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Making the Time to Find a New Job
Good time management is vital when you’re jobhunting. At Jobsite we find out how to make the time-consuming process of jobhunting quicker and easier.
If you’re jobhunting, you’ll be aware it’s a time consuming process. Analysing your skills and interests, reading through job adverts and writing persuasive, job-specific and perfectly proofed CVs and covering letters all take many hours, and for those already in full-time work or training these hours are difficult to find. So how can jobhunters best manage their time, and what resources are available to help?
“Jobhunting is a process that often takes much longer than candidates originally anticipate,” says David Clubb, Managing Director of Office Angels. “That’s why it’s important to schedule time into your day to review and apply for suitable opportunities. Setting aside time and making the effort to find a job that’s right for you can be the difference between finding a job you like and a job you love.”
Clubb believes it’s vital
jobhunters spend a lot of time creating a strong CV and researching
both job vacancies and prospective companies to ensure they’re a good
match for your personality. “My biggest piece of advice is to spend
time ensuring your CV is up-to-date and as strong as it can be.
Try and show it to a few people you trust for their opinion. Time spent
at this stage will really pay off as, after all, it’s a good CV that
gets you interviews.” See the following article for more advice
about writing a professional CV.
“The next stage is researching actual vacancies that you like. Before applying to any, research the company and the job description and tailor your application to the job and company you’re applying for.”
So it’s vital jobhunters take the time to jobhunt properly, but how exactly can they fit this time-consuming process into their busy lives – particularly if they’re already employed? Rosie Gray, Director of Learning at time-management company, Mosaic Learning, is an expert at helping people manage their time. “There are two parts to good time management when jobhunting,” says Gray. “The first is making a choice to prioritise certain things over others. When people are stuck in a job they don’t like, they’ll often say they don’t have the time to change things. Jobhunting is time consuming. There’s no doubt about it. But people who want a new job have a choice. They can either make time for complaining – which a lot of people most certainly do – or they can make time to take action and find a new job. It really comes down to having respect for yourself and thinking, ‘I deserve better’.” This means if you’re jobhunting, you should tell yourself that you really deserve a new job that makes your life more fulfilling. And you should make a time commitment to finding it.
“The second part to better jobhunting time management is to track your time and keep records,” says Gray. “It’s so easy to come home at the weekend, flop in front of the TV, and suddenly it’s Monday morning and you think, ‘where did the time go?’ A lot of people aren’t aware of how they spend their time, which means they aren’t making best use of it. So the first thing I’d advise time-pressed jobhunters to do is start keeping track of how they spend their free time.” Gray usually advises employees to do this at work, in order to become more efficient in their jobs. However, she says the process is just as effective for jobhunting. “When you track things, you’ll notice all sorts of windows of time you’re not putting to best use. As soon as you identify activities that you realise aren’t helping you get the best out of life, you can replace some of them with jobhunting activities. For example, a spare thirty minutes while waiting for dinner to cook can be spent searching Jobsite for jobs or filling out applications.”
Keeping good records of your jobhunting activities is also important. “You don’t want to waste time by doing the same activity twice, so keep records of how you’re applying for work.”
Jeremy Douglas, a computer programmer from Colchester, regularly works freelance six-month contracts, so jobhunts at least once or twice a year. He uses a database to keep track of his jobhunting, which means he spends his time as efficiently as possible. “It’s really important to keep a note of everything you send out, and all the contacts you make when you’re jobhunting, and I’d say that’s true even if you’re only expecting to jobhunt once every two or three years. You think you’ll remember things, but you don’t. Keeping records means you can look back and decide which jobhunting methods are working and which aren’t.”
However, jobhunters needn’t go to the trouble of creating anything as sophisticated as a jobhunting database. “Your records needn’t be anything fancy,” says Gray. “Just keep notes in whatever way works for you.”
Once jobhunters are more aware of their time, they can take advantage of online time-saving resources that make jobhunting much quicker and easier. These include internet jobsites, online CV creators, getting in touch with friends on facebook to ask about jobs and job email/SMS alerts.
“The internet allows you to search for, look at and apply for jobs and post your CV from the comfort of your own home, a friend’s place, the local library or internet café,” says Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the TUC. “Many job sites also make your life easier by sending alerts to your email address when the kind of job that you’re looking for becomes available.” Jobsite, for example, sends email jobs alerts to registered users, meaning instead of searching for jobs now all jobhunters have to do is check their inbox to find job vacancies tailor-made to their requirements.
“The internet has
revolutionised the way we look for work,” says Barber. “It’s fast, it’s
always available and it can provide quick access to a huge amount of
information, not only on the jobs and organisations you’re interested
in, but also on the process of jobseeking itself.”
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