Are you ready for this? Long job searches laced with failures can make you more marketable. Yep, you read that right. You can actually be a greater benefit to a company because you were not able to obtain employment immediately after you lost your job. The key is recognizing why this is the case and effectively selling the concept to hiring managers.

To make the case, you must focus on all you’ve gained from the experience.

• What companies/contacts/groups do you now have relationships with as a result of your search that you wouldn’t have otherwise? How could they benefit a potential employer?
• What skills did you have the time to add to your inventory to make you more marketable? How did the process of learning those skills sharpen your ability to learn new things in your next job faster? Are you more prepared to add innovation? How can the companies needing what you did in your last job gain even more from you knowing what they may need to migrate to next?
• How is your ability to keep going after rejection, with your mind focused on the goal, an asset to an employer? What about all you learned in the arena of overcoming obstacles, brainstorming new solutions and reinventing yourself for the sake of staying relevant?

As crazy as it sounds, most job seekers I’ve had the privilege to know along the way have GROWN from their job searches. They’ve discovered strengths and abilities they didn’t know they had. They reached beyond their comfort zone. That growth is a big deal and has value. Don’t be shy about pointing that out.

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