Tracking a Job Search

The way we look for jobs has been changed, but the way people get hired is still the same. With the internet, people all over the world are able to apply for a position, where before jobs were more location specific. We know the economy is improving and jobs are being created. Although a sign of improvement, job seekers like myself know the difficulties of having fantsatic job skills.

One of the books I’ve found most instructive in this new job search is by Orville Pierson “The Unwritten Rules of the Highly Effective Job Search”. Many recruiters use it, it's the most valuable job-seeking book i've found...i don't really know what else a job-seeker would to read to learn the process.
Most job-seeking books focus on the obvious elements of a job –seeker: resumes, cover letters and finding your passion. Important things sure, but hardly rendering a job-seeker ready to toil against the difficulties often at hand. It hardly give attention to the effective search itself.

Pierson gives job seekers another method. A systematic method to combating our process problems of a job search: seeking out networking events, tracking responses to people we email; targeting companies, and even ways to network into a job.

As pierson points out. The average person is going to look for a job 10-15 times in his or her life. Why not learn the skills to gauge involvement in this often difficult process of looking for work.

Here is are some tips about what a good job searching week looks like

25-35 Hours
Creating/Modifying a Target Company List
15- 30 contacts that week
Having a Core Message, with 6 stories to back it Up
Establishing communication with several decision Makers
Follow-uping up with your contacts, and scheduling people with multiple contacts
Deciding on Tracking the Progress of all contacts related to the job search
5 to 50 letters, notes emails a week

There are little tips like that, but the joy of the novel is that Pierson works you from the beginning: the problems many job seekers face (most of which are poor attitudes, and ignorance on networking), and leads you to a complex, but practical method in the job search.

Find a few other inspirational poems to put on your refrigerator, and i'd say your ready to play ball.