How to Organize Your Job Search

How to Organize Your Job SearchHow to Organize Your Job Search When on the hunt for a job , its not uncommon to be applying for multiple opportunities at once. This is especially true for those of us just abfluging out in our careers . But multiple applications mean different resume versions , various cover letters and many, many different deadlines to keep track of. With so many moving parts at once, its easy to become disorganized.But a disorderly job search process can lead to embarrassing mistakes such as lost phone numbers, confused deadlines, and missed interviews . To help you avoid these downfalls, weve put together a few tips to help you keep your job search organized.Its easy to want to just jump right in and begin filling out job applications . But before you do, its best to take a step back and take a look at the bigger picture. Your career journey should start with a look at the direction in which youre headed.Though it may seem trivial to set asid e time to organize your thoughts to clearly think through the career path youd like to pursue, this is one of the most important steps to take. How are you supposed to start going anywhere if you dont know where youwant to go?Reflect on what youd like to do and why you feel thats the right path for you. You mightfeel a little lost and be unsure about where youre going, but at this stage in your life, thats ok. Start by thinking about your long-term goals as those dont need to be overly specific. Where do you want to be 10 years from now?Then work backward from there down to five years, one year, and six months from now. Be sure to think through your personal goals in addition to your career and finances. Take your family, education, and anything else you value into consideration.After youve spent some time finding your direction and clearly thinking through your goals, its time to start building out a schedule . After all, in order to achieve the goals you now have in mind, you ll need to set aside time to go after them.The first step in this stage is to identify time you can set aside thats dedicated to job searching. Find blocks of time within your schedule between classes, work, and any other responsibilities. Job searching is a time-consuming process and requires regular attention. So aim to set aside at least two hours every day to fully focus on it. Next, start building a schedule to complete certain tasks you know you need to get done. For instance, devote one hour to cleaning up your professional online profiles like LinkedIn. Devote another hour or two to preparing your resume . You should be able to fill up at least the first few days of your schedule, if not your first week, with tasks to complete.Perhaps even more important than actually umgebung up this schedule is sticking to it. Lets be honest here- activities like resume building and email sending are less than thrilling tasks. It can be easy to let these fall by the wayside and choos e something a little more exciting to occupy your time. However, this will only put you behind and lead you down a path of disorganized job searching. Make sure you leave the time you set aside for job hunting devoid of any other activities.Looking for a job is more often than not a high-pressure situation , so you might be temptedto begin aimlessly applying for any open position you find. But even though applying for more jobs can make it feel like youre increasing your chances, this is actually just a waste of your time - not to mention an easy way to become disorganized.Remember that time you dedicated at the beginning of this process to think through your short-term and long-term goals? Heres where that comes in handy. Start off by narrowing your search to only the jobs that align with those goals. Look out for the opportunities that will help you get to where you want to be.Next, narrow your search down to only the openings that match the level of skill you have. Now, this doesnt necessarily mean that your qualifications need to match up with those listed on the job description exactly. In fact, this will likely never be the case. Job descriptions should be more of a directional tool for whether or not youre a potential fit for a role, so look for those where you match around 80percent of the qualifications listed.Heres where things can get especially messy. Applying for multiple positions at once leaves you with a lot of different things to manage. Its very important to make sure youre keeping track of all of the different details as you go along. One of the best ways to do this is to create a spreadsheet. This is an easy and effective way to help you keep track. Dont worry about making anything too fancy. Just be sure to include basic information such asNot a fan of Excel? No problem. We created an easy job application tracker that can help. Download it hereJibberJobber is an online job search organization tool that helps you keep track of wha t youre working on. If you prefer working off of your phone or tablet, then there are tons of great apps available. Keep in mind, though, that rahmen up a system for tracking alone is not enough. You need to be diligent in updating your system each time you take a new action or receive an update from a potential employer.There are so many different things to keep track of when job searching, that you can easily become overwhelmed and confused. But by following these few simple tips, youll be ready for a more organized and effective job hunt.