According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average
length of unemployment is about 18 weeks. But this
statistic accounts for all industries, sectors, and
professional levels. While you may be one of the lucky few,
other statistics indicate that the average job search for a
professional or mid-manager can take six months (25-26
weeks) or more. Of course, if you are changing careers,
your job search may be even longer. And if you are
currently employed, your search will often take longer
simply because you have less time to devote to it.
Clearly, for most professionals, the days of just going
through the Sunday paper and sending out a few resumes is
over. Today, conducting a multi-pronged search is critical.
While the individual techniques and tactics of job
searching are relatively simple, there are multiple steps
you have to take, often simultaneously, and you will be
dealing with massive amounts of information. Unless you
find a way to keep this information organized in an easily
maintained and managed system, you can quickly become
overwhelmed, bogged down, and confused. If you let yourself
get caught up in the details, you can easily lose sight of
the big picture and lose momentum. An organized plan and
system will help keep you motivated, moving forward, and
focused on achieving the ultimate goal.
In this excerpt from "Secrets of a Successful Job Search: 7
Simple Steps to Land the Job You Want in Half the Time," I
will describe a simple, easy-to-maintain system that you
can begin using today to immediately improve the efficiency
and productivity of your job search.
The 4 Major Job Search Phases
In the overall job search process, there are essentially
four key phases:
1) Option evaluation, goal setting & campaign planning
2) Job search & follow-up campaign
3) Job offers & negotiations
4) Accept and begin new job
At the start of your search, it is essential to create a
system to schedule, track, and log all of your activities
for the first three phases. At the very least, you need a
calendaring system, a system of logging inter-related and
follow-up activities, a contact management system, and a
filing system. Create the Ultimate Job Search Filing System
The foundation of your organizational system will be your
filing system. It is possible to do this on your computer,
to use a traditional filing method, or to use a large
three-ring binder. Because it allows you to physically pick
it up and carry it with you anywhere, I actually prefer the
three-ring binder method, so that is what I will describe
in this article. But if you prefer one of the other
methods, just adapt these suggestions accordingly. Before
you go any further, I suggest going out and buying a large
three-ring binder right now. A large-capacity one like a 4
or 5 inch will be easiest. You will also need some tab
sheets to label the sections. Some hole-punched pocket
sheets that allow you to store loose sheets of paper and
computer disks would also be really helpful. Now you will
want to use the tabs to create 9 categories:
1) Career Vision & Job Target
Begin your filing system by including a very clear written
statement of your current job target in a divided section
named "Career Vision & Job Target." You should also include
a written copy of your Personal Branding Statement. In this
same binder, you can keep copies of any assessments you may
have completed recently or in the past, to help you in
setting your career goals. This is also the place where
you will want to keep references, printouts, or copies of
any industry or profession-related articles or research
related to your job target.
2) Career Marketing Documents
In this section, store clean master copies of your resume,
biography, all job search letters and correspondence, a
list of references, a salary history, and any other
documents that you might use in your search. This is also a
good place to keep letters of reference written for you by
others, copies of awards, educational transcripts, training
certificates, and any other documents supporting and
proving your qualifications.
3) Company & Industry Research
This section is a great place keep printouts or copies of
any articles or other research that you have collected on
companies that interest you and that you have targeted or
plan to target during your search. This is also a good
place to store research on industry trends and competitive
data of relevance to these companies.
4) Job Advertisements
While you should keep more detailed activity logs
elsewhere, in the Job Advertisements section of your filing
binder, you should keep a copy of every ad you have
answered along with some basic notes about the date you
responded and the documents that you sent.
5) Internet Job Searching
The Internet Job Searching section is a perfect place to
keep records of the websites you are using in your job
search, places where you have posted your resume, and any
passwords and user names associated with the sites.
6) Networking & Referrals
Again, you should keep more thorough records and logs
elsewhere, but the Networking and Referrals section is a
good place to keep a hard-copy printout of your networking
address book along with any notes of information you want
to remember in relation to particular individuals.
7) Recruiters & Agencies
In the recruiters and agencies section, you should keep
detailed notes about every headhunter firm or job search
agency you have worked with or contacted.
8) Interview Preparation
The interview preparation section can be used to keep all
of the notes you will accumulate as you prepare for
interviews. This is also a good place to keep notes on
questions you want to ask during interviews and notes about
interviews you have been on.
9) Salary Research
In the Salary Research section, you can keep data and
research you have collected to help you define your own
market value and to prepare for salary negotiations once
you have been offered a job.
In short, this binder gives you the ability to store all of
the documentation related to your job search in one central
place. Keeping accurate, up-to-date records of your job
search activities, logs of contacts you have made, and
step-by-step, calendared plans of the activities you must
complete in order to reach your job search goals will pay
you back for your effort multiple times over through a
faster and more successful job search. By creating a plan
and system for your job search, you will always know where
to focus your attention and what you should be doing next.
But remember, while this step of getting organized and
creating your job search system is a critically important
one, you must remember to NOT get bogged down. It is
important to be organized but it is also critical that you
get started on your search. Don't let not having a perfect
system prevent you from moving forward. At the most, spend
just a couple of days establishing your organizational
system.
----------------------------------------------------
Nationally certified resume writer and career marketing
expert, Michelle Dumas is the director of Distinctive
Career Services LLC. Through Distinctive Documents
http://www.distinctiveweb.com and her Executive VIP
Services http://www.100kcareermarketing.com
Michelle has
empowered thousands of professionals all across the U.S.
and worldwide. Michelle is also the author of Secrets of a
Successful Job Search http://www.job-search-secrets.com
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