How Can I Find A Job Faster

Question:

I need to get a job as soon as possible. How long should I expect it to take? And how can I speed up the process?

Answer:

You may not like like this answer.

Finding a new job can take a while. Gone are the days when you could walk into a company, fill out an application, shake someone’s hand, and start the next day. It’s possible that it will work that way for you, but it’s highly unlikely.

As of November 2019, the Bureau of Labor Statistics put the average job search at 4.6 months. On average, it takes up to two weeks to hear back from an employer (if you ever do, and most of the time you probably won’t.) Companies take an average of 42 days to fill a job, but that varies among industries. Jobs with the federal government are likely to take more than twice that long.

There’s a rule of thumb that for every $10,000 you expect to make in annual salary, your job search will take a month. For example, if your target salary is $60,000, plan to be looking for the next six months.

Most of this is out of your hands. But there are some ways you can hurry the process along.

There are many things you do at the beginning of a job search that cause you to feel like you’re not getting anywhere: deciding what you want to do next; writing your resume and getting it reviewed; tweaking it for each new job; researching companies; thinking up answers to interview questions, and so on. But all those activities are very important in getting you into the right new job. (Taking the wrong new job will only cause you to have to do all this again.) The more hours you put into those projects at the beginning of your search, the fewer months you’ll be out of work. 

So the recommendation from here is: take the time to do it properly. Workforce Services can help. We provide Employment and Training Specialists to aid in making good career decisions; seminars on resume writing, interviewing, and a host of other job search skills; and a space where you can bring it all together with your new networking buddies to find a job you’ll be happy with for a long time.

Your career is worth it, isn't it?