How Job Seekers Spend Their Time

Reader Comments
Back to blog

It's cliched, but my job search was practically a full-time job in and of itself. I had a routine, and some days it would get done quicker than others depending on what I found to apply to, but in 8 months of searching I don't think I ever spent less than 3 hours on a job search if that's what I was doing that day. Granted that wasn't every day, but if I wasn't out of town I was searching, writing letters, sending applications, researching for interviews, practicing, or actually going on interviews. For hours at a time. The productivity helped fight off the negative feelings that came from getting laid off, and eventually paid off when I landed a better job than I had evaporate on me to begin with. All that work helped turn me into a better professional and made me proud of how I handled the challenges of getting laid off in this economy. You can't find a job if you don't keep looking, and it doesn't seem like 18 minutes a day is going to cut it for most people.

Jeremy of IL 12:13PM August 19, 2010

This supposed "article" is just a cover for this guy's marketing. He doesn't answer any of those questions, which we would really like to have the answers to. Will some knowledgeable writer give it a shot?

CeeGee of TX 1:11PM January 28, 2010

I have worked hard, Put 2 kids through collage.
They are smarter than me.
I may have to start selling some of my Mustangs.
The hot rods. The Boss Mustangs

Ted Price of NV 7:43PM January 26, 2010

As a welder with 27 certs. Been doing this for over 30 years. I was the head of the welding dept.
The management said I had to go.

Ted Price of NV 7:13PM January 26, 2010

I echo the comments made by Roberta of PA. When I got laid off, my 9 hours of daily work was piled upon five of my coworkers who were already putting in a good 9 - 10 hours a day (salary with no OT pay!). It had been a long complaint in my former department that we needed more poeple to do the work with the continous expanding work load. I hear the same thing from other friends who are constantly putting in OT. It's like many people have a job and a half! Until management starts to hire and reduce the work load of overburdened employees, the lack of available jobs will continue.
I have been employed for 37 straight years within the organization. New employers would rather higher someone younger with more software skills. I was told by an employment agency to just go and enjoy my "early retirement" as there is no demand for someone my age and skill level. I do not know the software used by many employers and have no degrees in anything. I'm over qualified to flip hambergers. So I'm like stuck in the middle. After 9 months of applying for jobs and sending resumes, I got my first rejection letter last week. So things may be looking up!

Ron of Jersey of NJ 8:29AM January 24, 2010

MOST OF THE COMPANIES THAT HAVE A REAL JOB ADVERTISED YOU NEVER HEAR FROM. I HAVE PHONED, WRITTEN AGAIN AND AGAIN AND I GET NO RESPONSE. OTHER COMPANIES HAVE TOO MANY JOB RESUMES TO LOOK THROUGH (THEY TOLD ME) TO FIND MINE?? I CAN BE RETRAINED IN THE BUSINESS WORLD BUT IT WOULD TAKE ANOTHER DEGREE OR HIGHER DEGREE THAN WHAT I HAVE SO NO ONE WILL GIVE YOU A CHANCE WITHOUT THE CREDENTIALS THEY ARE REQUIRING. MY JOB WENT OUT OF STATE TO SOMEONE ELSE. I FEEL I CAN DO MOST ANYTHING. I AM A LEARNER AND HAVE BEEN FOR OVER 40 YEARS. WHEN THEY LOOK AT YOUR RESUME EVEN WITHOUT DATES THEY CAN FIGURE YOUR AGE. I HAVE FRIENDS WHO HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. THEY FEEL THEY ARE QUALIFIED AND HAVE EVEN GOT TO THE STAGE OF AN INTERVIEW BUT ARE TOLD THEIR SKILLS ARE OUTDATED. THAT'S JUST AN EXCUSE. THERE ARE ONLY SO MANY WAYS YOU CAN DO A JOB. THERE IS TOO MUCH EMPHASIS PUT ON "WILL YOU FIT IN WITH THE ORGANIZATION" MOST PEOPLE LEARN TO FIT, AS I HAD TO UNDER MANY CIRCUMSTANCES, IF YOU WANT A JOB. AT ONE TIME YOU WERE HIRED BECAUSE THEY HAD A LOT OF WORK TO GET DONE. TODAY THE WAY THEY GET AROUND THIS IS TO OVERLOAD SOMEONE ELSE OR DON'T DO IT.

