Are you currently looking for a job? How are you going about it? Are you spending an hour a day looking? Where are you looking? Do you have a plan?
You need to treat your job hunt as a job. Get up in the morning as if you were going to work. Have an agenda for the day – the same as you would if you were actually at a job. I know it sounds crazy but, from what I read on the Internet, most job seekers are treating this time as a vacation rather than seriously searching for a job. Then, as the unemployment is running out – after 26 weeks or 52 weeks or even longer, they are crying because they don’t have a job. What did they do during that time? Were they really searching for a new position? I am not saying that you didn’t try but did you honestly treat the job hunt as a job?
Have a plan for your job search:
- Do research on different job posting sites and decide which ones fit your needs. Most people settle on one or two jobsites and do not search any further. If the company doesn’t use those particular jobsites, you won’t see their job postings.
- Look up local companies and check out their websites. Many companies only post jobs on their websites. If you don’t check out their site, you won’t know about the job.
- Check out your local unemployment site or state site. Many of them will post jobs.
- Check out social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
- Check out your local newspaper – especially on Sundays when all of the jobs are posted.
Create a schedule for your job search. Decide what you need to accomplish each day and then check off each item as you complete it.
Keep your focus. It’s very easy to be distracted when you are at home. Let your family know that you are working and should not be disturbed if at all possible.
This is a great time to update your resume.
Keep a log of all of the positions you have applied for. A good way to do this is to print out the job posting and then just keep your notes right on that same paper – everything together.
Make sure to set aside one day each week to do follow ups on the jobs you applied for the previous week. Many employers will wait to see how interested you are and, if you follow up, this small step could put you ahead of the competition.
Take your job search seriously. There is no guarantee that the government will continue to add Tiers levels to unemployment. Notice how each time they add a tier it is for less time? Now is the time to get busy and find that new career. If you treat your job search like a job, you will be successful.
By: Nancy Anderson, Staff Writer
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