It's important to stop sometimes during your adventures as an unemployee and pose a few questions to yourself to help you stay on track. Here are my top ten:
1) Am I spending enough time on my job hunt? If you're spending less than 20 hours a week, you might need to step it up there buddy boy. If you're not at all keeping track of how much time you're spending a week, that might also be a problemo.
2) Am I spending my time wisely by applying to jobs that I’m truly qualified for? There are a million things that would be better to do with your time than craft a cover letter, re-jigger the resume and research a job that you have not even a wing and a prayer of landing. You could be selling your ex-husband's truck on eBay, for example.
3) Am I prepping for my interviews by going to the company’s website, checking the news, and reading analyst reports? You should be a quasi-analyst by the time you interview.
4) Am I targeting too narrow a job niche? It's the same thing in dating, if you're looking for a blond, 5' 10" beauty, who loves tango, red wine, collecting sea shells and listening to Pearl Jam, then mayyybe you're a wee bit narrow for your own good.
5) Am I targeting too high-level a job? If you've never actually held a position that high up in a company, then you might be stretching too far. Know your limits.
6) Am I qualified for the job that I’m applying for? Related to number 5, but slightly different. This could apply to jobs that are at your level, but different from what you know how to do. Make sure the qualifications match up to your resume reasonably well.
7) Have I botched the interviews? Be honest with yourself on this one. Make a list of all the things that might have gone wrong and convert that to an action plan for the next interview. Since companies often have a culture and vibe all their own, sometimes it's impossible to know what you said wrong.
8) Am I projecting a good attitude in the interviews? I'm not a fan of forcing yourself to act a certain way or even overanalyzing yourself, but if you want to cry after an interview, that's a bad sign. Buck up buttercup and put on a happy face.
9) Am I spending too much time on my job hunt? If you're spending more than 30 hours a week on your job hunt, that a recipe for burnout...and probably alcoholism. Don't forget all the other things you could be doing to keep yourself sane (and employeable).
10) Have I been emptying my bucket of stress regularly? If you haven't been exercising or doing the other things that help you empty your bucket of stress, then you need to start. Now.
Stumble It!
Great piece of information and really helpful in job hunting. Thanks for sharing it to us.
Posted by: usa iphone user | August 16, 2011 at 09:04 PM