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Once you enter the job search you will benefit from employing yourself to find your next job. Look at the job search as your job and use your time to "work" your job search.
When you treat your job search as a job or work assignment, you will also be practicing useful skills for any future employment. And, as your own boss, you can create for yourself an optimal work environment that assists you in being most efficient and effective.
Above all, the approach and attitude you bring to your job search will translate into making you a magnetic candidate for appropriate openings. Here are some guidelines you can use to create your new job.
If you are not currently employed, it's best to give yourself a full time job and for most fields, hours that match the typical working week of Monday through Friday for 7 or 8 daytime hours a day.
You may find it best to work from 9 to 5 each day, with an hour off at lunchtime. Or, especially if you are searching in other locations where there are time zone differences, you may want to vary your schedule somewhat to alternate hours on certain days: e.g., 7 am to 3 pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and 11 am to 8 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, depending on what is best for you. The most important thing is to be working during the hours you assign yourself as regularly as possible.
If you are employed, even at a full time job, set aside a full weekend day or two or three evenings (or mornings, whatever fits around the job you have) for moonlighting at your second job — finding new employment.
When you set up a home office for job seeking, you will need a telephone and a place to work without distracting interruptions. You should be able to base yourself there, primarily, if you have an online computer for looking into job leads and email. Otherwise you can designate part of your workday to do this at the library or other alternate, grounded location.
We suggest you dress for your workplace, so that if a potential employer calls you to come in for an interview, you can be available on short notice. You may also find that dressing in work clothes helps you feel earnest about your job search and adds extra oomph to your whole process.
Then, deal with whatever logistical issues there may be, to create a productive work environment for yourself. Be creative in providing what you need for your office. If you do not have a printer for resumes and cover letters, it’s okay. Find a nearby copy store and make sure you know their hours for when you are putting together materials to mail or take with you to a job interview. Now that many computers no longer come with floppy disk drives you can also figure out ahead of time how you can bring materials there to print. Options include using a CD writer to make a copy of your documents, as well as emailing print-ready attachments to the business.
If you email your printing to be done, make sure you know whose attention to send things to, and ascertain that the documents you send are in compatible programs with whatever is available at the other end. Find out also what is the normal turnaround time guaranteed. It's good to do some trial runs when you do not have a deadline. Then, if you should need to turn around a cover letter or resume adaptation quickly, you will be prepared.
A neighbor or friend may be able to offer computer time for you to print elsewhere; again, allow extra time to make sure logistics are in place for when you need to do your printing by a certain time. In our suggesting you maintain a standard of professionalism in your job search endeavor, naturally we recommended you avoid printing — and other work-related endeavors — in places that are chaotic or inefficient.
In hiring yourself as your own employee, it is good to develop various objectives and goals that will contribute to finding your next job. Above all, shape your direction based on your desired outcome. Your basic work itself will fall into two general kinds of tasks: researching the job market and making contacts.
Within those areas, brainstorm about useful means to accomplish these. Your tactics may indeed vary depending on the kind of work you want to do.
Here are some suggested tasks to schedule as job search duties:
Even before you come up with the list of desired job titles and businesses, it can be a good practice to list the qualities you are seeking — and the ones you want to avoid. Once you’ve completed these lists, you may want to rate them in order of importance and to refer to them as you begin each day, so that they’re fresh as you delve into your research and job contacts.
Ask yourself, am I dissatisfied with my most recent job? If so, then you can assign yourself the task of coming up with a list of jobs you want to look for that excludes those factors contributing to your prior frustration in the workplace.
Books on right employment offer a wealth of ideas based on transferable skills to come up with a full list of job titles and descriptions to consider. Once you have gotten a clear picture of the areas where you are open to find work, the Internet makes contact names, company backgrounds, and job listings themselves, all available.
Consider also the geographic areas that will work for you. If you are not sure whether you would relocate for a new job, make this a part of your research and then if so, add these locations to your job search parameters.
Begin right where you are to seek the advice of others who have experience at your level of job searching. A good place to start may be your address book: are there any friends or acquaintances who may know of contacts for jobs in your field? Make an appointment to interview any such people. Let them know ahead of time what you are interested in finding out from them. Try to be organized and considerate in asking them for leads and ideas. Refer to your questions and take notes on the answers, and be sure to thank them afterwards.
