March 28th, 2009 by Damian Papworth

In some recent articles, I have broken down the job finding process into its logical components and detailed them individually. With this article I intend on building on those articles by offering tips which will speed up the process for you, looking at job hunting as an entire process.

1. Keep Up To Date With Your Industry – Always

You need to be aware of the conditions in your industry all the time. You should know what is going on, who is hiring, who is firing, where the opportunities are when you have a job as well as when you are looking. Market awareness should be a part of your professional approach to your career. Waiting until you need a job to look into this could cost you months and missed opportunities. So don’t wait till then, get up to date now.

2. Keep your resume up to date

Find a template or layout that you are comfortable with and maintain it. Update it twice a year at least. It will save you the mad scramble to put it together and possibly a lost opportunity because you were unprepared.

3. Recognise Networking Opportunities Every Day

Basically everything you do while you are at work and when you spend time with work people outside work hours, should be seen as a networking exercise. Make an effort to remember everyone you meet in your professional circles. Grease the wheels here. Getting this right will really help you with point 1 above also.

4. Always Go To That Interview – Even When You Aren’t Interested.

Successful interviewing requires touch and it takes mistakes to get that touch. It is a skill you can only learn through practise. You don’t want to learn these skills when you are being interviewed for your perfect job, you want to make your mistakes with jobs you don’t really care for. So go to every interview you are offered, for no reason other than the practise. If you get offered a job you do not really want, have the courage to decline it.

5. Diarise All Your Experiences

Note what you did well with each job opportunity. What worked, what didn’t, improvements you could make, elements you can get rid of. Then, when you next go through an employment opportunity situation, revisit your notes, duplicate the good things and improve the bad things. Recognise the process as having a learning curve, and learn.

6. If You Are Out Of Work, You Still Have A Full Time Job

Your Job Hunt is your full time job now. Get out of bed at the same time you would if you were working in your given field. This will put your time clock in sync with your interviewers. Spend the same hours working on your job hunt as you would in the job. Be disciplined.

7. Maintain Your Focus

You know what type of job you are looking for, don’t be distracted by other offers or ideas. Keep your eyes firmly set on the task at hand and the job you are seeking.

Its never easy to find, win and accept the right job for the next stage of your career. I hope these tips help though. Good luck.

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March 23rd, 2009 by Damian Papworth

It is such a terrible experience being unemployed. It means you do not have an income. And that is scary because the bills do not know this. No, they just keep on coming. They eat into the savings you have built up over the years. Or even worse, you have to borrow or sell assets to make sure you can pay them. This is terrifying!

One of the biggest issues with the job hunt is time. If you haven’t got a job or income, it is going to be some time before the income starts hitting your account again. Even if you find a new job and start today, you’ll still have to wait a bit before the money gets to you. You still have to work for a week or more first. So it pays to be organised, minimising the time between now and the next pay check.

The first thing you must do is clearly define what you are looking for. When you are looking for a job, the last thing you want to do is spread your energy out over the entire employment landscape. If you do this, you will waste so much time chasing down so many opportunities that are just irrelevant.

Your ideal job today will be specific to you, in this moment in time. So do not go around asking other people what they think. Spend a couple of hours on your own, thinking about what exactly is the right job for you now, looking at the next 5 years of your life. There are many considerations to think about, some of these include:

There are work specific considerations. What work do you enjoy? What do you specialise in? Where have you earned all your experience? Your past should help you with your direction, but don’t let it rule your future.

What type of organisation are you looking for? Do your prefer big ones where there is lots of opportunity? Or do you prefer smaller more intimate organisations, organisations where everyone knows your first name?

What is the income band you are looking for? What is the base wage you will settle for? Are there factors that you are willing to trade off income for?

What are your current timeframes? Lets face it, if you are desperate for a job, you cannot afford to be fussy. Even if you do get a job and then start the job hunt again. You can always be more choosey after you have an income. If you do have a bit of time though, make sure you are a bit more picky. Don’t accept anything that you are offered, make sure you only accept positions which are right for you.

Travel distances should be considered too. How far are you willing to go, what methods of transportation are available and how much will this cost you? The cost could be time and/or money.

These are the types of questions you want to consider when defining your job search. Finding a new job is a bit like buying a new car in this regard. If you want a new car, but you are not sure what type of car, you will waste lots of time speaking to every car salesman in your area. If you know what car you want, you can target your search to the correct car salesmen, and just concentrate on getting the best price.

And with all that saved time, you will have a much better opportunity to prepare your applications and for your interviews.

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