The Art of Managing Downtime

A last minute call cancels a networking meeting. You have an extra hour on your hand. Now what?

When we are employed, there is generally a well-stocked backlog for any extra time. When unemployed, we can adopt a less urgent focus on time, as we seem to have all day.

A colleague of mine, Tom Kulikowski, once remarked “He stayed ruthlessly organized” during his search.

The ruthless organization was as much for eliminating unnecessary work as it was for keeping your weekly search time under 40 hours a week. It is easy to occupy 60+ hours a week, but after 40 hours, both your productivity and effectiveness drop off like a rock (trust me, I know).

These extra hours happen. In fact, they happen more than you like. So use them to your advantage. Time is your most precious resource in search.

Here were my most effective ways to use that extra hour. My primary tools were my calendar for the last month and upcoming two weeks and my Targeted Company list – which I always carried with me.

One: Upcoming meetings – Have you determined what you want from the meeting and how you can offer your contact something to make you memorable? Try this networking meeting checklist: http://candidateschair.com/?attachment_id=604

Two: Empty Spots in Your Calendar – Using my Targeted Company list, I would figure out who I needed to meet either within the company or to get me in the company – then started to get out invites to meet. Here is an example of a Targeted Company list if you don’t have one: http://candidateschair.com/?attachment_id=402

Three: Follow-up to past networking meetings – Follow-up is what takes networking meetings from interesting to relevant. Your follow-up on commitments and reminders of theirs is critical – especially demonstrating action on your part.

These three were generally enough to fill an hour. On that occasion you are caught up, then I recommend enjoying a large coffee and get ready for your next meeting.

Good luck today!

Mark Richards

Please feel free to visit my site - www.candidateschair.com – built on my own experiences from being in transition. It’s job search, from a candidate’s viewpoint.

Candidates Chair LinkedIn Group:
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