Q. How Much Time Should You Spend Looking For A Job?
A. It depends!
It would be easy to say you should treat your job search like a full-time job. But let’s be realistic. If you spent 40 hours per week doing job search activity it would be more than the average person could handle. If you aren’t currently working or in an internship, a more reasonable goal would be 25 hours. That’s a little more than 3 hours a day. If you are still in school, working an internship, or already have a job and just want to find a new one, a good rule of thumb would be to spend 15 hours per week on your job search.
Q. How Should I Allocate Those Hours
If you have 25 hours to allot to your job search, I recommend breaking it up in this manner.
- Spend 5 hours per week sending and refining your career marketing materials. This includes customizing your resumes, cover letters, and follow-up letters or emails. Each one you send out should be personalized for the position and organization you are applying to.
- Spend 6 hours per week searching for, researching and applying to posted jobs. You should be using a variety of job sites, career boards and employer websites. Do your research on the companies you are interested in. You need to make notes and fill out your spreadsheet about potential prospects and find all the appropriate contact information. You an use this time to complete online profiles and submit resumes into employer databases.
- 3 hours per week participating in interviews or attending job fairs. This time could vary greatly from week to week depending on the number of interviews you secure. Use this time to make sure you have an appropriate environment for any online interviews as well.
- 11 hours per week devoted to networking activities. Are you sick of the word networking yet? Don’t be. I’ll repeat, it’s the single most effective way to find a job so it’s the area you need to devote the most time to. Networking can include any of the activities we’ve discussed. Use the resources in your college’s career or alumni office if you are on campus. Talk to advisers and professors. See if there’s a way you can shadow people already in your field. Make time to attend networking events in your town. These can be events held on campus or off. Check with the local Chamber of Commerce in your area (or in towns nearby) and make plans to attend. A lot of these organizations have Young Professional Events. Take advantage of the connections you can make there. Of course you’ll continue utilizing your growing LinkedIn Network. That will include your “cold contacts” and those you know personally. Keep in contact with your personal network too. Reach out to friends and family and make sure they are passing along information. Ask your friends. If you’re a soon to be or recent college grad, reach out to those who have graduated before you. Ask about opportunities they may know about. A lot of jobs are never posted and the only way you learn of them is through an internal connection. Utilize your other social networks. Ask about any known opportunities that match the field you’re interested in. Don’t forget to use your surroundings. If you work part-time, use that to your advantage, especially if you are working somewhere you come in contact with the public. Think about it. If you are a waiter or waitress, barista, or sales clerk, how many people do you see each day. Let them know in a casual way you’re looking for a job in your field. One caution here, if you aren’t committed to providing excellent customer service, don’t think your regular customers are going to be overly happy about sharing information with you.
Now if you are interning or working, where should you focus your 15 hours?
- Spend 3 hours per week sending and refining your career marketing materials.
- Spend 3 hours per week searching for, researching and applying to posted jobs.
- Spend 2 hours per week participating in interviews or attending job fairs.
- Spend 7 hours per week devoted to networking activities.