5 MINUTE JOBSEEKER: Taking the First Step to Finding Your Next Job

By Frances Chaves
You have a job, but it’s not exactly what you want to do. You have stuck with it because of the economy, inertia, for whatever reason. But the economy is loosening up; jobs are becoming available. You feel that it’s time for a change, but you are working 40 to 60 hours a week. You have heard that getting a new job is a full-time job; with little energy and less time, how are you to launch a job-search, network, look for that perfect opportunity?
Step 1: Draft a SIMPLE Job-Search Plan
Until you put something in writing, your search is not real. This is not your magnum opus; this is not the strategic plan for a Fortune 500 company. This is an Excel Spreadsheet on your home computer—not your work computer—a working document you are going to add to, revise, etc. as you go along. You are brainstorming with yourself.
We know you don’t have much time, so your search needs to be strategic. This document will become your guide to a targeted, effective search.
The first 5 minutes: Define Your Goal Job
You know why you want to leave your current situation but do you know what you want to do next? If you don’t know exactly, that’s alright; you’ve just identified a block to getting that next job. Spend a few minutes visualizing what you would like to see yourself doing next, and put it in writing. If you know exactly what your target job is, write it down.
The second 5 minutes: Let Your Fingers do the Walking
After you have determined your Goal Job, you can find a number of useful outlines for your job search plan online including: Job Search PlanningTemplates and http://www.mbexec.net/executive-network/articles/job-search-planning-templates.
Any of these documents can help you to think through the steps ahead of you in your job search. Take what you want from them and leave the rest.
In the months ahead, in this feature we will cover quick, strategic ways to accomplish different aspects of the job search when you have limited time to devote to the process.
Good luck and get going!