Job Search Organization: Activities part 2

You can find part 1 of this article here.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step -- Confucius

Every job search consists of Activities — getting things done to push our job search forward. Some of these Activities are simple, and can get done immediately. For those, almost any system will work – remember them and do them, or write them on a daily to-do list and cross them off. But many of the Activities that we pursue for our job search cannot be so quickly completed. We call, but we get voicemail, or assistants, or it’s the wrong person. The activities that straggle along day after day are the ones we really have to track.

One of the hardest things about Activities that drag on is the effort it takes to remember what we were doing; to remember the context. When we first set up the Activity, its goal and reasons are fresh and in-mind. A day later when we are working on it, it may take a little effort to recall why it is important, and how it fits in our job search. Two weeks later we may have even more trouble recalling the context. Recalling information takes additional time and effort when our search is already challenging. We don't need extra work and stress when we're trying to make a good impression.

We can combat the cost of starting up a task again by recording the context of the Activity. Make sure the Activity also shows the person or people associated with the Activity (who you are calling, who recommended that you call, etc.), record which job is for, background research and notes about our progress on the Activity.

Every day, we should add at least one task that will expand the universe of jobs we are pursuing. Ideas include sending an inquiry letter to an industry leader that we’ve always admired but never thought we could work for, or calling a small company that is growing in a different field from ours. We try to get used to trying new things while we job search. It keeps our search interesting and us more nimble. And it’s good mental exercise for when we have a new job and need to learn a whole new set of skills.

Activities get us from our starting point to our destination, a good new place in our career, whether it is a mile or a thousand miles away. Each step takes us closer to our goal, and gives us an opportunity to show the world how good we really are.

Copyright 2008 Steven D. Davies