Before you launch into your job search, your primary goal should be to get you and your workspace into the “job zone.” Find a place you know you can focus on the task at hand and designate that as your workspace. Set up a schedule and stick to it. Treat finding a job like a job itself! This is the time to really assess what tools you have in your job search toolbox. Do you have a designated phone line? Have you set up your professional voice mail? It’s okay if this is your personal phone line as well, but make sure that whatever message callers get is professional and includes your first and last name. Don’t forget to put that phone number on your new business cards and don’t forget to include your email too. This would also be a good time to clean up your online profile and make sure that whatever comes up when employers search your name will reflect positively on you. Make sure to take a good hard look at your contact list as well and use the ICPD Contact Management Tool to manage your network of contacts. Go through and clean out those old contacts that are simply taking up space. Our goal here is to streamline your search. Make a daily and weekly to-do list and stick to it. As you knock out tasks, mark them off. It’ll not only give you a sense of accomplishment, it’ll help you stay on task and visualize reaching your goal.
Looking for work is a fulltime job in itself, and the key to success with your job search is organization. Investing the time to plan and get organized will pay dividends later. The first step is finding a proper, dedicated workspace in your home or apartment where you can focus on the job of finding a job with minimal distractions. If you can’t work from home, use your local public library.