Job Search Schedule
Tyler Banks was out of work, but he was never out of the routine.
The former commercial real estate manager was laid off in September from the Southern California brokerage where he worked and immediately dropped out of the corporate rat race. But he immediately entered another rat race – the job search.
“I never once sat on the couch and watched TV,” he told reporter Patty Orsini for a recent profile — Real Estate Director Plans Exit Strategy — of his job search on TheLadders Career Advice. His only break during the day came when he took his kids to school or to swimming lessons. Otherwise, he was focused on the search.
The advice from career pros, recruiters and most job seekers is to keep a schedule, preferably one that mirrors the schedule you left. That means keeping the hours you kept while you were working, and using them to search for new work.
“If you worked 9 to 5 regularly, work something close to 9 to 5 at looking for a job,” said a source who works as a human resources director. ” If you regularly worked 10 hours a day, work eight or 10 hours a day at looking for a job. You can’t go from working begin putting in 10 hours a day at the office and wake up at noon and work two hours before dinner. You won’t happy.”
Stay active
It’s not just a good standard to ensure you’re putting in the effort, keeping a schedule, a routine and a presence can help keep you in the industry loop and keep you sane.
When you’re out of work, finding a job is your job, said Darrell Gurney, a career coach and author, in a column for TheLadders. He recommends one not only keep a schedule, but a public one – attend events, stay in touch with colleagues, chime in on blogs.
Banks said he made certain to network and visit colleagues several times weekly “to keep in touch with what was going on in the business world.” He also opened his own business doing loan modifications for people.
In the same vein, a friend of mine, who is among the thousands of out-of-work journalist, started his own blog the day he was laid off. He calls his contacts every morning and files stories for his own blog as if nothing changed. When an interviewer asks what have you been up to he can point to a unbroken stream of work in his field.
Not for night owls
Maintaining a schedule will also do wonders for your self worth, said Elizabeth Friedman, PhD.
“We identify at least part of our self with what we do,” she told TheLadders reporter Debra Donston-Miller for a story, LOST: Identity! Stop Job Loss from Stealing Your Confidence. “Hopefully it’s not all of our self-definition, but it is a big part of it. So we lose our grounding, our footing, in certain ways. ‘Who am I? Where am I going? What do I do tomorrow morning at 8:00? Do I get up? Do I stay in bed?’ ”
Staying in bed is not the right answer, experts agree. In fact, sticking to a routine and applying control when and where you can is key.
“Take one day to feel terrible, and then get moving,” Friedman said. “It’s very important to keep basic routines. You can’t suddenly be up all night long watching ‘Law and Order.’ Get up in the morning; take a shower. If you’re a guy, shave; if you’re a woman, do your hair. Send out a million e-mails, contact all of your friends.”
A sense of identity loss can affect a person’s relationships and family dynamics, as well.
For an example of a schedule not to keep, Franzine Kafka, of Quarter-Life Crisis, offers a compass: “4:00 a.m. - Bed time… 12:30 p.m. wake up (i count this as a victory…”
(Image of Busy Schedule by flik, CC 2.0)
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