Job Search Organization

The importance of organizing your job search is simple. Instant recall.

If you are applying for jobs with or without a resume, most likely you have received automatic responses from those online applications. If not, it’s still important to create an electronic filing system for correspondence and for the soft copy documents you send to that particular company.

A great way to create your filing system works like this:

1.       Create a folder on your computer or on a USB drive.
2.       Name the folder the NAME OF THE COMPANY of which you are going to apply.
3.       Each time you apply to a different company, create a folder for each company with the name of the company on the folder.

Inside a folder you should have the following documents saved. Do this for each company to which you apply.

4.       A copy of the JOB DESCRIPTION.

I suggest when you apply for a position; you copy and paste the posting into an MSWord document or Google docs so you have a copy of it. Save that document in the folder with that company’s name.

NOTE TO REMEMBER:

An online job posting will expire. If the company contacts you some time later, you will want to know what the job description said and what resume you sent along with corresponding documents. This a way to retrieve those documents.

5.       2-copies of your RESUME. Save the resume that you will send to that company for that job posting. One is saved as a pdf and one is a document that is not pdf.
6.       2-copies of your COVER LETTER. Save the cover letter that you will send to that company for that job posting. One is saved as a pdf and one is a document that is not pdf.
7.       If there are copies of REFERENCES or LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION, REFERRAL LETTERS, TRANSCRIPTS, or any other documents you send to that company – put copies of each of the documents you send in that folder. You will have them all together in a safe place where you can easily and quickly retrieve them if needed later.

Lastly, the various companies to which you apply should all have their own folders with the individual names of the company on that folder. Why? Because when you send a document electronically, the thread from where the document came shows in the address bar at the top. If you send company ABC a resume or any other document to company XYZ, they will see that you sent them documents from a file with another company’s name on it. Not a good thing – considered poor job search etiquette. So, do your due diligence and create folders for each company with the appropriate documents in it for that company. Even if they are the same documents. It’s a good document filing habit to get into during job search. It can save you embarrassment or the possibility of a company not responding to you.

Love and light,