Currently Between Opportunities? How to Make Looking for a Job, Your Job
Having worked contract for more then a decade, even while employed I was always in job search mode. In all that time I’ve learned a few simple things about how to go about continuing the job search and trying to stay sane at the same time.
You really must approach looking for your next job…as a job in itself. You need to set some ground rules for yourself just like an employer would for you in an office context. So to help you in the process, I’ve made a small list of suggestions you can incorporate into your struggle, err I mean search.
First, set your alarm, get up…and get dressed. Not in a robe and pyjamas either, actually get dressed. Feeling as though you’re accomplishing something in a professional context requires ‘not’ being in the same gravy stained clothes from a week ago.
Search on-line for positions one day, apply the next. I break up my searches and applications to different days because otherwise I find, on a personal level, I burn out too quickly going through the same motions every single day. By breaking up the search to say Mon-Wed-Fri and applying on Tues-Thurs, it gives a reason to be in the fight each and every day. If, lets say, there was a job listed on Monday and you apply right away…well there is nothing wrong with that, but if on Tuesday there is nothing then Tuesday’s search is depressing. Then if there is nothing on Wednesday and Thursday you’ve burnt up the “hope” on one single day vs. stretching it out over two days.
Now this may seem like nothing…but if you’ve been unemployed for some time, you need every bit of “hope” you can muster.
Also remember most job sites don’t change that much between Friday evening and Monday morning, so I find that searching later in the day on Monday a bit more fruitful than earlier.
Use LinkedIn and other networking sites, that’s why they exist. And be BOLD! in their use. Add contacts, add contacts of contacts and let them know why you are there. (Note: It’s probably best to not come out and say you’re unemployed and desperately looking for a job, but phrase it more professionally in a way that says you’re looking for different opportunities and to add to your professional connections). For some of us that feels weird and downright uncomfortable, but that’s how business happens. Unless you ask about opportunities people don’t usually tell because they have so much other stuff going on.
…And in a phone conversation with my folks a little while back, they gave a very clear and common sense view of job searches in the 21st century vs. when they were in the workforce. “How can anyone get a job these days sitting alone behind a computer? No one talks to each other anymore. When we needed jobs we had to actually go knock on doors, introduce ourselves and talk to people.” At the time it sounded funny, but in replaying that in my head, they are absolutely right.
You can sit at a computer all day, searching the sites, finding jobs here and there…but the net only shows about 20% of all jobs listed by organizations. The other 80% are lurking out there, needing to be filled but will ultimately be filled by contacts of contacts. Organizations respect the recommendations of their staff and leads generated by them. (They also appreciate not having to go through the $ and time associated with listing positions).
So…get out there. Meet people. Push your comfort zone. Volunteer. Introduce yourself. Do something different that gets you around people.
My final piece of advice: be active in things that have nothing to do with job searches. Do a home reno, mow the lawn, go for a jog, write poetry, have coffee with a friend. Basically have a life outside of the job search life. Set small goals around the house and accomplish them because otherwise the job search will drain you of all your fun life energy. When you don’t have a job and you really need a job, that situation has the ability to be all consuming. That in short order will turn you into a one-trick-pony and frankly, people grow tired of one-trick-ponies.
Until next time…Good luck out there!
JDB
John D. Boggan is currently a Communications Specialist working in the environmental field in the Greater Toronto Area but has been an event organizer for the past 15 years. He has worked for Canadian Dept of Foreign Affairs in Europe, Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism in their Special Celebrations Division, Toronto Star Bluesfest, Distillery Jazz Festival and dozens of other non-profit based events and communications projects.
