If there is ever a time to be organized, it’s during a job search.
Flurries of printouts, phone messages, advertisements, resumes and letters can grow into blizzards as the search heats up. Shovel early and often, advise personal organizers and career coaches, so that you’re able to respond to employer questions quickly and competently.
“People relate being organized–your ability to manage your time and your environment–with being competent,” said Lynn Meyer, a personal organizer and owner of Chicago-based All About Time.
The popular meaning of “having your act together” means that you’re organized, she pointed out, “not that you’re not good at what you do. If you aren’t ready when that employer calls back and you can’t find your notes, it sounds like you’re not on top of things.”
At stake is more than the satisfaction of having a tidy desk. Arriving for an interview with a disheveled briefcase and inadequate background information about yourself sends the message that you can’t even get out of the house in decent order. Career coach Candace Davies of Grand Prairie, Alberta, has even had clients who missed out on jobs entirely because they didn’t keep track of follow-up dates.
“Organization is really having the information you need, when you need it,” advised Los Angeles management consultant Patti Branco. Her secret tactic for sizing up the organizational habits of job candidates is to note how well a woman has organized her purse and how well a man pays attention to the details of his appearance.
“The material you bring also indicates organization,” said Branco, noting that well-prepared candidates are usually calm and relaxed too.
“One time I interviewed a double MBA whose resume had gotten copied crooked on the paper. He said that he was in such a hurry to get here that he just wanted to tell me verbally what wasn’t on the page,” Branco related. “We ended up having a coaching session [instead of an interview].”
People who are intuitively organized often start applying those skills to their job search automatically.
Electrical engineer Daniel A. Suchorabski of Hickory Hills creates a computer file for each company in which he is interested and also keeps a daily log of what material he is sending to the company. When he sends something off, he notes in his calendar when he should call or e-mail to follow up.
Using a computer-based calendar and tracking correspondence in computer files is the tactic that comes most naturally to him. Go with the technology with which you’re most comfortable–computer, paper or a combination, career counselors said.
Binders with sections for industry and company research and pocket folders for resumes work for some people. Others prefer the old-fashioned but easy-to-use index-card system, especially if it is cross-referenced with a print calendar.
“There is no one right system–but have a system and be consistent,” Meyer urged.
The system should be set up with follow-up in mind. Notes about any interview dates and resumes sent should be cross-referenced with company information.
“When somebody calls back, you want to remember who you interviewed with and what you discussed. After 10 interviews, it’s all slurring together in your brain,” Meyer said. “And you want to be sure that you’re not sending out something twice to somebody and that your thank-you’s are out promptly.” It also is critical to keep track of all the contacts you’ve had within each company and what was discussed with whom.
Because the job-search process is similar to sales, some career coaches recommend that candidates use sales-tracking software. These programs automatically cross-post files with their internal calendars and include plenty of space for creating databases for efficient searching.
Adopting sales techniques also can help to keep things moving along, said Doug Seville, managing consultant with the Chicago office of outplacement firm Thomson DBM. That means plotting out the week’s agenda with an action form to record phone calls, letters, thank-you notes, meetings, research, interviews and follow-up contacts. “Have a weekly action plan and a form [for tracking what’s accomplished],” he recommended.
Another way to keep track of endless tasks and errands is to create a chart on the computer or by hand on paper, recommended Louis Lamorte, director of career services at LaSalle University in Philadelphia. Cross-reference the chart with a system of manila folders, each with a cover sheet attached with room to record when each item–resume and so on–has been sent to the employer. Inside the folder, store research on the company.
Organizing the job hunt provides a satisfying sense of control into a process that often feels arbitrary and frustrating, said Ann Harding, assistant director of the career center of Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington.
She strongly recommends that even computer nuts print out a “cheat sheet” summary of all active leads and keep it by each phone, in their briefcases and in the car. “If the phone rings and the computer’s not on, you don’t have time to boot up and get at your spreadsheet” to pick up the threads of conversation with that employer, she explained.
Employers also are impressed when a candidate hands over a business card printed with her name, address, phone numbers and e-mail address. That, Harding said, is a smooth way to make sure that all the critical information is delivered concisely and consistently to everyone you might meet as interviews progress.
One soothing habit is to get prepared a day ahead of time for interviews. That means double-checking that all interview outfits are clean and ready to go; directions to the company are printed and confirmed; and an umbrella is in the car, just in case.
Emergency preparations include one often-overlooked step: conducting a background check on yourself. Flush out unpleasant elements such as delinquent credit accounts and long-forgotten tax liens and also double-check the dates of employment stored in computerized databases about you, said Robert Schwartz, executive vice president for U.S. Search Inc., a Los Angeles-based firm that sells background search services.
The goal is to anticipate any questionable entries so that you can assure employers that the information is erroneous and you are working to get it fixed or so that you can put it in context.
“You want to see what they are going to see,” Schwartz said.
A clean background check certainly won’t assure you the job, but a smudged one most certainly can knock you out of contention.
