Job Search Time Management: 8 Keys To Success
Do you want to find a new job as quickly and efficiently as possible? Whether you are currently employed and therefore have some time to find the right job or are unemployed and need to find a new job yesterday, your success in finding that right new role depends, in part, on your time management skills. I have seen candidates pursue a job search in drips and drabs and get frustrated because they are not getting positive results. That is why time management is so important. It allows you, the job seeker, to focus on the truly important tasks and projects for your job search. If you are clear on what you are doing, why you are doing it, and when you are doing it, you will use your precious time most impactfully. Remember, we all only have 24 hours in a day.
There are things you can do to help you use your time wisely while in a job search. These are the same tried and true time management tools you can and should be used for other parts of your life as well. Below are my top eight suggestions.
How are you spending your time?
It is hard to start job search planning until you assess how you are currently spending your time. If you are working, how many hours of the day do you commit to that? What is your commuting time? Do you have volunteering commitments? Family commitments? Mark this all on a calendar to see what time you have available for a job search. If you are working, a good estimate is 10-15 hours per week should be focused on your job search activities to make any headway. Can you find 10-15 hours in your schedule? Can you give up some things, even if only for a short time, to make up any deficit?
If you are unemployed, you should be spending 20-30 hours on a job search per week. Again, look at your schedule to see how you are spending your time. You must continue to do those activities that are healthy and bring you joy during your period of unemployment. Exercising is important - keep doing this on a regular schedule. Working on hobbies you enjoy is important, as is maintaining connections with friends. Just do not let that take over all of your time. The same goes for entertainment. Enjoy watching a movie on Netflix in the middle of the day if you want. That is one of the few benefits of being unemployed. Just do not make this a regular habit if you are not also putting aside time for your job search.
Clocks
What is your best time to do work?
Do you wake up early and feel raring to go? You are full of energy, alert, and feeling good. That means your circadian rhythm indicates that you are a morning person. Working on your job search when you wake up may help with your productivity. If you have a full-time, 9-5 job, the best time for a morning person to work on their job search may be when they wake up. If that is tough with your typical daily preparation and commute, you might try getting up an hour earlier than usual, just for the short term. Your productivity may be higher in that hour than if you allot time at the end of the day.
For those that are night owls, the opposite applies. Don’t try to force yourself to do your job search projects and tasks in the morning when you feel sluggish. If possible, try to schedule phone screens and interviews in the afternoon, when you are more alert. With the 24 hour internet, unless you have to talk with somebody over the phone or in-person, many of the job search tasks can be tackled at any time, day or night.
Plan first and then work your plan
I love the saying, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” So many people want to accomplish things in their life, but the successful ones have not only a goal but also a plan to achieve it. Your job search is no different. You have to come up with a rough plan for your job search before you start it. You might not have every detail of the plan in there, that will come as you dive in, but you do need to have the rough outline of all the tasks you need to do. If you do not know where to start, there is so much information on the internet to help. A great resource is my job blog, where I have articles that cover all aspects of looking for a job, everything from networking to salary negotiation.
Since a job search can be a large project in your life, it is best to break it down into smaller, more manageable tasks. Planning a kitchen remodel is a huge and seemingly overwhelming project. It is less so if you break it down into separate mini-projects, such as choosing lighting, new appliances, and flooring. Same with your job search. You can see all the individual tasks that make up a job search (targeted companies list development, reaching out to network, resume/CV writing, etc.). Each then is treated as an individual project with planning to accomplish each one.
To-do list
Plan ahead, both daily and weekly
To manage your time efficiently, you must plan out what you will do each day. So many people wake up and think they are going to work on their job search. They get on their computer or smartphone, but instead of working on a job search, they end up watching cat videos. That is because they are not working based on a plan that keeps them focused. To stay on track, you need to have a plan for each day and week. At the start of each week, you should make a goal of what you need to get accomplished. Let’s say this is making 15 new connections on LinkedIn. Then each day, you would break that down to a realistic number, with Monday being perhaps two, Tuesday three, and so on. You can further break that goal down to plan that Monday’s connections will be at a target company, Tuesday’s will be others in your field, etc.
Why am I doing the things I am doing?
It is always good to step back and ask yourself if what I am working on is vital to my job search or something I just want to do or someone told me to do? Before you start on a project or task, it is good to ask yourself the purpose of what you are doing. How is this particular task going to help me get closer to finding the right job? Am I doing this because others have told me to without understanding the purpose? If you do not know the purpose, then find out before you invest a lot of time doing something. Many well-meaning family and friends often give advice that can be outdated or just plain wrong. Following it can be a waste of time or may even harm your job search. Understand how your tasks fit into a thorough job search plan.
Can you delegate some things?
Yes, this is your job search, but it doesn’t mean that you have to do everything yourself. There may be tasks that you can delegate to others that may make sense in your situation. If the time you have to dedicate to a job search is limited, then you may want to bring in a Career Coach to help you with writing a resume or updating your LinkedIn profile. If you have children that are good at researching, perhaps you have them develop a list of companies for you to look at based upon specific criteria. Maybe a trusted friend with good fashion sense can help you with selecting an interview outfit. Don’t be trapped by the thought that you have to do everything since no one can do it as well as you.
What are the high payoff tasks?
It is very easy to get sidetracked on tasks that, in the end, do not provide real value to you as a job seeker. An example would be constantly fine-tuning your resume. Making sure that your resume markets your skills and experience well is essential. You do need to give a lot of time and thought to this document. Yet, I see job seekers spending an inordinate amount of time worrying about font type or size when in the grand scheme of things, it will, at the most, make a very marginal difference to your job search effectiveness. Make sure you think through all that you are doing - what is the purpose and what are the expected results. Spend your time on those things that will give you a bigger bang for your buck, like networking.
Man looking at watch
Being busy does not get results
Just because you have been busy does not mean you have accomplished anything. What will matter is the results - job interviews that lead to an offer. To get results, you need to develop thought out strategies and be able to adjust your plans for the reality of your situation. If you have applied for 50 jobs through job boards and did not get any interviews, then applying for 50 more jobs on job boards shows you have been busy, but for what end? This work may have made you exhausted, but you are precisely at the same place you were before. Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, “The definition of insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting a different result.” Don’t think that just being busy will result in obtaining your dream job.
When on a job search, many things are competing for your time - all of which if you let them can derail your job search. Effective time and task management means that you choose the tasks that are most productive and do them in the most efficient manner as possible. You eliminate those habits that rob you of your precious time. If that means you could shave weeks if not months from your job search by eliminating unproductive behaviors, why wouldn’t you?
Shelley Piedmont is a job search coach. She wants to help job seekers put their best foot forward by providing the tools for a successful job search. If you need career coaching, resume preparation, interview skills assessment, or LinkedIn profile assistance, she can help. Schedule a 15-minute no-obligation consultation.