Time Management
How much time do all the job seekers out there spend between the following activities:
1. Networking (and in what form)
2. Applying for positions online
3. Researching jobs
4. Improving your skill set
5. Other activities that I haven't mentioned
I am spending time looking over job postings and talking with people in companies that I would like to work for. I am torn on doing programming exercises and data mining exercises to improve my skills because I think it is taking time away from actively searching, but I want to be able to impress people with my skills, and I need to brush up constantly to do that.
I would appreciate hearing everyone's input on this. Thanks!
Jim
- jimmyjot's blog
- Login or register to post comments
Comments
Hi Jim, The rule of thumb
Hi Jim,
The rule of thumb that I have heard is 10% of a job seekers time should be spent on online applications, they should get in 2 hours a day of networking at as many different venues as possible and the rest varies. In the beginning of my job search I spent a lot of time researching and applying online which did not yield many results. I then turned my focus toward networking as my majority activity. I was discouraged by this because I was not finding the right groups for me. At that time I received an amazing opportunity to develop my skills which consumed almost all of my time for several months. This endeavor was invaluable to me and I definitely encourage any job seeker to build time in their plan for improving and developing new skills. I am still preparing for the second certification from my training and at the same time have refocused on networking. Through continuously exploring new networking forms I have only recently found a few groups that I am very happy with. They provide value beyond networking only and I am able to provide value to the groups as well. This is a very generalized rundown of my job search experience. My recent activities have been producing many opportunities for me and I am encouraged about finding the right fit for my career development soon.
What I have found to be most effective for me is to target specific companies and verticals for my online activities, network in many various forms and consistently evaluate and adjust my plan. Effective forms of networking I have found are career specific groups and associations, group oriented skill development opportunities, community, volunteer and groups for my own interests, and definitely reaching out to people with experience and skills I want to attain. Linked-in has been a great source for me to reach out to people about their experience and there is always reciprocation, even when I have not expected to have experience the other party would benefit from. I hope this is what you were looking for and has been helpful.
Sheryl Posey, PMP
Normally, early in the job
Normally, early in the job search spend more time researching jobs and networking opportunities.
Once you know what's out there, which skills are in demand, you will be able to better target your skill-improvement activities.
Applying to jobs online will take a bit more time per opportunity early in your search, and will get down to a push-button operation as time goes on, because you become better organized and better prepared. But generally this is not where you want to spend the bulk of your time.
Networking can take as little or as much time as you have to spend.
I also advise to take a good long time to prepare for interviews - research the company and the people, practice your pitch, think about particular stories from your experience that may be relevant to the job. And last but not least, work on programming exercises related to skills required.
Jane Prusakova
Senior Consultant at Improving Enterprises
LinkedIn Info