Making a Plan

Because many of our “dream jobs” require years and years of experience, the timeline between just starting out in your career and obtaining your end goal can take several months or several years. Navigating the job search and the process of applying to jobs can be a drag, and it’s normal to struggle with motivation. There are also many moving parts at play during the application process, such as drafting resumes, cover letters, and writing samples, and deciding on references. So, successfully landing your dream job requires successfully managing your job hunt. To do so, you need to find a way to hold yourself accountable, structure a realistic and sustainable plan, and stay organized.

Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute!

The job hunt can be ongoing, but can also have an ebb and flow, so you won’t have to be on 100% the entire time. However, you need to have an awareness of the amount of effort you should be putting into the search based on the context so you don’t end up without a job, and have the best chance of landing your most ideal job. Waiting until the last minute for a job’s deadline can present many obstacles and decrease your chances of being selected, even if you meet the deadline.

Employers begin reading applications before the deadline, or could be hiring on a “rolling basis,” so they might select someone before the deadline even passes. It can also set you behind in the interview process; many employers encourage candidates to apply at least a month before the official deadline to leave time for interviews. However, if you stay on top of job postings and have an awareness of deadlines long before they pass, you can avoid these problems and give yourself a better chance of success.

Giving yourself ample time to apply for a job also means you don’t have to rush through drafting your resume, CV, cover letter, writing sample, or other application materials, and gives you time to have others review them for you and make suggestions.

Building Your Timeline

A lot of people just starting out in their careers may be pursuing seasonal positions - i.e., a “fall semester” internship. Planning ahead for these roles is extremely important and means you have less wiggle room in deciding your next move. Applications for fall semester roles can open at the beginning of the spring semester or earlier, so if you are looking for a seasonal position you should start the search as early as possible.

Juggling the job search while working full time or being a full time student can be a lot to manage so it’s important to create a realistic schedule to avoid procrastination. What your current priorities in the job search should be depends on the timeframe. For example, if it’s January and you are thinking about applying for roles next fall, you should set aside time each week to look for jobs.

Later in the process, keeping an eye on the deadlines, you should be setting realistic goals for completing application materials. For example, one week you could set the goal of selecting writing samples and finding someone to help you edit them or make suggestions. Another week, you could set the goal of selecting and contacting people you want to use as job references – to make sure they are okay with it and know it’s coming, make sure you have updated contact information, and/or ask for a letter of recommendation of the application asks for one.

It’s good to have an awareness of the jobs you want most, as well as the jobs you are most likely to get, to help you decide how to prioritize jobs and craft a timeline.

Staying Organized

Especially at the initial stage of the job search – when you first start looking for jobs you want to apply to – it’s important to create an organized system to work from. Making a job tracker spreadsheet is a great way to stay organized and keep track of your different applications and job options, as they may have varying deadlines and requirements. This spreadsheet should include items such as the organization and job title, a link to the opening, the hours required (full-time, part-time, etc), pay rate, deadlines, and application materials required. You can divide up your spreadsheet into 2 sections – before and after you submit your application. That way, once you apply, you can document the status of your application, such as whether the employer confirmed they received it, whether you sent a follow-up email, whether you were asked to interview, etc.

Different methods of organization work for different people. The goal is to decide on a method that is effective for you, individually, and that you can realistically expect to follow through on. For example, creating a detailed calendar or journal that you update daily may be too much for some people to deal with long term. Or, for example, someone who works from their computer all day may find a pencil-and-paper schedule too inconvenient, but would benefit from a technological version. There are many websites, computer applications, and phone applications for calendars, journals, or checklists (like to-doist). Since our lives revolve around our phones, some people really benefit from phone reminders, alarms, and calendar alerts.

Staying Accountable

Because the job hunt is a lot, it can be really easy to procrastinate, put things off, or avoid meeting goals. This can feel unimportant in the short-term, but in the long run, you are closing yourself off from valuable and exciting opportunities. To stay on top of things, you need to figure out how to hold yourself accountable for your progress, or lack thereof.

One way to hold yourself accountable is to make sure the goals you set for yourself (like finishing one resume for one job over the course of one week) are genuinely realistic, so that when you compare your progress to your goals, you can’t make excuses for not meeting your goals.

Another method of accountability is to have a trusted person in your life help you stay on track. If you are looking for entry-level positions, there are likely other people or friends in your life that are similarly positioned and are also on the job hunt. You could use this person as an “accountability buddy” and help keep each other accountable. Aside from practical benefits, having someone you can talk to frequently about your job search can be a good outlet for expressing frustrations and be reminded that someone else is experiencing something similar. (I would generally recommend that this person not be your romantic partner––this might not be the kind of pressure that you want to add to your relationship!)

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