Organization breeds success. Logic tells us that spending time and energy in the right areas will likely produce results and job offers more quickly than if you hadn’t. Being disorganized can cause you to forget basic things like whom you should be contacting and when. Taking control of your job search allows you to see how you are spending your time and energy and evaluate whether you are getting the most out of your efforts.
You spend time more efficiently. If you're organized you will be able to prioritize your activities for the best results. This tactic helps cut down on time wasters like looking for a recruiter’s or hiring manager’s contact information, or losing the address to your interview.
Being organized increases confidence. A job search can make you feel out of control, but being organized is a great way to feel more secure and prepared. No one is going to believe in you more than you believe in yourself. Feeling prepared will improve your performance in an interview and in your interactions with a potential employer.
Now that we understand the reasons to be organized, here are six key tactics to implement on your job search.
- Organize your contacts. Start your search by creating a spreadsheet or contact list to keep track of all the people you meet. Include names, employers, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, who introduced you or where you met, and a section for notes about your conversations. This will help you evaluate if you are reaching the right type, as well as the right number, of people. Remember that at least 40 percent of your job search should focus on networking.
- Identify job sources. Finding the right opportunities for you to pursue begins with finding quality resources for job opportunities. These resources can come from a number of different places, including online job boards, industry associations, professional groups and social networking sites. It is just as important to define where you want to search as it is to identify what you’re searching for. You may also want to target specific companies to research and apply to as well. Many online sites, employer career sites or associations will provide you with login IDs and passwords, so keep this information organized to ensure you can continue to use these sites efficiently.
- Manage tasks. The job search is a complex process. There’s the writing of the resume, tailoring it for each specific job opportunity, searching for job postings online, applying to open positions, interviewing, and more. It's important to break down the process and track all of the tasks associated with it. Use a checklist and calendar to estimate when you want to tackle each task and keep a to-do list with specific details.
- Track positions. Create another spreadsheet of all the positions that you feel might be a potential opportunity for you. Add columns for the position title, company name, how you found the position, who referred you, notes and next steps. Include jobs that you find online, those that friends have mentioned or even just companies where you may want to work. Add a column to track how urgent or important the job opportunity is to you. This process should help you to be prepared for an unexpected call, and you can quickly refer to the correct position, refresh your memory and respond more effectively.
- Follow through. If you have invested time by applying for a job, making a telephone call or completing an in-person interview, it's important to follow through on the time you invested. Send a follow-up e-mail to the hiring manager stating your continued interest. Place a call to the recruiter and ask about next steps. Send a thank-you note to them for investing some time in your career progression. No matter the outcome of the interaction, it's a great way to build your personal brand and create goodwill for future opportunities.
- Plan ahead. Remember that if you want to make a change and start a position by a certain date, mark that date on the calendar and look at how quickly you’ll need to accomplish your tasks in order to achieve this goal. For example, if Julie wants to have a new job by January 1, she will need two weeks’ notice to quit her old job. Then she has to think about how long it will take to interview — hopefully only two to three weeks. That means that she needs to have her resume completed well before that date and apply early to make sure she follows her plan.
Being organized helps you stay realistic about the timeframe and the effort your job search requires, as well as to maintain a sense of urgency when it may be tempting to let things slip. Understanding how all the tasks relate to each other can bring the process into focus and allow you to spend your time and energy more wisely — and hopefully get a job more quickly.
Source:http://careerigniter.msn.com/articles/detail/26327097?source=msnbc
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