When you are looking for a job, key is staying focused. You can’t fall in the lousy routine of; getting out of bed at 10 am, watching web series or sitcom’s episode after episode. This type of routine will undoubtedly destroy your motivation and waste valuable time. You should have a list of job search responsibilities that need to take place in a specific time frame. Every day you need to have your next day planned out and every week you need to have you next week planned out.
Daily Routine
Consider that you got job and try to follow the office routine for daily job search activities. You can set a routine of 9-6 or 10-7 or 11-8 whatever convenient to you but make sure that you will it follow it properly. After you log off, forget about job search and try to spend time on other things like hanging out with friends, watching movies/ web series, playing or general reading.
- Start your day as early as possible: Try to wake up early and start your day at the same time every day. 6:00-7:00 am will give your day a good start and keep you structured. It will also help you to avoid watching too many episodes of web series or sitcoms at night.
- Get ready quickly: Each morning you need to take a bath and get dressed, not in shorts, you need to put on real clothing, not nightwear, this will avoid crawling up on the couch or in bed. Try to take pride in your appearance as it will make you feel good and keep you motivated.
- Breakfast: Eat breakfast, we all have heard it is the most important meal of the day, and it will keep your energy levels on track.
- 60 minutes for a daily workout: If you usually go to the gym or an exercise program, whether it’s in the morning, lunchtime or evenings don’t change it, keep your fitness routine on track. Do a workout of your choice like walk, jog, gym or yoga but make sure you will give it around 60 mins a day. We see a lot of job seekers spend too much time in the gym, as they have a lot of free time. It could affect your other daily job search activities as you might get tired or lose your focus on the job search. You can always work extra hard in gyms on weekends.
- 60-120 minutes for job application: Review any new job postings and apply for suitable job openings. Before you start, make sure your resume and cover letter are up to date and customized for the job posting.
- 60-120 minutes for resumes and cover letters: Write your cover letters and make any changes to your resume to target each of the jobs you are applying for. Send out cover letters and resumes by mail or email and complete online job applications. Remember it is better to send out 10 well-targeted cover letters and resumes to the right people than it is to send out 1,000 general ones.
- 30 minutes for target companies: Create and keep on updating a list of target companies you would like to work for. Be realistic about the list. Not everyone can work for Google, although it is always worth a try! Then follow them on LinkedIn, connect with who would be your boss and also peers. Like and comment on their LinkedIn posts. Doing this makes you more visible to people.
- 20 minutes for recruiters: Try to connect with recruiters through different sources like LinkedIn, Facebook, or WhatsApp.
- 30 minutes: Lunch break.
- 20 minutes break: Take two 20-minute breaks a day.
- 20 minutes for checking emails before sleep: Each evening before you retire to bed, spend about 20 minutes to look over any emails or networking that might need your response.
- 3-6 hours weekly: Meet mutual friends or colleagues and try to make new connections. Keeping in touch with family and friends is important for maintaining anyone’s sanity, and these close contacts might also prove useful in your job search. Talk about how your search is going; be open for advice and leads, this will help break up the monotonous of your week, fight some of the loneliness, and can also add leads to your job search.
- 5-10 hours weekly: Work on sharpening your skills for landing a job. Attend online webinars, live seminars, or workshops that are available to further your job-seeking skills. There are many of these being offered that cover skills on; resumes, cover letters, looking for job openings, time management, interviewing, etc. If you can dedicate more time for training that well and good otherwise try to give at least 5 hours weekly.
- End of the day: Your job search day should end as you have planned like 9-6, 10-7, or 11-8. Just like in the real world of work there are times that you need to put in overtime.
You have to spare some time for actual job interviews and interview preparation. Stay on track and if you fall out of your routine, acknowledge it then get back on track. One important note is that you need a workspace that is yours to use for your job search. During unemployment is an excellent time to obtain job skills, certifications that can assist in your career. Having a clear and consistent routine and plan will definitely help! Never give up! Persistence and patience will eventually pay off, so just keep on keeping on! Best luck!
