How you manage your time is extremely important not just to ensure the success of your job search but also to ensure that you maintain a healthy work/life balance.
Do you ever feel that you spend a large amount of your time fire fighting and never really achieving anything? Well, you are not alone.
No matter how old we are we always want to get more out of our day – those 24 hours are just never enough! Yet despite there being lots of great books available on the subject of managing your time better, many of us find it very difficult to put all this theory into action on a consistent basis.
So why do we consistently give ourselves such a hard time about not achieving as much as we wanted? And how can we start managing our time better?
The key is the first question, why? Start looking at all the tasks on your ‘to do’ list and ask yourself why you are doing them, what value do they add to your job search. You need to start by deciding what is important rather than urgent because very often the tasks that appear ‘urgent’ aren’t actually all that important to the success of your job search.
When you are actively looking for a new job, your time is precious so if you can’t come up with a valid reason as to why you have to do something then don’t do it – it’s time to start saying ‘no’!
If you have a long list of jobs you wish to apply for and are wondering how you will ever meet the deadlines to get your application in on time, review the list. Are these jobs that you would really like or are you just applying for anything and everything?
A targeted approach to finding a job is very important; it will make far more effective use of your time and produce results faster.
You need to think about your health too. Sitting all day at your computer either making changes to your CV or trying to find a job will not produce the best results and will have a negative effect on your energy levels and ability to hold a good conversation – both of which you will need for when you are invited for an interview.
Make more effective use of your time searching for a job on the internet by joining discussions on LinkedIn so that people get to know more about you, your skills, experience and knowledge – remember the 6 degrees of separation? Someone out there either has the next job for you or knows someone who needs your skills.
Finally, at the end of each working day, instead of looking at your job search ‘to do’ list and thinking that you haven’t achieved anything and beating yourself up about it. Write down the things that you have done (no matter how small) and give yourself a pat on the back for having achieved them. This immediately gets you out of the downward spiral that occurs when you feel overwhelmed by the volume of work you have.
Do you feel that your job search is going nowhere despite the amount of time you are spending on it? Then contact me, and@power-to-change.eu for a free strategy session to help get your career back on the right track.