My first week, after I lost my job, was a week of looking for my resume. After not finding it, I spent time trying to recreate it.
Looking back on it now I see that week as a colossal waste of time.
I recently heard of a job seeker who did the same thing I did… spent the first week looking for his old resume, then recreating what he remembered to be the most amazing document.
Knowing what I know now, here’s how I would spend the first week (it’s a GIVEN that I’d use JibberJobber to organize all this stuff :p):
- Listing my Target Companies,
- Looking for people on LinkedIn that work at (or have worked at) those Target Companies.
- Making contact with those people, as well as others in my industry and town/city, and asking for informational interviews.
I would do this the very first day. I might not get any informational interviews for a week or two or three, but I need to get that “pipeline” filled up.
I’d also learn everything I could about informational interviews. I’m guessing 98% of job seekers do them wrong.
In my spare time, and only after I’ve reached out to contacts for informational interviews (which I should do every day), I would work on my LinkedIn Profile, and start the resume creation process (it would be worth the few hundred dollars to have a professional write my resume. I learned that the wrong way).
I had to get my resume done so I could apply to job openings I found on job boards…. right? That’s what I thought. I went about it all wrong.
Please don’t waste the first week of your job search like I did.
You know what is scarier, Jason? I know people who wasted 6 -12 months because they had a severance package and they thought they could wait. Or they didn’t have severance but they had a good unemployment check and they thought they needed a break. Spend the summer fishing and camping or spend the winter ice fishing and skiing. And soon there is a huge gap on their resume and they are struggling.
They will almost always have some free time. Very few people are hired the next day but taking a break because you think you deserve one will cause havoc to your entire career marketing plan.
Job search is about strategy and so is your resume. People do succeed but only with a strategy.
You are so right… I didn’t think about that. But I’ve heard of people who wait until their severance is gone to start searching… big mistake! What job seeker lands a job overnight?
Exactly! The blow their money on vacation or they think they can “save” money by writing their own resume That may have worked 10 years ago, but in today’s market, that’s like doing your taxes with outdated or little knowledge of tax regulations. Mistakes can be very expensive in either case.