Organizing Your Job Search on Your Computer

Here is a tip in the Job Jugger eCourse that will help you organize your job search.

Create a post on each of the following five topics. (1) Journal, (2) Resource List, (3) Discussion Question Responses, (4) Activity Log, and (5) Articles. When you create each post, in the "Keywords" box, add the words "activity folder," and "your initials" (i.e., "sg" are my initials).

For further help on keywords, view posting entitled "Add your initials to all of your posts". The purpose of the "activity folder tag" is that it will provide you with a list of the above five posts that you will create for each title above. You can make these folder private so just you can see them or you can make them public to share with others.

1. Journal—Include in your Journal reflections, thoughts, feelings, and insights about your job hunt. Keeping a journal is a way for you to integrate what you are learning in the course.
   
2. Resource List—In your Resource List, note websites of interest to you. Add a descriptive word or phrase that will remind you why the website is valuable.
   
3. Discussion Question Responses—Note your thoughts about the Discussion Question in your Response.
   
4. Activity Log—In your Activity Log, keep a record of your responses to each Activity.
   
5. Articles—Create a post within the Activity Folder labeled Articles. In the Articles folder, include career-related subjects such as career planning, self-assessment, skills, labor market information, occupational information, educational information, employer information, job search techniques, and professional information. Collect the Articles from online media or scan hard copy documents.

Add material to each of the five documents or folders as you progress through the course.

Something to think about:

1. According to Dick Bolles, the most frequently used job strategies are often not the most effective. Discover what are the most effective strategies in Lesson 1 of the Job Juggler e-course or view e-course demo.

2. Did you know that the success rate of going to private employment agencies or search consultants/recruiters is higher for women than men?

3. Do you think when Dick Bolles suggested that job hunters do a life-changing job hunt that he meant that you had start your own business to be successful?


Tips:

1. Link to demo of Job Juggler e-course.

2. Listen to Dick Bolles Career Expert Audio Recording.

According to Daniel Pink, six aptitudes, which engage one's heart, determine professional success and personal fulfillment.

To find out more about this concept, view "Art and Heart" Table in Lesson 2 by registering for the Job Juggler e-course e-course .

In her transition model, Nancy Schlossberg lists four types of external sources of support: (1) personal relationships, (2) professional relationships, (3) organizational and community affiliations, and (4) opportunistic networks.

There are numerous ways you can form these relationships on the Internet. Register for Job Juggler e-course and view Lesson Three to learn about Schlossberg's sources of support and e-networking .

Networking opportunities abound in professional associations. Following are examples of career and counseling professional organizations: National Career Development Association, Career Masters Institute, Career and Adult Development Network, American Counseling Association, Professional Businesswomen of California .

Some of my favorite features in the Job Juggler e-course are the organizational components, such as the Network Contact Log. Organizing one's job search notes on one's computer is helpful for many reasons. For example, you can use your Network Contact Log, not only for the current job search, but for future contacts with potential employers, clients, and professional and personal associates.

Register for the Job Juggler e-course to learn about how to set up your job search and networking contacts on your computer to keep track of your informational interviews .

Link to my ACAeport blog for information about E-Resume and Resume, ASCII Format, Comparing E-Resumes and E-Portfolios

By registering for the Job Juggler e-course, you can access a comprehensive overview of the types of resumes with advantages and disadvantages of each.

You can also register for Job Juggler's Career Expert Audio Interviews to listen to Susan Whitcomb's tips for converting a resume to ASCII format for emailing and web posting .

Link to my ACAeport blog for information about Portfolios and E-Portfolios .

For more information and practice with electronic portfolios and other distance career development tools, register for Job Juggler's e-course on job search strategies. Lesson 6: Portfolio and E-Portfolio.

View ACAeportfolio topics based on the Educational Institute on ePortfolios that I presented with Marilyn Harryman in Montreal at the American Counseling Association annual convention.

Distance Interviewing for a job? Sounds so remote! But this is the name of the game, especially when you are among the top candidates.

Jack Chapman provides tips on how to handle effectively a remote job interview. Register for Job Juggler's e-course. Link to Lesson 7: Job Interview .

I just came across a new resource: Virtual Job Interview. It's in the form of an interactive video on DVD and CD-ROM.

Virtual job clubs are spreading rapidly on the Internet. They can take many forms, such e-Lifework Book Clubs or online support groups centered around a career or job theme. In addition, virtual academic clubs are forming on the Internet. Medical students, law students, and other groups of students are joining blogs in their specialty area to help each other successfully complete academic programs. Juat do a search in an area that interests you.

For example, the SDN Forums are the largest pre-health and health-student forums on the Internet. They have answers to practically any question you may have, from medical school, dental school, pharmacy school, podiatry school, optometry school, and veterinary school to post-bacc programs, residencies, school applications and more.

Find out more about e-communities for job search and academic preparation by registering for Job Juggler's e-course. Link to Lesson 8: Job Club .

You finally get the job. Whew! But wait. You want to keep the job, right?

The good news is that employers want to retain valued workers, so you need to find out what makes you valuable in the workplace, plus what your primary needs and motivations are so you can stay employable.

Learn skills to maintain positive relationships in your job environment, with clients and through affiliate relationships. Find out more through by registering for Job Juggler's e-course. Link to Lesson 9: Workplace Affiliation .