{"id":62627,"date":"2015-01-26T05:30:47","date_gmt":"2015-01-26T11:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=62627"},"modified":"2015-01-25T21:38:12","modified_gmt":"2015-01-26T03:38:12","slug":"know-your-job-search-organizational-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=62627","title":{"rendered":"Know Your Job Search Organizational Style"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Clare Sobotka, former Head Editor, now Senior Assistant
\npreviously published 2\/25\/14<\/em><\/p>\n

Know Your Job Search Organizational Style<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"Clare<\/a>There is a lot to keep track of when applying for jobs, such as due dates and application\u00a0materials, so it’s important to develop a system of organization that works for you. Several INALJ\u00a0editors have shared their excellent job search organization advice, including Tiffany Newton,\u00a0former head editor for INALJ Missouri: Knowing is Power: How I organize my job search<\/a> and\u00a0Amanda May, former head editor for INALJ North Dakota: Getting Organized for your Job\u00a0Search.<\/a><\/p>\n

Both have used Excel or another spreadsheet to keep track of their job search information. I\u00a0think the idea of a job search spreadsheet is ingenius. And it is, just not for me. Because I can\u2019t\u00a0stick to it. I know, I\u2019ve tried it twice: once in Google Docs and once in Excel. In case others have\u00a0trouble with the spreadsheet method, or are just starting the job hunt and are considering\u00a0different ways to organize, I wanted to share my job search organization style. Following is what\u00a0works for me; I need an in-your-face approach.<\/p>\n

I keep a main folder on my PC desktop titled “Job Applications.” In the folder are several\u00a0individual files:<\/p>\n

\u2022 a PDF of my unofficial transcript
\n\u2022 PDF and Word versions of my generic resumes that can be used as templates for more\u00a0than one job application
\n\u2022 a Word document with my references. I suggest including information for three\u00a0supervisors from jobs that you will mention in your application, and at least three\u00a0additional references. I have needed all six, and it will save you pain if you have the\u00a0information at your fingertips so you can cut and paste.<\/p>\n

Within the “Job Applications” folder I have a subfolder for each posting I have finished applying\u00a0to, that includes:<\/p>\n

\u2022 the job description
\n\u2022 the unique cover letter
\n\u2022 a copy of the resume I used
\n\u2022 a copy of any \u201cSupplemental Questions\u201d I had to answer. Do keep track of your\u00a0answers for supplemental questions because they will sometimes be repeated, and you\u00a0don’t want to spend time reinventing your responses. It might even be worth making a\u00a0separate Word document in the main folder of the questions I come across.
\n\u2022 occasionally a copy of the online job application that I downloaded or copied to a Word\u00a0document after completing.<\/p>\n

For each unfinished application, I keep a folder on the desktop with any of the above pieces in it\u00a0that I have completed. I title it with the job title and one further piece of identification, such as\u00a0name of the institution or the state the job is in. When I finish an application, I move its folder\u00a0to the “Job Applications” folder.<\/p>\n

Beside the folder system, I use the \u201cSticky Notes\u201d application on Windows 7 to make myself\u00a0lists and notes on my desktop. I also use a desktop calendar called VueMinder<\/a> (free download), although there are others. VueMinder is my place to note down when job applications are due\u00a0or when I have an interview. I\u2019m a visual person, so seeing the calendar format gives me a better\u00a0idea of my timeline. It is also possible to schedule follow up dates, if necessary.<\/p>\n

I once attended a job talk for MLS\/MIS students, and one speaker suggested keeping a binder\u00a0with tabbed sections for each job application. Sections contained the job description, a copy of\u00a0any materials submitted, and contact information for whomever she had sent her resume to or\u00a0networked with, so that if a potential employer called her, she would have all the information\u00a0at hand and could remember who she was speaking with. And it came in handy for phone\u00a0interviews.<\/p>\n

There are other online tools and apps such as JibberJober<\/a>, StartWire<\/a>, and Huntsy<\/a> to help you\u00a0organize aspects of your search, but I haven’t utilized them myself. In my case, I figured that if\u00a0I couldn’t keep a spreadsheet, I’m not going to keep up applications that aren’t in front of my\u00a0nose. How do you or fellow MLIS students and grads stay organized? Comment below or start a\u00a0discussion on the INALJ LinkedIn group!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Clare Sobotka, former Head Editor, now Senior Assistant previously published 2\/25\/14 Know Your Job Search Organizational Style There is a lot to keep track of when applying for jobs, such as due dates and application\u00a0materials, so it’s important to develop a system of organization that works for you. Several INALJ\u00a0editors have shared their excellent…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":57046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[69,5941,3592,5878,5973,3653,5971,266,5961,4340,5972,5970],"class_list":["post-62627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-article","tag-being-organized","tag-blog","tag-clare-sobotka","tag-huntsy","tag-inalj-idaho","tag-jibberjober","tag-job-search","tag-job-search-tips","tag-job-searching","tag-startwire","tag-vueminder"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Clare-Sobotka.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-gi7","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=62627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62627\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/57046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=62627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=62627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=62627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}