Tales of a Diary in Job Seeking

Thanks again for some kind views and comments about my blog. Yesterday I was talking about how during the day when I was "working" my mood ebbed and flowed in line with the weather of torrential rain and then a sunny vista reflecting how I was feeling about my job search.

A reader congratulated me on the contents and asked me to reflect how I managed my day because that would be of interest to others and maybe help them to manage their job search better. And interestingly when I was talking to a recruiter this morning the same type of discussion came up.

I remember many years ago before the time of the internet, there was not the mass options that there is now to support a job seeker in his/her search. It was a case of wait till Friday for the Glasgow Herald and the Evening Times to be published and see what was going. Other than that it was probably The Guardian (or The Gruniad, as it was fondly known because of its propensity to misspell words). Then there was the excitement waiting for the twice monthly published IPD magazine.

Job Hunting was an altogether more genteel and slow art form in those days compared to now. It wasn't exactly pipe and slippers but you get the gist.

Now it is light years away from that and not a moment can be lost. It's a few years ago when I was introduced to the delights of Chris Evans on radio in London and now I have returned to him. It started when I traveled to Burton-upon-Trent and even now, although I don't actually need to get up for the 0630 start, more often than not I'm listening and starting to think about my day.

It's like a military plan that I work to - using my log book and my outlook calendar. I have a form of reminders to contact people and ask what's what and is there anything on the go.

First thing in the morning is a review of the email alerts that have come in overnight. I  try to stop looking at jobs  from about 1800 - otherwise it would be absolutely constant. And this way my reward can be the football or darts on TV or taking my wife to Tesco or Ikea.

I will then review websites just to check for any latest up to the minute, as it were, jobs.

I have a strategy for calling people based on something I learned along time ago about the way British business works. Namely that meetings will normally start on the hour. So if you call somebody at five minutes before the hour you can bet that the person is just going to a meeting and can't talk to you. "I'll call back later".

But if you call at five minutes after the hour or slightly later you will more likely find them at their desk - waiting for the next hour to come so they can go to that meeting. Now they do have the time to speak to you. Try it and you'll see it works.

Of course, I also review my connections on LinkedIn and see who they have connected with. That way I have found more potential suitable connections for me. It's not a competition to have the most connections but to find ways of getting work for Iain Williamson.

My way of relaxing during the day is to take time for breakfast beautifully prepared for me by my wife who is extremely supportive of me at this testing time for both of us. And then there's lunch as well.

She constantly supports me at all times, encouraging me to keep on top of my job hunt and don't stop trying.

My reward for my hard work during the day is to have a nice glass of wine with my wife and relax.

Towards the end of every day when it comes to the time to write the blog, I find it useful to review what has happened during the day. What more could I do? What will I do differently tomorrow? Who hasn't returned my calls? Who do I need to speak to tomorrow? What else do I need to do?

And by writing the blog I hope I'm sharing with you all the frustrations of a job seeker and that eventually things will be resolved. I am constantly sure that tomorrow my job, for me and my family, is round the corner.

As always, thanks for reading this week. Share the blog with others and review my LinkedIn profile. Have a great weekend with your family like I will.

(C) Iain Williamson 2012