Tips for your Job Search

In the old days, finding a job was easy. All you had to do was get your hands on a flint-tipped spear and skewer a few mastodons and you were considered gainfully employed. The only headhunters were people who were after your skull, and "getting your name out there" meant painting it on a cave wall. As much as we may long for these simple times, the job search of today is a much more complicated and often vicious process. After all, they don't call it job "hunting" for nothing. Today's competitive and fast-paced job market has forced job seekers to develop a variety of techniques in order to stay ahead of the evolutionary curve. The only way to go about your job search is to think as though you're employed in the business of finding yourself a job.

For most people, having a job means that they go to work at a certain time, do their best to finish a certain number of tasks, and leave at a certain time. While the actual amount of time and energy spent varies from employee to employee, the formula remains the same. But when most people look for a job their search often turns into a free-for-all. Many job seekers don't realize that organization and time management pose just as much of a problem for them as it does for the employed. This is especially true for people coming out of college, who may or may not have held a long-term full-time job.

If you think about it in terms of our ancestors, you're not going to bring home any fish if you're not standing in the stream with your spear in hand everyday. In an effort to bring you back to your prehistoric roots. Don't Procrastinate Looking for a job can seem like an impossible task, leading to frustration and disgust. If you find yourself reading every magazine in the house, rearranging the furniture, and sewing new curtains because you're too overwhelmed by your job search, it's time to get a grip and reprioritize. The best way to avoid procrastinating is to set manageable goals for yourself. Don't hesitate to put a padlock on your Nintendo and rid yourself of any distractions that will keep you from focusing on the task at hand: job hunting.

Set Goals for Yourself and Prioritize Them

At the beginning of each day or week, set your goals. Your goals should not be overwhelming ones like "Have a well paying job by the end of the month," but rather a series of smaller goals that will lead to employment. That way, each time you check something off your list it will be a victory.

Possible goals might include finding out the best person to contact about an interview or returning a prospective employer's phone call by the end of the workday. By giving each of these tasks a priority level