Among my plethora of Google searches, I stumbled upon this article that, amongst the waves of advice I have received about becoming an emerging young professional, seemed to resonate with me more than the others. Apart from the articles that teach me how to act in an interview, what to wear to an interview, what to say, what not to say, I found that this article was particularly helpful to guide to me to get to that interview process. It seems so transparent, however I’m sure I would be surprised as to how many aspiring young professionals wouldn’t take advantage of these few opportunities to make themselves more marketable. My favorite part of the article was when it told me to sit and do nothing. I tried to think back to the last time that I sat and did nothing and took just two minutes to myself. I can’t actually remember a time when I wasn’t doing homework, working out, going out or spending time with my eight phenomenal roommates. It made me realize that even I need to take a break from the best things in life. It’s important to realize why you are important to you, so you can be important to others.
Got 20 Minutes? 5 Things to Do for Your Job Search
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Job seekers, does it ever seem like there are simply not enough hours in the day? If only there were two additional hours you could have in your back pocket, just for when you needed them. Unfortunately, that’s not the case (or at least, not yet).
It’s daunting to assign yourself a large task (i.e., update your resume, apply to as many jobs as possible). Instead of focusing on big tasks, focus smaller, timed assignments. You’ll notice that it might be easier for you to accomplish more when you know you only have a set amount of time to work.
Got 20 minutes? Work on these assignments:
Follow 3 Industry Accounts on Twitter (00:00-02:00). With all this talk about the importance of social networking in a job search, how do you stack up? You have a Twitter account, but who are you following? In two minutes, find three new accounts held by companies or individuals you’d like to work for. This will bring you one step closer to connecting with your dream job.
Double-Check Your Privacy Settings (02:00-04:00). In two minutes, run through all of your social networks (Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Tumblr…), just to make sure you are in control of who accesses what. Facebook is known for changing privacy settings in its updates, so it’s worth double-checking!
Clean Out Your E-Mail Inbox (04:00-08:00). It’s ridiculously easy to let your e-mail accumulate in your inbox, where it sits forgotten and disorganized. Spend four minutes deleting junk e-mail and archiving important e-mails into different labels. If you have Gmail, create some filters that will instantly label your e-mail the minute it’s sent.
Make a Job Search Folder (08:00-18:00). For this assignment, step away from the computer. In a world dominated by technology, it’s easy to forget the hardcopy materials you need in your job search. Collect all the brochures, business cards, and other important hardcopy information you’ve collected from job fairs and interviews. Then, add up-to-date copies of your resume, portfolio, and business cards for easy access when you need them in a pinch.
Do Absolutely Nothing (18:00-20:00). When was the last time you sat and did nothing? When you’re working hard, you can easily become overstimulated and stressed out. Do Nothing For 2 Minutes is dedicated to hitting that pause button.
How did you do? You may not have finished all you wanted to accomplish, but you did make a step forward. Try setting short-term goals for yourself, allotting 10, 20, or 30 minutes, and you can avoid burnout.
Do you prefer to set short-term goals? How do you get things done?
Strategically Communicating 