Ok, so you’re job searching.
There is certainly a defined way of searching without burning out.
On a day when you feel like looking for a job and you’re looking online I suggest this process:
Day 1
- Locate the sites you want to visit – and write them down
- Create an account on those sites – write down your account information
- Find a comfortable place to be and start your search.
At this point you are only job searching. When you find job postings that you favor, save them into the account you created for later. When you get a few, say 5-10 postings on each site, depending on how many hours you’ve been looking at job descriptions, you may decide that’s enough for that day.
Day 2
- Plan your day for morning hours, a lunch break, and take a notepad to your desk area to get started.
- Begin with one account where you know you saved job descriptions that appealed to you the most.
- Go back and begin to read them.
Here you may find that some of the ones you saved yesterday may not be as exciting today. You can delete those.
Let’s say you find one job posting that you really want to apply for. Now is the time to go to the company website and see if the job is still open. Look around on the company’s website as well to see if it’s the type of company that you’d want to work for. If it’s not, move on.
If it is a company you’d be interested in working for and you’re reading the job description, ask yourself, is my resume applicable to this job description? Does the job description meet the career pathway that I have chosen? How much of my resume needs to be revised to meet the job description? Now evaluate if the job is what you really want – then save the job in a job search folder on your computer.
When you have one or two folders for jobs you want to apply for, then begin to work on your resume revision to correspond with the key words and information that matches that job description. Write your cover letter also.
You can decide how you feel right about now. If after your document updates you feel like applying to the company, then do that. Do as many applications as you feel like you can without burning out. Stop when you get tired or irritated. Begin again tomorrow. It’s a lot to revise a resume for each job description and create a cover letter for each – and it is necessary.
You have folders with job descriptions in them. You have job search sites with an account where you have saved postings. You’re gaining momentum. Now, manage your time and pay attention to how you’re feeling when it comes to the actual resume, cover letter, application process.
If you get one per day done, you’re doing great! If you can do 2-per day – even better. You do need to pay attention to the expiration date of the position, so keep that in mind and apply those closing dates to the application sequence.
I suggest you keep a log of companies you apply to with dates and follow up correspondence to track the activity of each application. If you are called for interviews, track that activity as well so you stay aligned with each job you’re interviewing for.
This is what you’ve worked for. A pipeline of applications and job possibilities. And, they’re all jobs you’d want to do at companies you’d want to work for. You did it! The momentum is there – it won’t be long now!
Good job and Good luck!!
Light and love,
