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Create A Job Hunting Plan
HAVE A PLAN
It’s important to have a plan before starting your job search. Otherwise, you run the risk of getting off track and wasting a lot of time and energy. The purpose of a plan is to provide you with the necessary steps for reaching your goal (finding a job) and keeping you focused along the way.
YOUR PLAN SHOULD INCLUDE:
Job Target
Determine the type of jobs and/or companies you will be applying to. Doing self-assessment exercises, studying the labour market and preparing a resume will help you discover the jobs you are interested in and most suited for.
Target Date
Establish a target date for finding and landing a job. Depending on what type of a job you are looking for, you will need ample time to prepare. For instance if you are looking for summer employment, you will need to start searching as early as six months prior. For seasonal and holiday jobs, it is usually wise to start in early September. If you are looking for a regular part-time or full-time job, you can start right away.
Time Commitment
Dedicate a certain amount of time every week to spend on your job search.
Job Lead and Sourcing Methods
- Look through newspapers, on-line job boards to find available opportunities on a daily basis.
- Visit as many companies as possible (on-line or in person) offering applications or accepting resumes for available positions.
- Develop a target list of employers you would like to approach including a contact sheet with names, addresses, phone numbers and any other contact information you can find.
- Attend employment fairs in order to meet and with recruiters and potential employers in person.
- Sign-up for job alerts on popular job sites or company career pages.
- Learn how to network and ‘tap in’ to the hidden job market.
Targeting Companies and Sourcing Out Leads
Aside from traditional job advertisements in the newspaper, there are many paper and electronic resources available for targeting companies and sourcing out job leads. You can find these available at your local employment resource centre or library.
- Business Directories
- Yellow Pages
- Search Engines
- On-line Job Boards
- Company Career Pages
CONTACTING
THE EMPLOYER DIRECTLY
There are three ways to make contact with potential employers.
Each method has advantages that may help you get the job.
THE INTERNET &
ONLINE JOB SEARCHING
The
use of technology continues to become more predominant in
today’s job market. This technology can be an extremely
useful tool for your job search. The internet
allows you to:
- Search
through job postings on-line Apply
directly to job openings Post
your resume
- Research
a company which may be helpful in an interview
UNSURE
ABOUT USING THE INTERNET FOR JOB SEARCHING?
Using
the internet for job searching can be difficult. Here are
some helpful links that might be able to clarify questions
you may have, provide some helpful hints and list other resources
you may want to use in getting started on the internet.
SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE
Join an association, job finding club or visit your local career centre for extra support and resources. Click here for a list of Employment Resources in the GTA.
A TRACK RECORD
Keeping track of the activities and actions taken in your job search is one of the most useful things you can do. By using a simple spreadsheet like Excel, you can enter all the information from any job sites you join, such as username and passwords created. You can call it your job hunting tracksheet. You can also track the dates, names and contact information for jobs that you applied to. You can have a column for notes on follow-up and outcomes.
GET ORGANIZED
Organization is the key to successful job hunting. There are many tools you can use to keep yourself organized throughout your job search. For example, file folders and business card holders allow you to store resumes, business cards, reference letters, contact sheets and thank-you letters. It is important to have these handy when attending job fairs and networking.
You can also create separate files for every job posting you apply to. Each file can contain a copy of the job posting, a copy of the tailored cover letter and a track sheet indicating date sent, follow-up notes and any correspondence/communication you may have regarding the position. You can store these all in a desk or an accordion file either by date or alphabetically.
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