Where is your job search time going?

The Highly Effective Job Search

In a previous post, I mentioned that some job search activities yield a higher return on investment. Searching online is not one of them. Although online searching may be easier, more comfortable and less stressful than out meeting with people, in the long run it becomes not only disappointing but very discouraging.

If less than 2 - 3% of good jobs are posted on job boards, then how much time should be allocated to that activity in your weekly action plan?

If most good jobs are not posted, how can you learn about them?

If employers prefer employee referrals as their primary source of hire, how do you get a referral?

It’s not complicated; you need to be known by others. So what activities yield the highest return on your investment of time? Assuming that you have a great value statement (see earlier post: Elevator Speech), a robust, descriptive profile on LinkedIn that shows what you can do for an employer or client, and a Marketing Plan, you will get the greatest return on your investment of time in the following activities:

Meetings with decision makers in targeted organizations
Meetings with people who know decision makers
Attending community events
Adding value to your connections and groups on LinkedIn: giving recommendations; asking and answering questions; joining and contributing to professional groups; creating a visual (slideshare) presentation

There are additional activities that can add even more value in some cases, but these are the essential steps for finding your next opportunity. So where are you spending your time? I propose that you spend it in Quadrant 2 of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits for Highly Effective People: