It’s only February, but summer is going to come faster than you think. In fact, it’s 17 weeks away.
Because job or internship searching is a self-motivated activity—you’re not being graded on your performance—it’s very easy to defer your job or internship search until “later,” which can mean you will miss out on opportunities and be too late to find the opportunity you really want. This is especially true with degree projects looming!
So, how to stay motivated? Try breaking your search down into specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound steps, week by week until summer. Mark your calendar for each specific goal. For each step, know what you want to accomplish, how your results will be measured, and when you want the goal accomplished. Consider this plan as you would any plan to reach a self-motivated goal, like weight loss or exercise. Many people also benefit from finding a job search partner or group to join, so that on a weekly basis, you can report on your progress and future plans (peer pressure helps!).
Here are some important job search steps you can take now, and each week through June:
- This week: Ask yourself what kind of job or internship you are looking for. Set aside some time to assess what’s important to you: type of organization, location, job function, skills you want to develop. Have at a few options in mind, and a few organizations you’d like to target. Being focused will make the rest of your search much easier. You can continue this activity each week through June—or for the rest of your life—but don’t get stuck here. You have to take action.
- Last two weeks of February: Identify your skills and abilities. Use the Evans School Employment Handbook (downloadable from EvansJobs) to identify what you have accomplished and what skills you have used. You can use this to help write a better resume and cover letter, and even use certain skills as keywords in online job searches.
- First week or two of March: If you haven’t done so already, get your resume and cover letters polished and ready. Make sure it’s letter-perfect, have it double-checked by Career Services and several friends, quantify your accomplishments, and ensure it’s well-formatted and readable.
- Mid-March: Make a job-search to-do list and specific goals for each week. Decide how many career events you can attend, jobs you are going to apply to each week, informational interviews you will conduct. Find a job search partner to keep you on track or get organized with a calendar or Excel file in which you note your follow-up appointments and activities.
- Now through June: Research where to find opportunities. Sources of jobs and internships can come from networking contacts, postings on EvansJobs or other databases, or online research. Set aside a specific time each week to research opportunities, follow up on your contacts and connections, or make outreach phone calls to target organizations. Start bookmarking job-related websites, subscribing to job posting listservs, and setting up a job search agent in EvansJobs so that you will be alerted to jobs as they are posted. Some tips on other job search listserves you can join are available here.
- Now through June: Reach out to professionals in your field for networking. Mark your calendar to follow up with people you've met to keep them updated on your job search process.
- Mid-March through June: Apply to opportunities. Decide on a number you want to aim for each week.
- April through June: Hopefully, interview for some opportunities. Make an appointment with Career Services for a mock interview beforehand.
- Ideally—by summer: If you keep up the effort throughout the winter and spring quarters, you will have an offer. Ask Career Services about salary negotiation or refer to the Employment Handbook.
Published on February 11, 2010
