• Organization & Record Keeping
• Developing a Support Network
• Creating Positive Attitudes
• Managing Your Money
• Understanding & Managing Change

Searching for a job can take a lot of time and energy. It can be a job in itself and like other jobs or projects, certain skills can help manage the process to make it flow more smoothly. Check out the above sections to help manage your job search.

You may want to check out the personal management skills, one of the three sets of employability skills that the Conference Board of Canada has identified as critical for getting, keeping, and progressing on the job.

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Organization & Record Keeping

Whether you are just starting your job search or in the midst of it, it is important to organize and keep record of your job searching process.
A job search binder or notebook can help you organize and sort through information you collect.

Without an efficient organizational and record keeping system you may become overwhelmed and/or lose momentum in your job search.

There are different ways to organize your binders or notebooks. You may want to try a job search tracking sheet or learn about other organizational tips in the job search process.

Time management and goal setting skills can help you stay organized and on target with your job search. It is important that you know what your priorities are and that you schedule them accordingly. Libraries, bookstores and the internet all provide resources on time management and goal setting. Here are a few on-line sites:

• Time Management Skills
• Goal Setting

Developing a Support Network

No matter whether you have just lost a job or you are looking for a career change, a personal support network can help in the job search process.

To develop your support network:

You may want to set this up as a section within your job search binder or notebook.

Creating Positive Attitudes

Maintaining a positive attitude while job hunting is important for the following reasons:

Ways to create and foster a positive attitude are:

1. Identify rewards for yourself and follow through. These may include going for a walk in nature, going to a movie with a friend, or working on an art project. Choose those things that you enjoy doing and build these into your schedule. Our rewards can help keep our energy up and focused in our job search.

2. Use affirmations. These are positive statements that you can write out and say to yourself quietly or out loud. They can help counteract negative thoughts and beliefs that you may have that may be sabotaging your job search. Create your affirmations using "I" statements, the present tense and a positive statement. Some examples of positive affirmations are:

Check out this website to learn how to use affirmations in a positive way.

3. Use visualizations to help you practice skills or behaviour in your job search process. The visualization may include seeing the action, hearing the sounds, feeling the physical sensations and noting smells and the quality of light that may come with the particular action.
For example, if you may want to visualize yourself doing an interview , you would first write out the particulars of the interviews – perhaps seeing yourself meeting the interviewer or answering questions in a calm and focused way. Once you have written out precisely how this would look, sound and feel, you then rehearse it in your mind.

4. Develop a support network.

Managing Your Money

Job searching does require some financial commitment on your part. Depending on your situation you may be faced with costs for one or several of the following situations:

Effectively managing your money can lessen the stress of the job search process. Contact your Canada-Saskatchewan Career and Employment Services to see what services they offer to help with managing your money during your job search.

The following site can offer you some on-line money management information:

Understanding & Managing Change

Most people are always in some kind of a personal or career transition. As such, you may be in the midst of one of the following career changes or transitions:

No matter whether these transitions are voluntary or involuntary, understanding change can help you manage your personal and career transitions more effectively. Check out the following links to help you understand and manage your career transitions:

The Cycle of Change
Resiliency and Change
Resistance and Change