Employment Search Metrics

Friday is a typical day, when in employment, to review what you have achieved this week and start to consider what you will do next week - diary commitments not withstanding.

When I'm looking for a job it's actually no different. I consider my job hunt in exactly the same way -  it's about being professional and doing the right things, only this time I am working for a very personal business - Myself.

It's hard to put together metrics like you would if you had a real job but I think I need to have some targets to measure myself and be agile enough to adjust them as and when necessary. Talking to a colleague this morning we were reflecting on how important it was to reflect on achievements during the week but not to forget that the real measurement is the job offer and the start of employment.

But there must be more ways to measure performance in the job search world?

For me they can be broken down into two distinct areas with one that I can influence and the other is one that is dependent on others.

I reflected earlier this week that embarking on a job search was akin to a full time job. So an easy measure for me to reflect and measure is how much have I done this week in that job search.

• Yes - I spent a significant number of hours each day this week on my job search.
• Yes - I applied for a significant number of roles.
• Yes - I refreshed my CV on the job boards where it is currently held. A good tip for all job seekers to do because remember the job board works like an in-tray for a recruiter and you always want your CV at the top; i.e. first to be reviewed.
• Yes - I spoke to many of my connections.
• Yes - I have grown my connections on Linked In and more reviews of my profile have been occurring  which might lead on to offers of further discussions.
• Yes - I completed my Blog on a daily basis and have seen its followers grow.
• No - I could do more of all of the above so that will be something I work on for next week.

I can influence all of these and work on them and measure my success.

The measures that I cannot effect are as follows:-

• The number of vacancies advertised and unadvertised.
• The location of these roles.
• The level of the roles.

But as time progresses, I will need to consider my approach to these areas. It's not an easy decision to relocate or take a lower salary but at a point it may need to be considered.

An obvious measure, which I have deliberately not mentioned until now is - interview rate and job offer rate. I need to consider my approach to my job search so that I can get more interviews in the bag. 

In summary, I am happy with progress but as always in situations like this it is far too slow. Maybe it is meant to be that way but I would prefer to be doing something rather than nothing (although I am obviously very busy!!!).

Next week is another week and I remain upbeat about my job search and will continue to review its progress. I'll reward myself with golf at the weekend and maybe some football on TV (particularly early Sunday afternoon) when a league might be won!!!

As always comments are welcome. Feel free to add your views. It is a democracy here.

(c) Iain Williamson 2012