Feeling down in the dumps about your job search?

You might be, if you believe most of the "bad" economic news you read about or see on TV. And I think that mainstream economists are largely to blame.

You see, I have this theory: economists are like weathermen.

Nobody pays attention to the weatherman (or lady) when skies are sunny and the forecast is fair. We're more interested in the sports scores or who's suing Michael Jackson this week.

But when tornadoes, hurricanes (and recessions, inflation and layoffs) appear on the radar, THEN people pay attention to weathermen (and economists). They lead the newscast. All eyes are on them and their dire predictions of doom, gloom and disaster.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have nothing personal against weathermen, economists or the mainstream media.

BUT ...

... it's important to remember that bad news is more interesting than good news. (Here's proof: if there's a spectacular fire in your city tonight, it will likely be the lead story on your TV news. It's not relevant to 99.99% of viewers. But flames and fire trucks are interesting to 100% of viewers.)

So ... what the heck does this have to do with your job search?

Economic storms get more media coverage than economic bright spots, because they're reflexively considered more interesting, like burning houses. But the gloom is not relevant to you, 99% of the time. It's only going to dampen your spirits as you look for work.

Here are three examples from recent headlines to illustrate ...

Did you know that jobless claims plummeted in the first week of April 2005? That wasn't the lead story on any TV newscast, was it? That's because it's *good* economic news.

The full story, from Money Magazine/CNN.com, is totally buried, 3 clicks into the site, here -
http://money.cnn.com/2005/04/21/news/economy/jobless_claims/index.htm

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Did you know that the job market has brightened for managers and executives?

According to the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, hiring for unemployed managers and executives in the first quarter of 2005 was its best in four years.

Job-seeking managers and executives got hired faster. The time it took to win new positions dropped 5 percent, to 3.16 months -- the lowest level since 2001.

The report also showed that the percentage of managers and executives getting paid equivalent or higher salaries rose 5.8 points, from 85.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2004, to 91.6 percent in the first quarter of 2005 -- the highest percentage since 2000.

Here's the full story -
http://money.cnn.com/2005/04/18/news/economy/challenger_executives/index.htm

Sounds like good news to me. Which is why you probably didn't hear about it.

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Finally, did you know that US economic growth was solid, at a 3%-3.5% annual pace, in the first half of 2005? You didn't? That's because this story, from Money Magazine/CNN.com, is buried, 3 clicks into the site here -http://money.cnn.com/2005/04/25/news/economy/nabe.reut/index.htm

Now. Know this.

I am not an economic conspiracy theorist. I don't believe the media are trying to brainwash us. And my political leanings -- left or right -- are irrelevant.

What is relevant is that I DO believe bad economic news is more interesting than good economic news. So you'll always hear and see more of it. But you must not let it drag you down as you search for your employment.

How? Here's an idea.

Take action. Get out of the house and do other things. Like meeting an old co-worker for lunch to discuss the employment needs of companies in your industry, for example.

You can't control the news. But you can control your attitude. And your attitude is everything in your job search. So keep yours excellent -- sunny, even -- no matter what the economic "weathermen" may say.