How much time should you spend on your job search? You’ll get a range of answers depending on whom you ask, but one popular answer you’re likely to hear repeated is that a job search should be a full-time job itself.
If you’re like a lot of job-searchers, you’ve probably heard that with bewilderment and concern – and wondered if you’re doing yourself a disservice because you’re not spending 40 hours a week applying to jobs.
The reality is, though, that job searching isn’t really going to be a full-time job for most people, so there’s no need to feel guilty for not racking up the hours.
The amount of time your job search will take varies dramatically from field to field and person to person. If you’re fairly junior in your career and are applying to a wide range of jobs, it’s possible that networking, writing cover letters, tailoring your résumé and wrestling with convoluted online application systems could take up a significant portion of your time. Even then, though, it probably doesn’t need to be anything approaching 40 hours a week. On the other hand, if you’re more senior or specialized, or if you’re simply in a field where there aren’t a ton of openings, it’s more likely to be impossible – or at least impractical – to spend that much time on your search. READ MORE
Comments