Whether you have recently become unemployed or are looking for a job for the very first time, it’s likely you have succumbed to the lack of structure that comes with being unemployed. Whether it’s sleeping in, staying in your pajamas all day or browsing Facebook when you should be looking for a job, it’s time to treat the job search as a full-time job in itself.
We get it, you don’t have a direct report or a boss to keep you on your toes, but as the CEO of your own life, you need focus, discipline and self-motivation. Don’t let yourself fall into the bad routine of staying up all night or lazing in bed for hours looking through social media notifications, staying in sweatpants all day and only applying for jobs once here and there. Job searching is an all-day workout, so you have to keep your stamina up and keep your finger off the snooze button.
To help make things easier for you, Bayt.com has come up with your schedule for you! Remember that even a good routine can be monotonous, so if you feel yourself getting tired of the schedule, don’t be afraid to move things around to keep yourself upbeat.
7:00-8:00 am: Rise and Shine
You should get into the habit of starting your day early. Starting at 7:00 AM will give your day a good start and keep you structured. There’s about an hour leeway here where you should have a good, balanced breakfast, drink that coffee you’ve been thinking about from the second you woke up, and get dressed. Do not be tempted to just wear your sleepwear and make sure you dress nicely. This will keep you from crawling onto the couch or into bed throughout the day.
8:00-9:00 am: Exercise
They say a healthy body makes a healthy mind, but, more importantly, starting your day with some fitness will give you energy and give your body the kick start it needs.
9:00-10:00 am: Search Party
You should dedicate around an hour minimum daily toward looking for jobs. List anything that interests you in a document with the job description and web link. Through Bayt.com, you can find many jobs, save them for later, email them to yourself, print them and ask for similar jobs to be sent directly to you. This should make it easier for you to compile a list as time goes on. You can file these jobs however you prefer, whether you’re the type of person to print each job posting out or compile it neatly in a word document. This will help you keep track of all the jobs that interest you and make sure you don’t miss anything.
10:00-11:00 am: CV Review
Take a break from looking through jobs in order to look over your CV again. After reading the job descriptions, you might want to add certain buzzwords to your CV and improve your chances. If you have not updated your CV in a while, now might be a good time to freshen it up. The fresher the CV, the more attractive you are as a candidate. In fact, employers can filter out old CVs with one click so make sure your CV always makes it to the fresh pile.
11:00-11:20 am: BREAK
It’s time to take a breather. Get up, stretch your legs, look through the notifications you have been ignoring and unwind for about 20 minutes before you get back to work.
11:20 am -13:00 pm: Get your learn on
You’ve probably graduated from school, but that doesn’t mean you should stop learning. Dedicate at least an hour and a half of your day to taking online tests and courses. Honing your soft skills will only make you shine more as a candidate for a job. You should also use this time to learn more about the companies that interest you and familiarize yourself with their company culture, products and values. This will only make you more prepared if you get an interview, or choose to write a cover letter.
13:00-15:00 pm: Lunch
Don’t eat at home by yourself every day. Make time to see friends and family at least three times a week. Unemployment can get lonely, and loneliness leads to negative feelings which, in turn, could put a slump in your daily routine. Make sure you have time daily to pursue your other interests.
15:00-17:00 pm: Apply yourself
You should dedicate at least two hours of your day every day to applying for jobs. Pull out that list you compiled earlier in the day and begin. Make sure to write customized cover letters to improve your chances. Review your CV, cover letter, and anything you else you might be sending for embarrassing typos and grammatical mistakes. You don’t want a misspelled word to be the thing that kept you from getting the job of your dreams.
17:00-18:00 pm: Network
In your last hour, you should focus your time on networking. Building a network of professional contacts is critical for business success. All you need is a public profile on Bayt.com and you will be connected to 13.70 million professionals all across the MENA region.
Your day of job seeking should end around the same time a work day does. While there will be times where you will put in overtime, the evenings are for resting. Watch your favorite show, read a book or go out with friends, but make sure not to stay out too late so you can rise bright and early the next day and start again. Remember, there are 10,000+ jobs available on Bayt.com on any given day for you to comb through with a fork.
Sound off in the comments below and let us know how structured or unstructured your daily routine has been. Your stories, experiences and feedback are the kind of thing we at Bayt.com love to read.
