To get gainful employment within my field of study that is local.
I will reach my goal when…
I receive a job offer with acceptable compensation.
I want it to be done by…
By August 2023, but sooner is better
The main thing holding me back is making sure I get some job searching done everyday. I’m tired of having depression and burnout days where I don’t do anything productive and even skip basic self-care.
To break down the tasks that I have control over, I’ll be focusing on the metrics that I’ve been using with a local employment center, and I want to give weekly updates on how I perform on these metrics:
R: Resumes and applications sent to employers
I: Interviews, including practice and informational ones
C: Contacts, using various methods to reach out to people to further my job searching
H: Hours spent on job searching
E: Education hours to improve job-related skills
S: Service hours
For this first partial week, I want to accomplish:
Resumes: 5
Interviews: 1
Contacts: 5
Hours: 10 (works out to 2hr/weekday)
Education: 1 (not sure what to focus on yet)
Service: 5 (HS and local dance volunteering)
This is a very well detailed and well thought out action plan. Definitely has clear objectives and metrics and I love that you have broken it down into bite size pieces for each day in a way that is achievable without becoming overwhelming. (If at some point it does become more than you can chew in a day - know that it’s okay to not achieve all of those objectives that day as long as you try again the next day.)
This looks like a big accomplishment in and of itself. You’ve put a lot of thought into this and it shows.
Can I stand and cheer for you? This is so well thought through. Bravo!
@tromboness, this goal looks great! It’s understandable that job searches can lead to quick burnout, particularly when you’re dealing with depression. With that said, it sounds like you have a wonderful plan in place and it feels like you’re setting a realistic but impactful goal for yourself. Please keep us updated on how all of this is going. We’re rooting for you!
Resumes: 5 (met goal)
Interviews: 0 (I need to be more active in scheduling practice/informational interviews)
Contacts: 8 (exceeded goal, counting some of the people I talked to at a job fair)
Hours: 9 (just shy one hour of goal)
Education: 2 (I’ll count my leadership readings here)
Service: 5 (met goal)
My contacts have been very helpful in building my network. I just need to stay on top of all the new contacts.
For the next seven days, I want:
Resumes: 5
Interviews: 1
Contacts: 5
Hours: 12
Education: 3
Service: 5
This is freaking awesome. Wow @ your intentionality. Beautiful, brilliant. Strong work.
My only admonition for this would be - what is your “lower limit”? When shit hits the fan and we have a bad week, what is the threshold you don’t want to go below, in order to keep momentum?
Kept simply, this might be: if all else fails, I will at least send 1 resume this week. Or something like that. That way, you have a “safe guard” against momentum loss / discouragement.
Other than that, this is freaking awesome, and I love hearing your journey.
Hey, thanks for the update here!
I really want to commend your drive. It sounds like you know what you’re doing and going for it!
Rooting for ya - and looking forward to the next update.~
Well done for the last week! It sounds like you have a wonderful system to break down your goal and compartmentalize different aspects that contribute to it. How did it go on the self-care side? Did you manage to get time for yourself and focus on doing things that bring you joy? <3
@NateTriesAgain I’m thinking for lower limits: 1 resume, 2 contacts, and not worry about meeting the hours if I can get those done.
@Micro I’m hoping to set aside time for video games. I still have my dancing which is where most of my focus has been going. Still not 100% on my hygiene and eating but maybe getting a little better.
Update for the Last Week!
Resumes: 5 (met goal)
Interviews: 0 (I need to be more active in scheduling practice/informational interviews)
Contacts: 8 (exceeded goal, been finding people to check statuson past applications)
Hours: 12 (met goal)
Education: 2 (short one hour)
Service: 6
I’ll be going to a job fair tomorrow afternoon!
For the next seven days, I want:
Resumes: 5
Interviews: 1 (focusing on being more proactive here)
Contacts: 10
Hours: 12
Education: 5
Service: 4 (one of my volunteer nights is taking a break this month)
Resumes: 6
Interviews: 1 informational
Contacts: 10
Hours: 16
Education: 9.5 (I needed to finish reading one book before returning it to the library)
Service: 4
That was a lot of work for me, so I’m going to be dialing it back this week, even taking today as a me day.
