Three Job Development Tips

Gina Trapani has a good post on effective working that you can apply to your job development activities. 

Here are her suggestions, along with my thoughts on how they can be put into practice developing your next job.

Choose three important tasks to complete each day.

1. At least one significant networking-related activity: a phone call, a lunch, coffee.
   
2. At least one targeted job application per day. Writing the cover letter and mapping your experience to the position will keep you thinking about these details and provide ammunition for your next interview.
   
3. At least one psychically/emotionally rewarding activity. Read these tips for the upside to looking where your passions lead you in finding your next job. 

Turn off your email client.

Hmm, well this is a tough one for me. :) But I understand the interruption problem only too well. Personally, I find the "squeeze it in" approach of author Cory Doctorow more applicable to my own style. Of course sometimes you have to close down everything. In those moments I like to walk away from the computer entirely and work from paper.

Set up a weekly 20-minute meeting with yourself.

Assess the week past and prioritize the week upcoming. Over a longer term of a few weeks to a month, think about what's worked and what hasn't. If a particular event was productive then look for analogues. Having great conversations with old clients? Keep running down the rolodex. And remember again to make time to recharge the batteries in your personal life.