Why you should always be job searching

I have been struggling with motivation in my job search. My job counselor encouraged me to start applying and that's what I've been doing. Since I've started I often think about what advice I'd give to the pre-layoff me. Hands down, it is to through the entire process of applying for a new job on a regular basis. Why? Because it's a way to...

...assess yourself...
For the last few years, I was focusing on advancing and focusing on the job at hand. I also thought that I did have my resume up-to-date and was working on networking. But nothing beats going through the whole process. What happened to me was I focused too much on the circumstances around me and got complacent. I didn't step back to 1) assess and recognize all that I've done and 2) look at myself as a hiring manager would. 

Yesterday I applied for three jobs online. Fat Tony was kind enough to review my resume and cover letters. In the process he asked why I wasn't putting on my other publications. I said, "I don't have any other publications." He informed me that yes, I did and I was in fact second author on a couple of publications from my post-doc. In my mind I had written that period off and avoided any news from that lab. It's baffling self-sabotage and I can't explain why I never checked, but there they were in PubMed.

...in light of current open positions...
It helps to step back and ask where do I want to go? Look for jobs whenever you've got 10 minutes and print out any reqs that look appealing. Then apply for something you'd really want, not in a "I'm just testing the waters" kind of way, but in a "I want it and I will get it" kind of way. Write a customized cover letter. Tailor your resume. Think very hard about how that resume is going to get through the automated keyword search to make it to the HR contractor sifting through the resumes and ultimately to the hiring manager. I am finding that with each iteration I get more efficient and the resume looks a bit more "right".

Part of the job search process is to create stories about yourself for easy reference so when you are interviewing, you don't get all deer in headlights and blank on how to answer "Why should we hire you". It's an exercise that is so easy to do, I end up not doing it and then I forget. Applying for jobs is a way to make you stop and actuall document stories that fit the job description and write them down as you build your  "Why I'm Great" database.

When you look for jobs you are forcing yourself to find a goal. When you are building a career, you need to see how what you are doing is adding up to a goal.

and through other's eyes
The outplacement firm continually states that up to 80% of jobs are filled through networking. I am highly skeptical of that figure, but recognize that networking is a must. There are plenty of benefits to networking, but the one I want to talk about here is helping you understand how you appear to others.

The more I network, the more I like it, but something I did not expect was hearing how people perceive me or my background. For example, I thought that I didn't want to introduce anything about my research, opting to keep my resume brief. But a recent conversation changed my mind. It's there for background, just not featured.

I've gotten feedback that I am "technical" (whatever that means) and that my lacking an MBA is a serious gap given my current aspirations, so I'm revising my search criteria and seeking opportunities to do some volunteer marketing.

...and it's a way to stay current with common Office tools
I bought Office 2010 so I could work on my resume and other documents for the job search. After Fat Tony suggested I clean up my resume formatting, I knew I was a good decade behind the times. (Having worked on Office 2003 at work until this year did not help.) I've been working through a bunch of tutorials on Office and am happy to say that my resume is not in all Arial 11 point font.

I am finding that I have limitless uses for Excel and I'm sure we'll be using Word and Powerpoint for Fat Tony's new small business. 

These days the documents we create are a reflection of us. It's worth it to take the time to make sure you can create an impressive ones.

Prioritizing for the ambivalent job hunter

I tried really hard at this last job. Whatever they wanted me to do, I did it and did it well.

So what?

I was working on a product line that was fundamentally flawed and they laid off practically everyone in the commercial group as they started over. No matter how hard or well I worked, my efforts amounted to nothing and now I've got a lot of scattered experiences that prospective employers who are looking for proven abilities don't care about. My hope was that I would have enough connections internally to get me to the next stepping stone and while I can keep hope alive, I'll assume I need to move on.

I need a job. The time off from the last job has been wonderful and I have a taste for what it would be like to focus more on our home. Yet, there is the reality of our personal fiscal cliff looming in early 2013 when my severance runs out. Plan A is to wow prospective employers with my awesome transferrable skills and get into marketing. Plan B is to find something I've been doing well, but don't care that much about, so I can have some security to work on a small business.

My job coach says that companies make the most hires in Q4 in expectation of new budget cycles starting in Q1 so I should not slack off much longer. Applying for jobs should be my first priority. And who knows? I might be able to negotiate something that works for me. I really like her because she is good at pulling me back to reality.

I started applying for jobs in earnest this week and already have been rejected from one.

Because job hunting is disheartening and rejection news does get in the way of productivity, it's imperative to structure my time. I know I am terrible at sticking to a schedule. How I apply structure is by having a one or two big things that need to get done in a day and being productive around them. I like using my calendar on my phone to remind me of appointments, but that's it. The rest is in my head or on whatever piece of paper I find in the morning.

I procrastinate, a lot. But I am productive because I procrastinate.

I know that when I have a very important priority, I will find ways to do everything but. I make the job such a big deal that my brain gets paralyzed. The task becomes so important that I feel like everything has to be in perfect alignment before I take it on. This is perfectionist thinking and completely why I am encouraging my kids not to be perfectionists.

So I try not to have many Priorities, usually one, but up to three in a day, and lots of things-to-do-eventually. In addition to being few, the Priorities are also pretty modest, like, write a blog post, or apply for two jobs.

In terms of weekly goals, I mix up my job hunt Priorities. In no particular order, they are...
1. Job applications (aim for 2 in a day, two days a week as early as possible before demoralizing rejection news comes)
2. Networking (aim to talk to 5 people a week)
3. Industry research
4. Document creation (Resume customization, cover letters, blogging, job hunting-related statements, lots of lists.)
5. Exercise (need to fit into all my work clothes when do land a job!)

I find procrastinating with small tasks is is enormously useful. I know if I can get a small task done, then completing my top priority will eventually follow. This might not be a strategy everyone should follow, but works for me. and is a much better way use of time than say, watching all four seasons of Battlestar Galactica in a stretch, getting to level 45 of Candy Crush, or scoring 761,500 points in Bejeweled Diamond Mine.