Some Guidelines to Plan Your Job Search
Amy Lindgren -- St. Paul Pioneer Press
The new year has officially started. If you're unemployed, you may have lost some job search momentum during the holidays. On the other hand, you may feel well rested and ready to commit your full energy to the problem of finding work.
Whatever your situation, these steps will help you jump-start your job search.
MAKE A TIMELINE FOR RE-EMPLOYMENT. You may not be able to control the actual date an offer will come to you, but without a goal you have no guideline for daily decisions.
Mark your goal date for re-employment on a calendar and then work backward to determine dates for assessment and redirection. In a typical six-month job search, I recommend stopping at the three-month mark to assess progress and consider setting a new direction. By the fourth month, you should be considering a Plan B, and by the fifth month you should start implementing that plan.
SET YOUR PACE FOR JOB SEARCH. Once you know your re-employment date, you can create the pace. In general, count on contacting about 100 people to get 10 in-person meetings or interviews. Then you'll need all 10 of those meetings to get an offer. In other words, whether your contacts are networking or cold calls or drop-in visits with your resume, it will take 100 of them to get an offer.
SET YOUR DAILY SCHEDULE. A good schedule might be three hours of contacts before noon, with research or support group meetings set for the afternoons. End your day at a reasonable time, to renew your energy for the next day.
VERIFY YOUR JOB TARGET. Now that you have a schedule established, it's time to review the basics. You need to know what job titles you are seeking, which companies you want to work at and the salary range you will accept. Without this information, you cannot network or cold-call effectively.
REVIEW YOUR RESUME. Ask someone in your field to critique your resume; then implement the suggestions you agree with and move forward with confidence.
GET STARTED. Don't wait. With a schedule, a target and a resume, you are ready to search. Even one call a day will make a difference.
And remember, a job search is basically a numbers game. The sooner you make the first call, the sooner you'll be done with 100 and negotiating a job offer.
Source: Copyright 1996-2003 Knight Ridder. All Rights Reserved
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