January 24, 2010

Rev up downtime: Use organization, planning to make the most of your job search

• 2 Comments |
• E-mail |
• Print
• • Share:
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  

JUPITERIMAGES

Giving yourself deadlines during the job-hunt day can keep you on course.

If there’s one thing that most unemployed job seekers have in abundance, it’s time. And yet many of them misuse it.

This is understandable. In a post-layoff life, when you get up in the morning, it can seem as if a long time is ahead of you. But you may decide to go to the gym, have a leisurely lunch, take a nap, watch TV — and then you’re ready for dinner. Or you may engage in a whirlwind of sending e-mail and Googling, only to realize that little of it got you closer to a job.

“Having no structure is the biggest enemy to being organized and being focused,” says Julie Morgenstern, a productivity consultant and author of “Time Management From the Inside Out.”

Job seekers should create specific work hours and a time map along with mini-deadlines, she says. She recommends treating job hunting like a full-time job.

Looking for a job involves so many steps that it can be overwhelming, says Kimberly Bishop, chief executive of a career management and leadership services firm in New York. Because it is not something people tend to do on a regular basis, few people are truly skilled at it, she says, but “being prepared and having a plan and a process brings confidence.”

To begin, Bishop says, set aside a physical space for job hunting and devote up to a week on laying the groundwork for your search. People often jump into job hunting even before they have their résumés updated or know what kind of jobs they should seek.

Prepare résumés, write sample cover letters, assemble references and put together work samples, she says. Compile an inventory of your skills, accomplishments and honors -- Bishop calls this a “success folder” -- ready to be shown or recounted during interviews.

“It’s so easy to become overwhelmed with just the management and organization of the paperwork,” Bishop says. Create paper or computer files to keep track of where you have applied and interviewed, she says.

After the preparation, it’s time to get started. Morgenstern suggests dividing the day into three compartments: research, meetings and follow-up.

Morgenstern offers this sample day of activities: From 9 to 11 a.m., do research on companies that you will be applying to or interviewing with. Research unconventional industries that might fit with your skills. Look up networking organizations.

Try to schedule a meeting every day, or five meetings a week, Morgenstern says. “These benchmarks keep you from becoming complacent or depressed” and keep you connected with the outside world, she says. Between 11 and 2, you might meet with a friend, former colleagues or a career counselor for lunch or coffee.

Later in the day, she says, send a thank-you e-mail to that person. End every day by planning the next one, plus the two days after that, she says. This three-day arc enables you to pace yourself.

"People are energized by getting things done," Morgenstern says. “Energy then begets more energy and more productivity.” And that begets confidence -- which will increase your chances of being hired.

• 2 Comments |
• E-mail |
• Print
• • Share:
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  

Read more
Resumes and Job Hunt, featured

2 Comments

Lisa Wesson on January 25, 2010 2:04 PM | Reply

This is in response to your article in the Sunday Times, dated January 17, 2010, titled “Able to Work”. I state clearly in my cover letter that I am a mature plus size worker. I had to do this. I would get calls for an interview and when I got there I could see it in their faces; fat, old, what will our clients think, and will our insurance cost go up? There is this misconception out there by employers that clients/customers do not want to deal with an over-weight person. I have not found that true in my 35 plus years of customer service. I think people want outstanding, caring, knowledgeable service; and they don’t care who gives it to them. Just so long as the customer service person does their job well and exceeds their needs. The insurance issue is complicated, but to blame those problems on fat people is just plain ignorance. Have you ever noticed prejudice only raises its ugly head when that person stands out in a crowd; makes it easier to discriminate, when you can find the object of discrimination without thought? My way might not be the best because I continue to be unemployed, on the other hand I don’t have to look at their disgust either; being unemployed is hard enough without that look.

John Mitchell on February 1, 2010 6:44 PM | Reply

Time was a factor for me until i found some great sites online that do most of the job hunt work for me - U Jobs http://www.ubiqueapps.com/ujobs kind of reverses the job hunt so you submit your skills to them and they send it out to employers for you

Leave a comment

* required field

Your name: *

E-mail address: (Will not be displayed)

Your comment: *

Captcha:

Type the characters you see in the picture above.