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New
Year's Job Hunting: It's About Time
(by
Kevin
Donlin) |
Among New
Year's resolutions, finding a new job is right up there
in popularity with losing weight, reducing debt, and
spending more time with loved ones.
If you've resolved to find a new and better job, you can
do it faster by using your time more effectively. Here
are three suggestions ...
#1: Find Extra Time
If you're not working now, treat your search as a
full-time job, requiring at least 40 hours a week. If
you are working, devote at least 20 hours a week to your
search -- the equivalent of a part-time job.
Here's how to find some of those extra hours you'll
need:
1) Get up one hour earlier each morning (that gives you
5 extra hours per week).
2) Give up all TV, including news, reality shows, etc.
If you can't quit the boob tube completely, limit
yourself to one hour per day (10-15 extra hours per
week).
3) Take 30 minutes of lunch hour to eat and spend the
rest of the time on your search (2-3 extra hours per
week).
4) Work on your search for one hour after dinner (5
extra hours per week).
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Total per week, not counting weekends: 24-28 extra
hours. And if you put in 4-8 hours on Saturday, you can
boost that total to 28-36, to get even more done in your
job search.
Now, before you start griping about your life getting
out of whack with all this extra time devoted to your
job search, remember two things:
1. This regimen is TEMPORARY, until you find a new job.
2. The faster you find a job, the faster you can go back
to watching TV every night and pigging out during lunch
hour (although you may not want to!).
#2: Take Time to Reflect
The new year is a great time to look back on what you've
done and plan to achieve more in the days ahead.
When you analyze your job-search efforts, from
networking with old friends and polishing up your
resume, to answering Internet job postings and
everything in between, ask yourself three questions:
1) What's producing results?
What have you done that has led directly to job leads,
interviews or callbacks from employers? Resolve to do
more of that.
2) What's not producing results?
What has failed to produce job leads? Example: If you've
emailed 101 copies of your resume to postings from
MegaJobSite.com and no employers have called, that
tactic is not working. Resolve to change -- revamp your
resume or apply for different jobs, for example -- or
stop doing it -- like visiting other Web sites.
3) What's next?
After you decide what to do and what not to do, take 10
minutes to plan today, tomorrow and the rest of this
week. You'll save at least 2-3 hours of wasted time this
way. Then, at the end of the week, ask yourself these
same three questions again. Keep correcting course and
soon you'll zero in on the job of your dreams.
#3: Take Time to Improve Your Resume
Your resume is often the first impression you make on
potential employers. And the better your resume is, the
shorter your job search will be.
So it pays to make sure your resume is as powerful and
as targeted as possible.
While there isn't space here to cover the essentials of
resume writing (Google "kevin donlin resumes" to find my
past articles), you can improve your resume in just a
few days by asking your friends for help.
Specifically, try emailing your resume to at least five
friends whose judgment you trust. Ask for their input.
What do they like? Dislike? Is anything missing or
unclear in your resume? Revise and improve your resume
accordingly, based on what they tell you.
Bonus: You are networking with and flattering potential
references at the same time as you're getting free
editorial help from them. Pretty nifty, huh?
Just be darn sure you return the favor and take the five
friends on your "editorial board" out for a celebratory
dinner after you get hired.
Here's hoping these tips will help you use your time
wisely and find a new job in the new year!
Kevin Donlin is creator
of TheSimpleJobSearch.com. Since 1996, he has provided
job-search help to more than 11,000 people. Kevin has
been interviewed by USA Today, The Wall Street Journal,
CBS Radio and others. His free report, The Simple Job
Search Manifesto, is found at www.TheSimpleJobSearch.com. |
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