ROBERTA DAVIS of PA 5:29PM January 23, 2010

I spend 6-8 hours or more a day searching for work and NEVER have the TV on. It is quite in my house and I am at complete peace to do my searching, cover letter and resume to the job in question.
Problem is that I have been told by many employers that for every one job....there are anywhere from 250-500 applicants!
I log in way more hours than most do, but I really want back in the workforce.
Unlike some, I am tired of being at home trying to come up with the right resume for the job and cover letter! I really want to go back to work!!!

Lyn of TX 3:54PM January 22, 2010

Well, as someone with a quite unconventional resume, and whom has been severely underemployed for 18 months, since graduating from a return to college, I can say that there are other reasons: discouragement , despair and depression. In my first six months after graduating college, I applied for over a thousand positions. Most were far beneath my qualifications, and most weren't even in my field. (graphic design and illustration) I had a grand total of zero interviews. I wasted hundreds of hours scouring and working on online freelance and crowdsourcing sites, encountering legions of flakes, scammers and/or misers expecting rates lower than $1.00 an hour. I had to move to another state, away from my kids, and out of the small town, where I had lost my housing after college money ran out. I was receiving a small amount of freelance work from the new city, had a few friends there, and this seemed like the only way I could get any kind of network going. As of now, I've had maybe 12-15 interviews, even though I've been searching daily, even on weekends. None of those have been in my field, and most have been menial. I have an excellent portfolio, and won several awards in college, but am merely guilty of not being in a situation that offered me potential clients or sources of capital. I battled homelessness and hunger, while trying to put on the appearance of being clean, confident and ready to work. When I do find a job I'm qualified for, there are a hundred others who look more qualified on paper, and when I apply for menial jobs, I'm turned down because I'm "overqualified." At the moment, I work two occasional skilled labor jobs, and do freelance work when I can find it. They aren't frequent enough to pay for basic needs, and I have housing now, but it's teetering in the balance. I'm way behind on child support, and student loans and a vehicle registration are nipping at my heels.
With a rate of return and lifestyle like that, it's incredibly hard to keep your motivation. Add to that, the issue that one in my situation has to work very hard to find daily food and shelter, and little time and energy are left for the job search. I also find that when I do walk into a business and give them the sales pitch, too often I end up letting my desperation show, and turning them off. I find it inconceivable that a conscientious, highly skilled, and eager employee like myself can end up in this situation. The frustration is practically unbearable at times, and often I hear the refrain; "what's the use in trying?"

Mike of TX 5:25PM January 20, 2010

The type of job being sought is the main problem here. Most of the networking advice I have received is perfect for someone just graduating from college, or who was laid off from a long-term job when they have few responsibilities. The kind of jobs sought by these persons are not high-end jobs, usually. This sort of job can be filled by practically anyone with the required basic knowledge, and they will be filled by someone familiar.
Put some age and experience and personal responsibility on the job-seeker, and the rules change. The employment sought is complex, and it requires a high level of experienced skill -- and HR is notorious for never quite grasping that sort of thing at a level that is useful.
Add to all that the fantasy that it's possible to be "retrained for a new career," and the task of finding a fit becomes practically impossible for anyone who isn't totally free to do whatever they are told to do.

Mike of VA 8:53AM January 20, 2010

As a former case manager dealing with the unemployed (and currently unemployed) I think that we can sometimes forget that the skill required and tenacity required to search for employment is rare. Over the many years helping people with their resumes, cover letters and helping with job referrals I have learned that searching for a job has as much to do with attitude as it does skill.
Some people dive right in and can create a position for themselves, while others need that connection or network. The hardest part of searching for work these days is keeping encouraged that their is hope that if I put a resume together as skillfully as possible and match a specific cover letter to each application that I will at the very least get an opportunity to compete.
Today, many can't even get into the stadium, let alone the starting line.
Job creation is going to be the strength of any successful company over the next few years.
Some unemployment programs require you to log in your work efforts with a minimum of two jobs contacts a week or risk losing your benefits. Though this is tough, it is a decent way of getting the unemployed to move past the gloom of the depressed job market and not lose hope.

Jesse of FL 10:32AM January 19, 2010