I've developed a routine out of this job hunt. Don't worry, no play by play of my mornings in this post. I feel more productive and on top of things having developed a new routine, albeit one I'm not planning on making permanent. The first few days of unemployment were uncomfortable and foreign having not dealt with this "condition" since first departing my alma mater, East Carolina University, more than two years ago.
This is not to imply that I'm growing complacent; I'm not. Not even close. But my most recent mini-luminal moment in my journey to employment is that a job hunt routine is essential. Essential not only to finding a job (yes, I'm unemployed, but convinced it's temporary) but also to retaining a sense of sanity and satisfaction with one's status. Alliteration not intended.
That said, I recommend using your email calendar/organizer (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, or Outlook if you use it, mostly businesses I suspect) to the full extent - even if it's "Call Tim with VMS at 3 p.m." because he was out yesterday at 10 a.m.
Organize your day to include:
- Market research (not consumer surveys, but potential job markets and the businesses within)
- Company profiling (identify those businesses with which you would most like to work in a given market and learn about them!)
- New contacts (set a goal for a number of new companies/individuals to contact each day and meet it)
- Keep doing what you did - stay sharp (blog, watch the news, write, research, dance, draw, crunch numbers, build something, photograph, play basketball)
- Be your own brand ambassador (constantly update and target your resume, cover letter, portfolio samples, etc. to be most relevant to companies you're targeting)
Much of this is known, but it bears repeating. I'll always say that patience and perseverance are the two most underrated qualities an individual can posess - so try hard, and then try, try again. Best of luck to us all.
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