to find out what their needs and wants are, and then come up with a solution that satisfies them. I’ve been very successful, it’s just unfortunate that in this day and age, with buyouts and acquisitions, that they do layoffs on their field service forces, which I have a part of.

Now, I’m joining a great company that is rapidly growing, and the future looks good for me!

What is the best advice that you have been given? Doug: Never let yourself go down into that dark hole of “no one wants me”. There are always opportunities out there and the more people you know the more you’ll get.

There is plenty of people out there that can help you, but you need to keep an open mind. Don’t be so depressed and down - nobody likes somebody who is always down and negative. Especially when you go on interviews - be positive. I went on a lot of interviews, and when I walked out of some of those interviews I realized, “I don’t know if I really want this job”. When this position came up, and I went on the interview, I was psyched for it. This is probably the first job that I really really wanted - out of all the interviews I went on. Maybe it was the attitude that I went in with that got it for me, because deep down inside I really wanted it. But I didn’t show desperation, I just showed that this would be a perfect fit for me, and I did get it.

When the right one comes along, you’ll know it, and [the employer] will know it. You may have to go through 20, 30, 40 interviews to get to that point, because remember they’re looking for you too.

What’s one takeaway that you get from the community, that you hope everyone is able to see? Doug: There is support out there, just remember that. But reach out. No one knows that you need help until you make the first move. It’s a greeting to say hello to someone, and there is a lot of support out there. There are a lot of people who are going through the same thing that I was going through out there. All you have to do is ask.

Nowadays, the job search has become so impersonal because everything is online, some places you can’t even make phone calls! Over time, it can get depressing, but the thing is, you just have to keep your head up. That negativity carries over and makes other things negative. If you are positive, positive things will happen.

Want to connect with Doug Carroll? Follow him on Jobcase!

Interested in being featured on Jobcase.com? Case mail us to schedule a time to speak about your experience with Jobcase!