I read somewhere on the Internet that when you are searching for a job that you should try to keep a regular, daily routine. Believe me when I say this, it's true...oh it's true. The story said that you should get up when you would normally get up for work, go through a morning shift, take a break for lunch and go through an afternoon shift too. The reason being that since you are home and around the house, you'll end up getting distracted (particularly if you have ADD like me) and not do what you need to. Trust me...DO THIS!
My day isn't very complicated, but it has been pretty much standard with a few exceptions on a given day. I get up in the morning when my wife Michelle leaves for work, feed the dog and have a little breakfast to wake up. She leaves at 7, so by the time I do my wake up routine and prepare for my day it's usually 8am. At 8, I head upstairs to the desktop computer and do the daily check. E-mail, News and Sports sites followed by the inevitable job sites. Which job sites do you use Phil? Well, I'm glad you asked.
The main sites (biggies) are Indeed.com and Careerbuilder.com. I don't like Monster.com as much, the database is difficult to read and navigate. All of these sites use a web spider to grab jobs from pretty much every job site and company out there. Plus you can tailor your searches to the area you are in or the specialty you are looking for, that helps.
(Warning about Career Builder: The downside with them is twofold. One, you are subjected to a non-stop barrage of ads for trade and online schools. You can move past them but you have to tell the site to do it. The other is a bit more concerning. If you post your resume' on it, anyone...and I mean anyone can read it. You will get a few generic e-mails from companies looking for anyone. Stay away from them. Also, I got a call a few weeks ago from an "Alleged" recruiter. Turns out it was a scam company that used the "Recruiting" pitch to try and get at my 401K and other finances.)
There are some other resources out there, I use several that pertain more towards my chosen fields. And yes, some are helpful, some aren't.
By the time I get through this, it's usually later in the morning and the Daisy Dog is bothering me for her morning snack and chance to go outside. It's nice to have a faithful dog who sits in the office with you all morning while you play on the computer...really it kind of is.
I don't generally apply to much in the morning. The morning for me at least, is research time. If I find some jobs I like, I e-mail them to myself and do some research on the companies. I've learned now, that with an online search, you should always either check the company website or at least do a Google search on them just to see what they are about. You also should check the company site if you can to see if the "Job" actually exists. A lot times, the search engines get things after the fact and the job is already filled. Most companies don't pull those ads when that happens.
The other thing to be aware of. Nowdays, a lot of companies post jobs they have no intention of filling or they are filled before they are posted. Really, there isn't much you can do about this, just be aware of it.
The midday is lunch time and also time to change the approach. For me, I'll go downstairs and fire up the antique laptop and fix lunch while it is loading. After I eat, most days I will look through what I found in the morning and start applying for jobs. I will also check out some other sites and update the earlier searches too.
By the time this is done it's 5 or 6pm and Michelle is home. The day is done and most days I actually get some stuff accomplished. It's not the greatest routine in the world, but I stick to it. There might be a break time where I'll do some laundry or rake the leaves or go for a run, but that is pretty much my day. The only other things on my schedule right now are the Job Search Focus Group Meetings on Monday and a Marketing, PR/Communications Group that meets once a month on Tuesdays.
Dull, yeah. But it's a routine. You have to stay disciplined and commit to it. Really, you do. If you don't you risk becoming bored and accepting your situation. You can't do that. It's not a whole lot of fun being unemployed and jobs are hard to find right now. It's tough for me because my chosen field has been hurt more than others. Next post, I'll talk about 2 other subjects, Networking and being "Overqualified".
Enjoy the Beatles singing our title song:
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