The Job Hunt: Strategy

Just this week, I have formally started my job hunt.

Scary, I know.

I am trying to be organized, but yet efficient about it.  I have done several things already to stay focused, stay determined, and stay ahead of the game.

First, I opened my iCalendar and scheduled time where I am focusing on my job search.  I selected from 9 to 11am each weekday for the morning session.  For the afternoon, I put down 12:30pm to 5:30pm.  This way, I get gilt reminders when I am off doing something else that I should be looking for a job.  I have done this before with my senior project back in college, where I needed to work on it independently, but regularly.

My Schedule; Its a full time job looking for one!

Second, I have been keeping a journal of the steps that I have taken during my job searching times.  I start each day with the date, and make a note of each job I applied for.  I make sure I put done, the title of the position, the company and geological place it would be, where I found the job (linkedin, monster, careerbuilder, etc.) and several tidbits of the job posting like the qualifications and keypoints of why I fit the position.  I am doing this all because its relatively quick to do and I can also use it for when I hear back from a company, but can't find the actual posting anymore.

I can also use this journal as a way to see that I am making progress.  I can see what I have done today and motivate myself that I need to do more.  It can also be used as a way to justify that you have been working on searching for jobs and not just playing games, in case someone asks (like your parents).

The last thing that I haven't quite done, but working towards is a way to develop my resume and become more competitive in the job market.  Every day after graduation, your degree's value is decreasing slightly.  So far, I am registering to take the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam (FE exam) in late October.  I am also currently in the research phase of looking for other ways to add value.  I am thinking of taking on a hobby of some kind.  I'm thinking of designing something practicing my mechanical knowledge or working through some problems using MatLab.

Let me know if any of you have any suggestions or advice.