It's often a shock to the system when you first lose your job. Your routine is gone, there are no deadlines, and you are often alone in your home while the people you live with go to school or work.
So, what happens now? A whole day in front on you – no deadlines, no commute, no projects to complete – what is the best way to go about your day?
According to a recent poll by Climber.com, the job seeker's day is divided like this:
- Searching For Positions Online – 29.94%
- Applying To Positions – 27.28%
- Networking – 24.11%
- Researching Companies – 12.89%
- Working With A Recruiter – 5.56%
Network. It's interesting that searching for positions online tops the list, considering that 70% of all jobs are gotten through referral. That tells us that networking should be a job seeker's number one priority when it comes to spending his or her time. Reconnect with old colleagues and make a “bucket list” of the companies in which you'd like to work. This will give your
job search structure.
Make your day manageable. No one should work eight hours a day job searching. It is not productive.
Try and start your day exercising. You finally have the luxury of going to the gym or for a run in the morning, take advantage of that. It will clear your head and get you going for the day.
After you workout, shower and get dressed. Staying in sweats all day is not good.
Create a plan. Sit down on Sunday night, carve out a schedule for the week, and write it down. Put it somewhere where you can see it. Your Monday might be workout 8-9, work on
LinkedIn profile, and connect with 5 new people on LinkedIn. Do a task like that every day. Do something that takes a few hours with breaks then stop.
Do a different activity every day. Monday might be a company research day. Tuesday might be a networking day. Wednesday might be the best time to work on your written materials. Having a weekly routine will give you purpose and help you keep track of your job search. It gives you goals to attain and helps you measure how you are doing.
Get out of the house. Go to your kids soccer game, go to football parties, or take a class in something you always wanted to learn. You have a finite amount of time until the next job. By using your time wisely, the next job will come faster than you think.
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