Your Job Search: Looking For A Job Is Just That...A "Job"

It occurred to me this afternoon, when I received an email from a student I met last week following my talk to the Northeastern University PRSSA chapter, that one major part of the job search conversation doesn't get enough emphasis..."Looking for a job is hard work."

I've talked in previous posts about the importance of follow-up when you send out your resume. But it's more than that.

Your job search requires discipline, time management, organizational skills, people skills...it's a job!

I quit counting a long time ago the number of times I've heard someone say, "I didn't have time to send out any resumes this week; I was so busy!"

I'm not saying you don't have other things on your plate. Guess what?!? We all do. But, if you want to be taken seriously, and if you want to stay at least a couple of steps ahead of the competition, you'll find time by rearranging your daily schedule and setting aside a dedicated block of time for your search.

Lay out your week's schedule on a calendar. My Communication students at Curry College have discovered that I don't go anywhere without my PDA. Want to meet? Wait a sec. Let me check my calendar for an available time.

And the time is there because I plan weeks/months in advance as much as possible so that I know where there is free time for other activities...like my job search.

Maybe you can't carve out huge blocks of time, but I'll bet you can find a half-hour slot each day that you could devote to your search activities. Even with that minimal amount of time, you've now set aside two-and-a-half hours each week for nothing but your search!

There...you've taken care of the first three items on my list up in paragraph three. The last one, "people skills," comes into play when your roommate sticks his or her head in the door and says, "Hey, let's go out on the quad and hang out for a while."

"Sorry, I'm at work right now. Maybe in a half hour when I'm finished?"