It’s a given in today’s hectic world that no one has enough time. The 40-hour work-week usually ends up devouring at least 50 hours and for many people that’s punctuated by an hour or more of commuting every day. But
with careful planning, regular discipline, and a few shortcuts, any one can free up the time they need for their job search.

Techniques for Getting More Time for Your Job Search

Hire a Pro to Do Your Resume
The process of getting your resume finished can be enormously time consuming for most people. Any such time delay is bad enough, but the resume writing part of your job search is at the beginning, meaning it kills your momentum and sandbags the whole effort. So be smart and farm the job out to a professional. Quickly you’ll not only be done with this all-important job search tool, but you’ll almost certainly get a far more powerful resume than you’d be able to write on your own.

Look For Shortcuts
Seek out any possible ways you can free up time. Buy prepackaged dinners for a while. Pay your daycare provider to stay with the kids a little longer. Simplify your wardrobe and grooming so you can run out the door faster. Get a laptop so you can do work in a coffee shop in your spare moments. If you really brainstorm, you can come up with dozens of ways of freeing time. The extra minutes can really add up to a great job search.

Choose Job Search Techniques Based on Your Available Time
There are myriad ways to find a new job, but some take more ongoing time than others. For instance, although networking is highly touted as the most effective job search method, it also tends to be one of the most time consuming. That can make it difficult if you have to stay at work late into the evening. In comparison, online job boards aren’t as effective as networking, but they take less time and allow more flexibility in terms of when you use them and how long you commit to them at a time. Take a good, honest look at what you can really devote to your job search and focus on methods that fit your schedule best.

Get the Most Out of Your Lunch Hour
There are lots of great things you can do for your job search during your lunch hour. If you have a laptop, you can work on resumes and cover letters
in a coffee shop (just make sure it isn’t frequented by your boss). Or, better yet, use your lunch hour for networking by calling your contacts and offering to meet. Also keep an eye out for professional organizations that have luncheons. Be creative. This is your hour of freedom in the workday’s prime time, so put it to good use.

Make it Routine
The old saying “The system is the solution” applies here. Set up a routine system for your job search that you can stick with, and then push yourself to do it every single day until it becomes habit. For example, make a point of sending a certain specific quantity of resumes every evening between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. Or step out and make a predetermined number of calls every day at 10:15 in the morning. Your daily job search method should be as ingrained of a habit as brushing your teeth. You’ll know you’re on the right track when you feel funny blowing it off for just one day.

Think Small
The key to squeezing a job search into your life is to find what you can do every single day — even if it’s a tiny amount — and stick with it. Don’t be discouraged if all you have time for is emailing one resume a day. It’s better to do that every single day than it is to send three one day, none the next, and one the day after that. By sticking with small, do-able goals every day, you build momentum and confidence. And that’s a big part of making your job search successful.

Combine these tricks into your own method and you’ll soon find plenty of extra time for a job search. To adapt the miser’s money philosophy, “Watch the minutes and the hours will take care of themselves.” And a new job will follow.

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