A Week In The Life Of A Job HunterHi all! I decided to do something new and different this time. Every day of this week, I wrote down some lines (sort of like a diary) with the idea of explaining the current events going on these days. I hope it helps you to get an idea of how the life of a job hunter (just like me) is like.
Monday
* I get up at 8am, it’s always hard to start a week but I am excited about what’s going to happen this week.
* Made a phone call to Company A to re-schedule interview day and time.
* Later in the morning, reviewing and studying Company B.
* Have lunch and get ready for my interview.
* At 2pm, Interview with Company B. (I like it and have good impressions).
* 3:30pm finished the interview and head up to the bank, order some checks. (sorry to say job-hunters pay bills too…) hehehe
* At 4pm arrive home. Send thank you letter (this is crucial in most cases) to Company B and provide references and materials requested by the Manager.
* Spend the rest of the day checking emails and researching more job opportunities.
* Dinner at 9 and to bed at 11:00pm.
Tuesday
* Get up 8am, study session for tough Company C. Prepare questions, review resume and job description.
* At 10:30am phone rings: Phone interview with Company C as scheduled. 1 hour long, not big deal (good impressions and waiting for results).
* After the interview is time to go to the groceries. Get a full survival pack for a couple of weeks and come back home.
* 2:00pm: Review/study Company A right after lunch.
* At 4:00pm: Third round (and hopefully last) interview with Company A. Arrived 15 minutes earlier to cause a good impression. ;-D (Went good, met the Manager for the first time and now just waiting for an answer).
* Get home at 5:30pm, check email, prepare dinner and to bed at 11pm.
Wedsnesday
* Get up at 9am. No interviews today.
* Have breakfast in front of the computer: Received email from Company D to discuss potential opportunities with me. (Sounds good, I am going to reply)
* Not much during the morning… Today is definitely the official “waiting-for-response” day!
* Use the occasion to do some reading and update resumes. Tools I am primarily using: SimplyHired, Doostang, LinkedIn, Craigslist, and of course, Yahoo Hotjobs, Career Builder and Monster.
* At 4:30pm: Participation on an Online survey for about 2 hours (The good thing is that I am getting an incentive!)
* Dinner at 9pm and sleeping at 11:30pm.
Thursday
* Get up at 9am. Patience is a virtue (still waiting for responses…). First thing you need to learn is to be patient; Recruiting processes can get very slow, especially if you are interviewing with big corporations.
* During the morning: Do some work from home as an independent consultant for Company E. It is a good idea to have a part time job to be able to survive until you find a permanent job, or at least to keep yourself busy with something.
* Watch some TV in the evening.
* Dinner at 9 pm, and fall asleep at 11:30pm.
Friday
* Get up at 9am.
* Get contacted from Company D. Interview scheduled for next Tuesday 30th at 11:30am.
* Interviewing with several companies simultaneously might seem kind of stressful, and it truly can be. Recommendation: choose to be organized; I believe it’s important to develop a good job hunting strategy, follow it strictly, and keep track of the contact information, dates, and all relevant information from the people or companies you are dealing with. Of course, the higher the number of interviewing processes you are involved in, the more likely you land your dream job.
* During the morning: Do some reading and job applications.
* It’s amazing how fast time flies when you are looking for a job and how incredibly long waiting periods can turn out to be… Fortunately, I am becoming an expert now and my intuition tells me I am getting very close. Meanwhile, promise not to desperate, be strong, and keep it up!
* Friday evening: I felt I need a break and decided to go the cinema. What movie? Epic movie: A corny parody of significant movies throughout the year (such as The Da Vinci Code, Superman, Harry Potter, Borat, …). It was not as funny as I expected but at least it made me forget about my job hunting situation for a while…
Saturday:
* Pretty normal weekend day: relax at home during the morning and shopping-walk around San Francisco city center during the afternoon.
* Highlight of the day: Dinner at a Sushi place! why do I love sushi so much?? I guess I could even use a hold new post entry on this subject sometime soon.
* Watched a movie on TV and went to bed at 12:30pm.
Sunday:
* Get up at 10. Preparation for the upcoming week: Write a list of duties and develop a little review of the current job hunting strategies I am currently employing.
Check out the sources I used to get each of the interviews with the companies I am presently interviewing with:
Company A: Recruiter found my resume and contacted me directly.
Company B: Recruiter found my resume and contacted me directly.
Company C: Applied through corporate website.
Company D: Applied through Doostang.
Company E: Applied through Craigslist.
I thought this might be relevant to identify what job-hunting tools are more effective and, therefore, how I should concentrate my efforts from now on. By the way, I hope you don’t mind but I preferred to keep the companies’ names confidential.
I hope you enjoyed my week-in-review. Needless to say feedback is always welcome!