I also have an interview tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully I will have enough spoons to prepare!
For the next seven days, I want:
Resumes: 2
Interviews: 2
Contacts: 3
Hours: 8
Education: 5
Service: 4
Great work! You got a ton done this week which is amazing. I also love that you’re keeping to your goals and setting goals that feel practical for you – wonderful stuff!
It’s always a highlight of my visits to the Wall when I get to see your updates, so thank you for sending these over and for all your job-searching efforts
I hope your interview went well, and am wishing you the best of luck in this endeavor.
Hey, thank you for sharing the update here!
First, whoa! That’s so much. Serious props, stranger.
Second, I want to commend you for acknowledging when you need rest.
Rooting for ya, and I look forward to hearing from you again.
Congratulations on your continued success working through your action plan. You are consistently achieving the goals you set out for yourself. However, if you have found that this week has been particularly hard, there is no shame in temporarily dialling things back.
By now, you should have already attended your job interview, and I would love to hear an update from you on how that went, but no pressure.
I liked having that me-day last week. Even just the mentality of doing stuff for me was beneficial. As the week went on, I did spend more time than I was expecting on job search.
The interview last week went okay. I don’t have as much managerial experience that their looking for. The interviewer said that they would have made decision on which applicants get forwarded to the next round of interviews by yesterday, so I just sent an email checking in and also expressing that if I’m not a fit for the position, I would still be happy to be considered for future lab positions.
I have a couple more interview this week already! A phone call one this afternoon and an on-site one on Friday. I also was able to have an information interview this morning with someone that used to work for one of these companies, and that was helpful in familiarizing myself with the company, their values, and their environment.
For the next seven days, I want:
Resumes: 3
Interviews: 4
Contacts: 5
Hours: 15
Education: 5
Service: 4
It’s weird but good to getting interviews now. Of the ones I’ve interviewed so far, the on-site one I had on Friday would probably be the most ideal workplace. I am also in the process of scheduling an interview for another company, so that’ll make 5 applications that made it to the interview stage!
I’m feeling tired, so I want to take it easier this week. I think I can break for today and tomorrow, but I might go to a job fair Thursday.
For the next seven days, I want:
Resumes: 1
Interviews: 1
Contacts: 3
Hours: 10
Education: 3
Service: 4
Thanks for the update! I’m glad to hear that you’ve been getting interviews and that these seem to feel good for you!
It’s understandable that you’d be tired after all this – 15 hours of job searching is a lot – so I’m glad that you’ve moved your goals to be a bit lighter so that you won’t tire out as quickly.
Once again, great work; I hope you get some job offers (that you like) soon and that you keep to these amazing goals!
Yeah, stranger! Way to go!
Super nice to hear you’re still at it with your head high.
I again commend you for recognizing when you need breaks - it’s definitely more of a marathon than a sprint.
Still rooting for you and looking forward to the next update!
It is truly inspiring to see how you’ve been organizing your time and focus in order to get through all of these different steps. Personally, i’m absolutely amazed by how precise and functioning your personal system is! It’s so good. Especially in face of something so intimidating and stressful as job searching can be.
I am also in the process of scheduling an interview for another company, so that’ll make 5 applications that made it to the interview stage!
Wow. Huge results there already! You’ve initiated a dynamic that really seem to work for you.
How has it been last week? Did you manage to take it a little bit easier? <3
I haven’t heard back about my previous interviews yet, so yesterday I checked in to see where they are on the progress on those yet. Not every company gets back, but I’m doing my part.
Last week’s job fair was alright. I’ll have to look into the prospective companies later. Usually those companies are looking for hard sciences like mine, so they don’t have information for the positions I’m looking for.
I want to ease back in, but not get too stressed about getting things done. I signed up for a Women in STEM event on Saturday that I hope will be a good networking opportunity, but if not, at least there is a lunch included in the ticket price.
For the next seven days, I want:
Resumes: 5
Interviews: 1
Contacts: 3
Hours: 12
Education: 5
Service: 6 (More things added to my volunteer schedule!)