My Prosperous World

Looking for a job is not a pleasant experience. Its even worse when you do not currently have one. Money is short, unemployment benefits are never enough, but the bills keep coming in. The chances are, if you are unemployed, your spending will eat into your savings. It could be worse than this, you may have to sell some things to pay for life’s basic necessities.

One of the biggest issues with the job hunt is time. If you haven’t got a job or income, it is going to be some time before the income starts hitting your account again. Even if you find a new job and start today, you’ll still have to wait a bit before the money gets to you. You still have to work for a week or more first. So it pays to be organised, minimising the time between now and the next pay check.

The first thing you must do is clearly define what you are looking for. When you are looking for a job, the last thing you want to do is spread your energy out over the entire employment landscape. If you do this, you will waste so much time chasing down so many opportunities that are just irrelevant.

Defining your ideal job is a personal thing. Not only is this different for every person, it will be different for you every time you look for a job. So try to do this alone, without an advice from others. There are many things you’ll need to consider when defining your ideal job, here are some of the things you can think about.

There are work specific considerations. What work do you enjoy? What do you specialise in? Where have you earned all your experience? Your past should help you with your direction, but don’t let it rule your future.

Big company or small company? At what level do you want to come in? Are you prepared to trade off today’s position for a better career path?

Money is all important for obvious reasons. What is your range? Are there things you are willing to trade off for a little less money? What is industry standard for the roles you are looking at?

How fast do you need a job? Can you afford to hold out for a better offer? Can this be a short term position while you find your long term position?

Is location an issue? Is travel an issue?

The more of these types of question you can answer, the closer you will come to defining your ideal job. The closer you come to defining that job the more specific and targeted you can be in your search. And the more targeted you are in your search, the more time you will save and the quicker you will find appropriate jobs to apply for.

Once you have saved time here in your search, you can better use that time preparing your applications and interviews. This is a much better use of your time that will make your job search much more effective.

Gnifrus Urquart advises many professionals with career advice and investment ideas Don’t reprint this exact article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.