Begin to develop a list of referrals to pursue. After you have exhausted your own list of contacts, look for other sources to add to your list.
For each contact, come up with a plan of action for your potential opportunity to speak to them. First determine whether they are a possible employer, and even if you are not sure, it's a good idea to approach them as if they are.
Prepare a list of questions to help you find out about jobs to apply for, whether they know of any for which you are qualified, and prioritize these to start with the most important ones first, in case time is limited. Having done preliminary planning for your meeting with each contact, you can have the most effective encounter possible. Also be considerate: if you reach them through a phone call it is wise to ask whether they have a few minutes before coming right at them with questions, in case they may be in the middle of something they are needing to complete.
In many cases you can sell yourself most effectively by speaking to job contacts face to face. Dress appropriately and arrive on time for scheduled appointments. Realize, the impression you make at a referral meeting or job interview may be your best shot at selling yourself, and besides that is good practice for future interviewing. Be clear about the career path you are interested in, and listen closely to what comes back — even if it does not sound like there is a job in the offing.
Once you've developed your objectives, you may consider working the following ideas into your work week.
Keep a diary or log of your research and job contacts.
You may find that something of little significance when it happened may turn out to be an important key in finding your new work. You can also go back and evaluate what aspects of your endeavor have been most and least effective, and draw from this experience in refining your search.
Since you likely will be asked to provide references — both personal and professional — make a list of these people and touch base with each of them first to make sure it’s okay to give potential employers their names and contact information. You should be able to read from their response how enthusiastic they are about referring you, and this is helpful to know beforehand when you are asked for references during a critical job interview.
If you are collecting unemployment benefits, frequently there are requirements that you look for work. These government offices typically have job banks where you can go to find out about leads in your field, as well as requirements for transferring to another field of work. More recently these kinds of listings can also be found online. Some unemployment offices provide support such as long distance phone service so that you can call to look for jobs without adding to your phone bill.
... or the field you want to enter. Count the hours you spend participating as part of your workweek, and use the opportunity to develop contacts and job leads.
If these publicatons are available in your line of work, these can be an excellent source for current job listings. While subscription costs may be prohibitive, the library may carry subscriptions, and some trades also have online sites.
... and whether you are going to look where it may take you outside of your local community. If relocating would require a major move, such as selling your home or moving all your furniture, then part of your work as a job seeker is to do the legwork to find out about what it would take to list and sell your home, or how much it would cost to move your belongings. Then, should you get to the point of discussing this in a job negotiation, you will have an idea of what you need from a new employer to make such a move.
It is important to stay or get in shape to be fully present in your new job. While you are your own boss, you can assign yourself a half hour of walking, yoga or with an exercise video as part of your work.
While it would be impractical to spend all of your workday in this endeavor, you could set aside a reasonable amount of time creating and carrying out your own wellness program, whatever works to keep you in tiptop shape.
There is much information online, on so many businesses, fields and resources. Also, send out emails with your resume to any contacts who may know of, or have, a job you would be qualified for to offer.
Once you have made finding a job your employment, you can begin to notice whether you have any affinity for being your own employer. Even if you have never considered this before, once you are set up with regular hours in your home or other office you may be able to take on freelance work in your field, and this kind of work is also good to add to your resume. You may even find that one of your job contacts offers you part time work to do at home, and if you have set yourself up for job hunting, you can add in the extra work — and income — to your workload, and re-budget the rest of your time to fit in what then needs to be done.
In addition to useful hints from 1StopResume.com’s Newsletter archive, you may want to add affirmations to your workday in seeking a new job. Using the list of your goals and objectives, affirm each one as true — for example, “I am now working in (my chosen profession) in a challenging and supportive position that pays more than I need to cover my expenses.” Then, set aside time on a regular basis for creative visualization to paint the scenario in a manner you can feel, and hold unflinchingly that it is so.
Adopting a professional style indicates readiness and ability to move into a demanding job situation. By expressing your individual creative nature, you constantly generate more enthusiasm and creativity. Working with your full energy and willingness not only brings job security — it also contributes to our world.
1StopResume.com utilizes several sources to bring you revolutionary and fundamental job search wisdom. While we would like to acknowledge individually those websites, books and articles, authors, and masters, this list would be extensive. We thank these sources for their contributions.