How I found a job in a bad economy – Part II

In the previous post I mentioned that I made looking for a job my full time job. Spending 40 hours a week could seem daunting, but there is a lot to do:

• Resume. Even if you do not need resumes for the positions you are looking for, it is helpful to have a document that has everything in one place–work history, educational history, achievements. This will make filling out applications easier, and it gives you something to hand out to others who may know others, etc.
• References. I had a separate sheet for references. I also broke the names down by category–friends, educational, business (supervisors/co-workers). I also made sure that I had approval to list each person as a reference (and I sent them a thank you for doing so). One further note that may seem obvious (but I have seen otherwise), I asked people to be a reference that I thought would give positive reviews and that actually knew me.
• Cover Letters. This is a good way to personally introduce yourself, and if possible, mention common friends/acquaintances or emphasize something from your resume that is especially pertinent to the position. I tried to customize each one to make it very personal.
• Business Cards. I had business cards (personal cards) that had all my contact information on. I carried them with me everywhere to hand out to anyone I could.
• Thank You Cards. This is a great tool. For one, it is a very nice touch to thank people who are helping you – individuals who pass out resumes for you, or who you interview with, etc. Secondly, it gets your name in front of individuals again, sort of as a reminder.

As you can see, there is a lot of writing and developing materials. This takes time. For me, since there were several career directions I could go, I had several different resumes that were customized for different career options. I also developed a “fact sheet” that was not a resume, but had pertinent career information on it – sort of a quick summary of my experience (1 page front only). I would sometimes attach this to my business card if the person I was handing it to was not really familiar with me. I also took everything that I wrote and had it proof read by someone who was good at that.

In addition to the writing, there were the telephone calls (remember this is before email!) to everyone – employers, friends, former business associates, etc. It was important to let people know I was looking. It amazed me how many times I heard – “I didn’t know you were out of work.” I needed to get the word out.

Networking was a big part of my 40 hour week. Reconnecting with people I knew professionally, connecting with people they knew (that I didn’t), contacting associations I was a part of, etc. It was important to get out and see people.

It does not take long to fill up forty hours if you are actively looking.

In Part III I will discuss where I found the job and how I made contact with the company.