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Want A New Job By The New Year? Five Time Management Moves To Make Now

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A popular end-of-year resolution is to land a new job by the new year (and a University of Phoenix survey shows that over half of U.S. adults want a new career altogether!). If a fresh start by new year is a dream of yours, then you have about three months to make it happen. This is ample time if you manage your time smartly!

But what should you spend these precious last weeks of the year doing? How should you pace yourself? Here are five time management moves to make if you want to land a new job by the new year

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Drop 10 hours off your schedule

If you don’t proactively make the time, it’s not going to magically find its way on your schedule. You probably already feel too busy, but yes, you’re going to need to carve out a substantive amount of time 10 hours is a good target.

You need this time to update your resume, online profile, and how you will introduce yourself. You need time to identify target companies and research them so you present as a well-informed and genuinely interested candidate (nothing screams “I’m really not interested” more loudly than not knowing basic information about the supposed company of your dreams!). You need time to network, follow up on leads, and make your way through the hiring process.

The amount of time a thoughtful job search takes will not just fall into your lap. Think about what you’re going to cut out of your schedule. It might be painful, but it’s only for the next few months. One of my clients actually dropped one of his few dedicated evenings with the kids. He thought his wife would be upset about that, but she was more upset about his constant complaining about his job that she was happy to cover his kid nights for the next few months. He did get his career back on track (actually with the same employer but in a modified role) and is back to his regular schedule.

Block time during normal working hours

Sure, you can research companies and update your resume and even do some networking before and after work, but when you get into the busy part of the hiring process (those endless rounds of interviews!) you will need to make time during normal working hours.

If you never miss a day and suddenly become MIA, you can inadvertently out your job search. If your work schedule is usually packed to the brim with meetings, you can’t assume you can take off for the unexpected interview. If your work culture prioritizes face time, you need to reset expectations, at least while you’re still there.

Block regular time on your calendar now, even if you’re not sure when you will have interviews. If you don’t use your pre-scheduled blocks for the interviews, you can use them to reschedule meetings or catch up on work for the interviewing time where you do miss work. Ask for a remote schedule, start taking longer lunches, and step up those external client meetings if you can, so it’s less obvious when you’re not working. Plan your remaining vacation around your job search if your workplace is so inflexible you need to take official days away.

Pace yourself to peak before the holidays

It’s a myth that job seekers do not get hired during the holidays. Just like you have a wave of resolutions for the new year, companies also have a wave of initiatives for the new year and often increase hiring to meet those goals. In addition, companies that have remaining budget and headcount at year-end will want to fill those spots and not lose them next year. So there will be end-of-year hiring for sure.

That said, it’s very hard to get things started once holiday mode kicks in. Therefore, you want to be in the interviewing process meeting people about actual identified opportunities before late November. This means, you want to be done with your marketing, company research and preliminary networking before late November. Getting a job by new year doesn’t mean you have all the way till December to get started. You want to be tying up loose ends by December, not kicking off.

Don’t forget that the holidays and end-of-year push also affect you apart from your job search. You may be busier at work. You may have family obligations (e.g., your child’s school holiday concert). You may get wistful or more stressed as the holidays roll around and get less productive. You should anticipate the possibility that you will slow down and build in some down time and stress management support.

Use the calendar to your advantage

While the approaching holidays puts a constraint on your job search, it also provides opportunity to network more, to catch people in a festive mood, to identify pain points (those next year company initiatives!). Use the calendar to your advantage by attending holiday parties and other networking events. You might even organize your own party to reconnect with people in your network.

As you meet with people, ask about their professional goals for end-of-year and the new year. This will give you valuable information about what companies need, which can help you position yourself as a problem-solver. You will also gain insight into what would be helpful to the person you’re talking to, allowing you to reciprocate with something helpful to them (an idea, an introduction to someone who can help). Even if the specific information you learn is not relevant to companies in your job search, it helps you understand the broader market, which gives you context for the companies you are targeting.

Build in push time when interviews pick up

All of this networking and research is ideally leading up to actual job interviews for getting hired. As you start fielding appointments for your hiring process, use the time you have blocked out during normal working hours to be able to quickly respond. A quick response is attractive to employers it demonstrates you’re interested and shows you’re on top of your schedule.

When you get an interview, you need to step up your research into that company, and you also need to research the people you’ll be meeting. So you need to build in push time for your research as well. In fact, getting one interview is a great way to get more interviews. As you let people know you’re interviewing (you have to do more research after all) they realize you’re in play and it may spark them to make a referral or get you started on the hiring process with their company. Employers want what their competitors have.

There are many reasons why right now, the last quarter of the year, is a great time to jump start your job search and land a new job by the new year. Take advantage of what smart time management can add to your job search. Proactive time management can mean the difference between starting the new year with a new job or lamenting you have another year of the same old thing.

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