Organize Yourself

When being persistent is not only about replying to the jobs, but also give a follow up. For example, if you already got an e-mail or call as we said before, and then you replied… but after a couple of days you don’t hear from them, you should contact them again. Accidents happen and your message may have been displayed or lost.

Before contacting them, you should double check if your message went through, it also might had happened that your e-mail didn’t send, or that your phone is off… After you are sure that everything is and was functioning good, then you can establish some rules.

After the first contact, you should put in your agenda a ‘follow up action’ up to three days one week. i.e. I send my application on Monday first week, I get a positive email on Thursday to tell me that I’ll be contacted in the next few days, but I don’t hear from there since then, today is already Wednesday second week… I should be sending an e-mail already asking politely about a process update.

Now, keeping a clear agenda either electronic or digital is important. Remember to write some kind of description to each one of the titles, because you don’t want to mix up the information and confuse employer’s names, positions or jobs descriptions. Staying organized will also show up to the employer, believe it or not, is something that no matter how much people hide it, organization is almost a trait as part of your face.

Have Discipline

If you know that you are job hunting and you have to follow up, then thinking on vacations and how to spend the weekends won’t help. Having an office-schedule already is also important. If you are expected to send e-mails and make some calls during office hours only, you definitely have to go through this timing. Don’t call before eight in the morning or after six in the evening, and don’t call the weekends, unless they call you, it’s up to you to reply.

Also, try to keep yourself healthy, this means that you’ll do exercises and eat every day at the same time, eat properly and don’t abuse your ‘free time’ too much, sleep up to nine or ten hours and don’t expose yourself to hang-over situations or other random sickness such as over does of caffeine.

Sometimes people get hired and fired in the same week, because they are too tired or negligence-ill to work, since they’ve been in a teenager schedule for the last three months. You aren’t a robot, and you need to create good habits if you really want this or any other job.

If possible make time twice a day for ‘continuity’. Sit down twice a day to write emails to make some calls and research. Having a permanent hour and possibly a place at your home will help your brain to start brainstorming the ideas you need and put them together when responding.

Also, it is a good idea if you are ready and clean since early in the morning, in case the employer invites you for a quick talk. Some employers prefer the personal approach and they rather speak with people in person many times before getting into the selecting decision.

i.e. Monday to Friday: Wake up at 7am maximum and go to bed at 11pm or so. From 7 to 9 in the morning you can exercise, take a shower and have some breakfast. From 9:30-12:00 you can sit down for the continuity. From 12:30-1:30 in the afternoon you can have some lunch, and then go back to the working space you have reserved and continue grasping ideas.

In some cases the employers ask you to send some other extra documents, such as a ‘writing sample’ so use this time for it. Don’t think you can do it tomorrow, because tomorrow you might get another document to prepare, and so on. Also, this time can be used as refining your knowledge, learn more about the company, learn more about the people and the sector in which you are applying for.

Jennifer is the author of Dream Job Book about Getting the Job of Your Dream in 6 Days and 6 Simple Steps!