On December 11, 2013, Time announced its Person of the Year, Pope Francis. I suspect because of his stance on the poor, women, divorce, and marriage. Or maybe because he chooses to live in a spare hostel surrounded by priest, rather than in the papal palace.

Last year I declared my Person of the Year; and because I believe in tradition, I will again announce my Person of the Year. This may come as no surprise to many of you; I am going with the same “person.”

The Jobseeker.

Although the Jobseeker is not the Pope–who prays all the time, even while at the dentist–he or she demonstrated dignity and professionalism, networked and paid it forward, wrote compelling marketing material resulting in interviews, and finally (after more than a year, in some cases), landed a job. Or maybe not.

There were many Jobseekers who demonstrated true heroism throughout the entire year, simply by the way they handled themselves. They:

• Woke up every morning to put in a full day of hunting for work, leaving no stones upturned and considering every possibility.
• Maintained that screw-the-economy-I-will-get-a-job attitude.
• Knew that every day was a day when they might have run into a person who could hire them, or someone who knew a person who could hire them.
• Took a break every once and awhile to recharge their batteries, but not too long of a break. A day or two at the most. They even networked during the holidays.
• Followed their career plan of revising their résumé, creating a list of companies they research and contacted, building a LinkedIn profile that meets today’s standards, and other best practices.
• Attended workshops and took advantage of job-search pundits’ advice, learning that things have changed in the past ten years, but, nonetheless, trudge on.
• Accepted and embraced the Hidden Job Market, making penetrating it a priority in their job-search plan.
• Attended interview after interview until they hit a home run with an employer smart enough to hire them. The Jobseeker will never give up, despite the challenges they encounter.
• Never forgot the important things in life, like family and friends, and taking care of their health. They didn’t let the job search consume them.
• Faced despondency or depression with courage and perseverance.

These are just a few of the reasons why The Jobseeker  is my Person of the Year. If you think of other reasons, let me know by commenting on this article. I think I should send my reasons to Time and demand a recount.

Related articles

• Pope Francis Is Time’s Person of the Year (abcnews.go.com)
• Why TIME Was Right to Name Pope Francis ‘Person of the Year’ (mediabistro.com)
• Pope Francis is TIME Person of the Year (boston.com)