How to Look for a Job

Looking for a job can be a full time job. Some people have the option of looking for work by devoting six hours of each day to the job hunt. Others can only look part time due to other commitments. Either way, your dedication to the hunt has a direct influence on how long it will take you to find your next job.

A popular rule of thumb states that you should allow one month for every $10,000 you plan to make. So if you are looking for a salary of $50,000, you can expect your search to last about 5 months. Translate those months into hours and you will likely be able to shorten your search time if you dedicate at least 30 hours a week to the job hunt.

So, you have set aside your time, but now what? Here is one suggestion on how to map out your job hunt “work day.” Spend an hour on each one of these activities every weekday:

Hour 1: Dress for the day’s appointments. It does not hurt to dress in business casual, even if you don’t have any in-person meetings scheduled. You never know when an opportunity to get that job might come up. Then review the plan you completed at the end of the day yesterday. Make follow-up phone calls on applications you have submitted.

Hour 2: Talk with a contact to develop a networking relationship. This can be an ongoing relationship or a brand new one, but it should be an informal chat with a contact that can be of assistance in your search. Sometimes just bouncing ideas off someone can be helpful in the job-hunting process.

Hour 3: Surf the web and review classified ads to find new job openings. Prepare the applications for these openings and send off as many as you can right away. Don’t wait.

Hour 4: Go over your list of target companies and determine which ones you want to contact next. Have some materials available that can be used for multiple companies, but also plan to personalize your correspondence to the specific company. Use letters of introduction and your resume to contact the company. Try to address the hiring manager specifically and don’t forget to mention when you will follow up with a phone call.

Hour 5: Spend another hour connecting with helpful contacts through email, professional/social networking sites, groups, etc. Make appointments for meetings in the near future and follow through on any follow up contact you need to make.

Hour 6: Search for more information on new contacts or new companies and add these notes to the respective files for each. Call to confirm any appointments you have for the next day and write out your plan for the day as well.

Spend some of your time looking at http://www.armedservicesjobs.com.

Becky Papp has been a professional writer for 20 years, working for newspapers, magazines and corporate communications. She currently contracts for clients all over the world, writing online and print articles, newsletters, blogs, and e-books. She resides in Phoenix, Arizona.