Answer quickly: How many companies have you sent your résumé to this month? How many people have you networked with? How many do you have to follow up with and when?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, your job search might not be as effective as you think. Even though trying to find work can be overwhelming – be it your first job or your tenth – you still need to be organized about it.

How do you do it? That’s what Moxy Mag asked two recruiting experts. Jenny Foss (a.k.a. Job Jenny) operates independent recruiting firm Ladder Recruiting Group, created the blog JobJenny.com and recently launched her first ebook, To Whom It May Concern: Or, How to Stop Sucking at Your Job Search (currently for sale with a coupon code in our Moxy Shop). Dana Leavy, of Aspyre Solutions Career Consulting, is a New York City-based career consultant, writer and coach, specializing in helping professionals successfully (and sanely) navigate the process of career change and job transition. And what they both agree–you can never be too organized on your job search.

Moxy: First, is there such a thing as organizing a job search?

Jenny Foss: Absolutely. It’s critical to an effective job search today. You MUST craft a plan of attack before you race over to your computer for days, weeks … or even months… and aimlessly drift around online with the hopes of stumbling on the perfect job posting, networking contact or get-rich-now kind of proposition. And it’s very common for job seekers–especially those who find themselves unemployed very unexpectedly and then panic–to bypass this critical step. But if you want to win this game, you MUST have a plan of attack today. Organization is key.

Dana Leavy: It’s critical that your job search be organized and that you have a good strategy in place, so that you can best allocate your time and efforts, and work “smarter” instead of “harder.” Organizing your job search starts with knowing exactly what type of work you are targeting and why. If you are sending résumés out there without any particular direction, hoping that something sticks, you aren’t going to see great results. If you know precisely what you are qualified and looking for, and who your target audience is, you will be able to target your search efforts much more effectively and see better results.

Being organized in your job search also makes it easier to understand what is and is not working for you, so you can make adjustments. I always suggest to clients set up a system for tracking all of their outreach–their résumé submissions, networking contacts and follow up. Recordkeeping is key, because when a recruiter responds to your résumé submission, you want to know which job and company they are reaching out to you about! Same thing if you’re trying to build a professional relationship with a new contact–you want to respect their time and gain their trust by being smart about how often you reach out to them.

Moxy: Is there a direct connection between how organized your job search is and how likely you are to get a job?

Foss: There’s certainly a connection between how organized you are and how LONG it takes to land the job. If you flail around all willy-nilly about it? You may get lucky, of course, but a scattered job search will more than likely extend the search process considerably. If you schedule your job search time and hold yourself accountable for that time? You will naturally be more productive and get where you want to be way, way faster than if you just flounder your way through each day.

Leavy: Absolutely. It’s important to understand what types of job search-focused activities are going to yield the best results for you. For instance, if you are a senior-level candidate in a highly specialized field, it’s less likely that you are going to find the perfect job waiting for you on the job boards, and that a connection or lead from your network will be more beneficial in finding the right opportunity. Therefore you might plan more of your job search activities around networking, versus spending hours scouring the job boards and sending resumes. Again, it’s about working smarter, not harder.

Moxy: Some people love planning, some are more spontaneous. Is there one type of personality that the market is more likely to accept?

Foss: I think every profession requires organization and planning. Where do you want to be? What do you want your professional life to look like? How are you going to get there? It doesn’t matter if you’re a CPA or a guitar player in a rock band, you’re going to have more success if you stay organized and focused. Yes, I’d imagine that the spontaneity will be a bit more welcome in the rock band business world than in professional accounting, but honestly? Even spontaneous people should train themselves to be organized in business. “Creative professional” does not have to translate to “scatterbrained and impulsive professional.” And it shouldn’t.

Leavy: I think it comes down more to how you present yourself and how well you are able to communicate your qualifications and what you can bring to the table for a company. That’s what gets hiring manager’s attention – people who understand the needs of the organization, and how they can contribute to that with the skills and experience they bring to the role.

Moxy Mag: And what are your tips for organizing a job search in a way that will increase your chances of getting a job?

Foss: If you’re panicked, take some deep breaths, do a few jumping jacks, and clear your head first and foremost. Next, sit down and put the following down on paper:
a) What you want your life to look like.
b) What you are specifically aiming for with your next career move.
c) What tools and tactics you plan to employ in order to achieve this amazing new career or job and
d) How you’re going to allocate your time each day and week to get from here to there.

As a job seeker, your job is your job search. If you treat it with the same respect, organization and diligence that you would your actual job? You will reap the benefits of that effort.

Leavy: I look at job searching as a multi-prong process involving several key areas, including networking, actively searching the job boards, doing research on companies you want to work for and possibly even other activities, like volunteering or skill training, if it’s applicable to your field. The key is to look at each of those areas, understand how much time per day or week you have to devote to your search, and figure out how much of your time does it make sense to dedicate to each of those activities. And it will be different for everyone, depending upon what you are targeting.

Most people spend the majority of their time simply searching the job boards and sending out resumes, but over 90 percent of jobs aren’t even advertised. So that begs the question–does it make sense to spend most of your time on an activity that studies show only yields 10 percent results for the average job seeker? Organizing your time, your priorities and your efforts is really the key to a successful job search, and a successful career.

Article written by Gabriela Lessa for Moxy Magazine, April 2011. Front page image courtesy of Flickr user dreamsjung. In article image courtesy of flickr user bgottsab.