How much time should you spend on your job search?

Finding a job is a time-consuming activity. It requires goals, focus, and priorities, particularly when there are so many other more interesting activities that we can be diverted by. If you want to be successful in your job search more quickly, I recommend that you invest a minimum of 20 to 25 hours per week. If you are already working and looking for another position or if you are studying, you will need to adapt this recommendation to fit your circumstances.

Researching companies, networking, tailoring your resume, writing covering letters, meeting with your career coach, attending workshops that teach you how to find a job, all these take time.

• If you are working full-time, how can you carve out a few hours each week? Perhaps you take an hour each evening when your children are studying or asleep or you use part of your lunch break for your job-finding activities.
• If you are studying 20 hours per week, try to adjust your schedule or focus on finishing your studies and then move on to the job search.
• If you have childcare responsibilities, collaborate with your spouse, family, or friends to carve out times where you focus on finding a job.

Regardless of your circumstances, create time to find your next job. Imagine your job search is a savings account. The more you put into the account, the sooner you will achieve your goal.

Joan Bassett, Career Coach at Directions for Immigrants