Yesterday we talked about organizing your job search. It had to do with taking all the data you collect in a job search and networking, and putting it somewhere and being able to access it later.
Today I want to talk about managing your job search. This is different than organizing data and information. Managing your job search has to do with knowing what you should do, when you should do it, and even measuring whether you are doing it or not.
When you feel out of control, you don’t know what to do. You feel behind, and like you are forgetting something. Indeed, you will forget things. I remember missing some important meetings because my tracking system (a spreadsheet that was growing overwhelmingly complex) was just not helping me who to call, and when to call them.
Organizing is about the data. Managing is about your activities and relationships (specifically, nurturing relationships).
I remember I wanted my spreadsheet to tell me what I had going on today, and what I needed to do. In addition to who I said I would call, I wanted to know who I hadn’t called for a while, and it was time to reach out to them again.
Later, a user told me “JibberJobber is my follow-up tool.” This was music to my ears… I want JibberJobber to be that tool to help you foll0w-up and nuture relationships. When he told me that, we made some changes and made JibberJobber more of a follow-up tool (which, as you now know, made it more of a management tool).
A management tool for job seekers. What a novel idea. Instead of just using your memory, some post-it notes, and a spreadsheet, you now had a tool that could say “make sure you call So-and-so today.”
Job seekers I knew back in 2006, during my job search, including myself, really needed a management tool. Otherwise, it seemed like we were spinning our wheels and missing opportunities.
Again, organizing is about the data, managing is about activities and relationships. This has been a core value proposition of JibberJobber from day one.