A few weeks ago, I wrote about my brother's plight. He'd been unexpectedly laid off and while he took a weekend to "grieve" his loss, Monday came and he was at the job search like it was his new full-time job. I talked in depth in that post about his strategy (in my mind, perfection or close to it). So how did he seal the deal? (and in less than 60 days no doubt...)
Simple. He managed it like a project. It may sound like an infomerical, but there really is a way to achieve job search perfection and you too can have it for two easy installments.
1) Act like a project manager
In addition to setting goals for having a certain number of networking meetings a week and seeking out companies that fit his criteria, he simply acted as his own project manager. He set specific time to work on the search, and stuck to it as if his salary depended on it. (And it did). He started with a to do list every day, tracking calls to return and emails to send. And he made internet applications a low priority. He responded to some job ads, but focused more on getting into companies through soft leads--contacts.
2) Don't fall pray to the hype or a promise
Most importantly though, he didn't hang his hat on one opportunity or company. He used an Excel spreadsheet to track companies of interest and treated each one like it was equally important. It's this idea that you really don't know where that next job could be, so don't put all your weight, time, and effort into what may seem like the perfect job.
Think about it. When you're managing a project at work, you focus on what's the current deadline you are facing. If you're successful it is because you can prioritize and you know what needs your attention now. You may prefer doing another part of the project, but if you ignore tasks to only focus on one area, the project won't be successful. It will be lopsided, partially complete.
In John's case, he had some ideas of where he would prefer to go, and some opportunities that appeared that seemed like the sure thing. But funding ran out on one. Timing was off on another. And he hung his hat on the search itself and not on a specific job that just "had" to be it. So when a job fell through (i.e., he made the final interview but then the company decided not to fill the position), he wasn't crestfallen. He had many other "irons in the fire" and kept focused on his project.
There's no question we all experience successes, failures, big wins and small setbacks every day in our lives. But it's how we handle them that defines each and every one of us. And in the job search, your focus, commitment, rigor, and expectations will define your success.
Manage your search like a project, treat it like a project, and you will see results. Ok, now I'm starting to sound like an infomercial again. But this pitch works. I'd bet my Snuggie on it.
