Using GTD in job search

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bookimdano

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I am about half way through the GTD book. Does anybody here have helpful tips for using GTD principles in a job search?

I am also interested in suggestions for good books about:

1. (Long term) - Determining a career path.
2. (Short Term) - Finding a decent job to pay the bills until you determine your ideal career!

Maybe make a list of your favorite books and comment on why you like them. I'm searching the comments over at Amazon but I'm never sure if publishers plant fake reviews over there or not. You guys seem like a decent bunch and I would trust your opinions.

Thanks!
 
Job Search Books

Here are a couple of books I would recommend:

The Money is the Gravy: Finding the Career that Nourishes You by John Clark (Author). Very good book that provides an excellent perspective on careers and life

Now, Discover You Strengths. By Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton, Ph. D. This book explains the importance of using your strengths and has an online survey to determine those strenghts.

Best of luck!
 
a few actions to consider

If you are in the U.S., you might look at a reference book at a library called ( The Occupational Outlook (directory, guide or something liek that?). It is larger than a phone book and has descriptions of occupational titles with information about pay, how many postions are likely to exist in the near future, etc.

For a temporary job you might choose something whose hours and demands would not interfer with a job search and maybe something you might like to continue to some degree even if you start on your preferred career path or that would fulfill another need beside earning a living. For example, if you like socializing you might bar tend; if you will need a few good suits you might try to work for Brooks Brothers, if you need a gym membership, see if you can work at a gym. If you need to lose weight, get hired on as a landscaper or mover.

You might also visit a temp agency and it does not hurt to talk with no-fee head hunters.

Meanwhile, pick one of the things you do best and start a business doing it, call yourself a consultant, or pick something you know how to create and get to work on it. Use every mode of free advertising you can find or create.
 
In response to the original question about using GTD in a job search, I don't have any personal experience with it but I think it would be a fantastic system for job searching.

There are a ton of small actions that need to be completed in a job search.
  • Update resumé
  • Customize resumé for customer X
  • write cover letter for company Y
  • browse company Z's website for background info
  • call company X to follow-up after interview
  • etc.

How you actual break your big project "Find a job" into smaller projects is up to you. But you could look at every potential job position as a project in itself as there will be many actions and "ticklers" to create for each of them.
 
Wow! How ironic to find someone wondering how to use GTD in job search. I was just at the SimplyHired Web site where someone in a forum complained about feeling out of control with a 375-hour project as a promotions director at a TV station. I recommended GTD to them.

Definitely GTD can be used for job search. Job search is definitely one of those activities that David Allen says has very few physical edges. So you have to create them, especially because there are so few indicators to really let you know how you're progressing.

It could be said the ultimate done state is the job offer letter in hand. Having that alone, however, could be overwhelming. There can be several subprojects, e.g., printing N copies of your resume, making X networking calls, attending professional association meetings / trade shows that you then note on your Calendar. You can then do a Next Action for each of these, to let you know you are progressing with your job hunt. You can also create Reference folders for companies that interest you, including elements from their Web site and articles featuring them in major business publications.

Careerwise, I've found the writings of Barbara Sher extremely helpful, especially one of her earlier books Wishcraft. I find this a very realistic book because it has an exercise on kvetching, a kind of constructive complaining. It is sometimes through figuring out what you don't want to do that what you do want to do emerges.

Short-term wise, you may want to look at job listings through Simply Hired's Web site to get ideas, http://www.simplyhired.com/
 
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