Build a Job Search Strategy: First Things First

Stephen Covey wrote a book in 1994 called: First Things First: To Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy. In it he included what he called The four-quadrant matrix for importance and urgency. Said simply, he believes it is important to differentiate between urgent/not urgent and important/not important. His goal was to get people focused on those activities that would drive long-term positive results (quadrant 2, according to Covey, includes the highly valuable aspects that we are likely to neglect).

As I got re-acquainted with Covey’s idea, I started thinking: how can this be applied to job search?

My first exercise was to create a short list of typical job search tasks and place them in each of Covey’s boxes. I did this assuming that someone is just now beginning their search.

Quadrant 1 – Urgent, Important
- Send resume to local companies
- Apply for jobs

Quadrant 2 – Not Urgent, Important
- Create/update resume, elevator speech, cover letter, one-pager
- Schedule informational interviews
- Create target company, geography, position lists
- Create a transition financial plan
- Identify your micro networks
- Interview preparation

Quadrant 3 – Urgent, Not Important
- Return calls from recruiters
- Hiring manager cold calls

Quadrant 4 – Not Urgent, Not Important
- Check and re-check online job listings
- Creating multiple resume versions
- Make minor updates to Linkedin profile
- Write hourly updates on Facebook

So, does this make sense? One of the keys to successful job search is to have a clear and well-defined strategy. The key components of your strategy must be built early so they can guide your daily efforts. And, with a good strategy, you will have solid guardrails to determine which Quadrant 1 and Quadrant 3 tasks really deserve a quick (or any) reaction. Can you see how the avoidance of Quadrant 2 can leave you in a tough spot?

Imagine starting your job search on day 1 without a strategy. What do you do? If you are like most people without a strategy, here’s your typical first week:

Monday – check Monster, call a few recruiters, send a few resumes
Tuesday – apply for online jobs on Career Builder, return call from recruiter
Wednesday – update Linkedin and connect with new people, update Facebook, request additional recruiter names, re-check Monster
Thursday – update resume and send to new companies, call new recruiters, set-up two new accounts on Indeed and Simply Hired
Friday – read forum posts on Simply Hired and add a few of your own, e-mail a new list of recruiters, apply for new jobs from Monster alert, accept new Linkedin connections.

Is this an extreme example? Not in my experience. You see, without a strategy you are left with a shotgun, blasting here or there based on the prevailing winds. It is a very reactive existence – one that leaves you highly reliant on the phone and the computer (two somewhat impersonal tools). Not a good start to your job search and one that, if repeated week after week, will leave you uncompetitive in the job market.

What if your focus was on Quadrant 2 in week one? Nowhere near as gratifying, right? After all, quadrant 2 does not offer a whole lot of instant gratification. In fact, during your more strategic week one you may not apply for a single job or contact a single recruiter. Shocking, I know.

A Quadrant 2 focus (building your guiding job search strategy) offers a solid starting point and a real sense of purpose. It guarantees that your forward efforts are properly targeted toward the outcome that you’ve identified.

Novel idea.

More From TimsStrategy

• 10 Ways To Use Twitter For Job Search
• Job Search – Do You Have A Strategy?
• Do You Have a Job Search Strategy?

TimsStrategy Recommends

• 4 Tips for Staying Encouraged During a Long Job Search  (Career Rocketeer)
• Being Thankful In Your Job Search?!  (Career Rocketeer)

Ask TimsStrategy To Recommend Your Posts

what	where
job title, keywords or company	city, state or zip jobs by