Productive job search in 3 steps

Searching for a job is a fulltime job.  So fulltime in fact that it can be draining and demoralising.  Few people when I meet them feel they are making progress with their job search because they aren't in control of their time and the outcome.

If you don't have a schedule that varies your day that it means that you start every day not knowing what you want to achieve. So how YOU spend YOUR time is a key strategic decision. That's why it's a good idea to create a to do list and an ignore list. The hardest attention to focus is your own.

But even with those lists, the challenge is the execution. How can you stick to a plan when so many things threaten to derail it? A recruiter calls out of the blue and tells you how perfect you are for a job you have never even thought of doing – they just need you to make changes to your CV …

How can you focus on a few important things when so many things require your attention?

Ritual.

Managing your time needs to become a ritual. Not simply a list or a vague sense of your priorities. That's not consistent or deliberate. It needs to be an ongoing process you follow no matter what to keep you focused on your priorities throughout the day.

Try this 3 step job search programme

Plan for the Day (5 Minutes) . Before turning on your computer, sit down with a blank piece of paper and decide what will make the day highly successful.

• What can you realistically accomplish that will further your goals and allow you to leave at the end of the day feeling like you've been productive and successful? Write those things down.
• Now, most importantly, take your calendar and schedule those things into time slots, placing the hardest and most important items at the beginning of the day (yes, that call or decision you have been putting off will eat away at you if you don't tackle it first thing!)
• If your entire list does not fit into your calendar, reprioritise your list. If you want to get something done, decide when and where you're going to do it. Otherwise, take it off your list.

Refocus for 1 minute every hour. Set your watch, phone, or computer to ring every hour.

• When it rings, take a deep breath, look at your list and ask yourself if you spent your last hour productively.
• Then look at your calendar and deliberately recommit to how you are going to use the next hour. Manage your day hour by hour. Don't let the hours manage you.

Review your Day (5 minutes). Shut off your computer and review your day.

• What worked?
• Where did you focus?
• Where did you get distracted?
• What did you learn that will help you be more productive tomorrow?

The power of rituals is their predictability. You do the same thing in the same way over and over again. And so the outcome of a ritual is predictable too. If you choose your focus deliberately and wisely and consistently remind yourself of that focus, you will stay focused. It's simple.

This particular ritual may not get you a job tomorrow. But it may just help you feel productive and successful.

Recrion is a specialist in People and Career Management.  Our coaches are actively working with people affected by redundancy.  See if you qualify for free support through the Response to Redundancy scheme or call us on 01780 484910 for a confidential discussion.