Insanity Part 2--- Keeping Organized

One of the most stressful parts of looking for a job is keeping track of things during the application process. Every place these days seems to have their own systems of accepting applications. Some ask you to email an HR type inbox (after which you immediately receive a form response with the details of their hiring process or a basic thank you and we’ll get back to you- maybe). Others will ask you to fill out a form online and upload attachments for your cover letter and resume… or worse, make you copy and paste your resume and cover letter into the dreaded text box. As much as I’d love to give you a world of tips on how to navigate through those systems, I can’t… you just have to suffer through it and do it. But, I can help you stay on top of your applications so you know who you have already applied to, who you need to follow up with, and applications you still have pending. Read on.

When I want to stay organized in life, I have two main methods. Since so much of applying these days is via the internet, your inbox can be a great way to keep a handle on everything that is going out and coming in. Another way is to set up some sort of what I like to call a “Tracker.” This is an external database that you create and maintain to hold all of the information on every job to which you have applied or want to apply. I will outline both ways below and you can choose what makes sense for your personal style; I typically do a combo of the two.

Make your Inbox work for you
I am a huge fan of Gmail (you know, the email system provided for free by Google). If you have something else, what I mention here will still apply, but you might need to make minor adjustments.

Since I submit almost all applications electronically, I’ve devised a system to keep track of all of the emails I am sending out and receiving back. It’s pretty basic:

• While searching: I don’t search for jobs and when I find one apply for it right then and there (unless I am extremely excited and cannot wait even a second to begin my cover letter and update my resume). Instead, I copy and paste the posting into the body of the email (including web links, who needs to get this email, and notes to myself on the opening and what I might write in my cover letter), enter the subject line as the job opening and the company, and save it as a draft. I DO NOT enter anything in the “To” field. Doing that would probably result in a slip of the hand and the hiring manager reading my notes on the job posting which could say something like: “Might be way under-qualified but highlight college experience working in the writing center.” At the end of every day, I can look at my drafts and see how many jobs are out there waiting for my application.

• The initial application: Once I am in the mood to hammer out some cover letters and play around with resume formats (again), I go to my drafts and start working. When I have stuff ready to send out, I simply email the hiring manager with my attached documents and BCC myself on the email. I blind carbon copy myself because I think CCing yourself looks weird. I’d rather they not know I am including myself on the email. Then again, maybe I am just a secretive person and like to be stealth. Your call. Anyway, this just keeps a copy in my inbox with all of the relevant documents relating to that position, to which I can then attach a label.

• Application Statuses: To keep track of where each job stands, I attach a label to it. This is the Gmail version of a folder, so if you use Outlook or Hotmail or Yahoo or whathaveyou, you can use folders to do this very same form of organization. The labels I use are: Application Sent, Follow Up Call, 1st Interview, 2nd Interview, etc. When I am bored and I need something to do, I can click on Application Sent and see if any of them have been pending for more than a week and then I will do some sort of follow up call on those and switch their label. You can also have multiple labels on them, so you can keep everything in Application Sent and have the full list there.

• Threads: Since Gmail is brilliant, anything with the same subject heading will stick together in one long email thread. So, if I get a phone call from someone, I usually reply to my own email (just to myself) with notes on the phone call. Example: Spoke to Edith, had brief phone interview. Scheduled meeting with Jack for blank date, blank time. By doing this, I am keeping all records related to the job in one place.

That’s the basic system. If you are looking for something more detailed, then think about:

The Tracker
If you are the sort of person who likes to check things off as they get done, this kind of system is for you. You can tailor it to fit exactly your needs and at the end of everyday you can look back on your accomplishments and feel proud of yourself, which might be just the thing you need to feel if you are struggling through unemployment. It can be as simple as a word document or an excel sheet, or if you are super technologically savvy you could even set something up in Access or another Database application. That’s your call.

My personal favorite form of a tracker is in Excel (Spreadsheet if you are a Mac user). In my current job I practically live and breathe Excel trackers. I love them because you can add and remove columns (categories) with ease and you can filter and sort based on what you want to see. You can include links to websites or documents for easy reference. It’s a great way to keep everything in one place.

My basic tracker would include the following columns:

• Date Updated: Under this column you can keep track of when you last worked on this job opening. Don’t disregard keeping track of the date. You’d be surprised how fast the week goes by so you want to keep a record of when you last checked in on this job. Maybe you applied for it and haven’t heard anything and it has been a couple of weeks. That could be an indicator you need to check in. Maybe you have done all of your follow up and it has been a couple of months. Maybe it’s time to make this job inactive. Keeping track of the dates is a good reality check.

• Company: This one is pretty obvious. You need to know what company the job that you applied for is in… but, make sure to take this to the next level. The company name should be a link to the company website so you can easily access information on that organization if they call you and you need to jog your memory on who they are and why they applied.

• Open Position: Again, hello Captain Obvious. Enter the job you applied for in here and link it to the job posting/description. Why do you need to keep track of specific jobs/postings? (A) You might need to access the job description in a pinch and this will make it easier (B) These companies are probably posting multiple jobs and you might be interested in more than one. (C) They also might post it, remove it (either they filled it or decided not to hire at that time) and then post it again later on (maybe their new hire didn’t work out, maybe there are multiple people in that role and it opened up again). If you see the same posting later on that you’ve already applied for, you don’t want to send out the exact same application. What you want to do is write a follow up email or give a phone call and express something along the lines of: “I applied for this job back in April and I noticed you posted it as available again. I am still interested in this opening and would love to discuss my qualifications in person.” This shows that you are committed to their organization and the opening, and you will likely get an interview. (True story, this happened to me).

• Status: Where are you in the process? Here is where you can make note of whether you submitted your application yet, did the follow up (if possible), got an interview, had a second interview, etc.

• Resume Sent: Enter a link here to the copy of a resume that you sent out. If you are like me you have upwards of 10 versions of your resume. It’s always good to bring the same resume to your interview that you sent with your application (unless you have an improved version, in which case bring that).

• Cover Letter Sent: Enter the link to the cover letter you included. Sometimes I write silly little cover letters and I just like to read them to myself before I go to bed. Kidding. (A) It’s good to refresh yourself on all of the materials you sent to an organization before you go on your interview. That way, you can reiterate those main points and if they compliment you on your cover letter you know what they are talking about. (B) If you are applying for similar positions in multiple organizations, you can use the same basic cover letter tweaked with specifics that their organization might find applicable. If you have them all linked up here in this tracker, it’s easier to find and makes the application process that much easier. No one likes to write cover letters, so this way you have access to all of yours in one spot, linked up to job titles that they were used for.

• Other Notes: Here’s the place where you write all of the things you want to remember about a job. Maybe there was a concerning salary range you will need to know to address in case they give you an offer. Maybe you are bad with names and want to keep track of all of the people in the organization you have spoken with—Phone interview with Edith, Face-to-Face scheduled with Jack, etc. Anything you want to keep track of that can be useful down the road can be stored here.
  

The reason why Excel/Spreadsheet works so great is because you can filter. Depending on what aspect of your job search you are looking to focus on in that particular day, you can pull up your tracker and get the information you need. Maybe you are not in the mood to search new jobs that day. You can use this tracker to see which jobs you still need to apply for and make sure none fall through the cracks (I always think the fresher a posting is when you apply, the more likely you will get an interview). Or, you can see what jobs need follow up. Maybe there are jobs you haven't checked in on in a while and haven't heard back from them. See if they are still posted and if so, give that company a call.

**I realize this is a lot of info and it might seem like too much work to set up and maintain. I promise you it is not. And I truly believe if you have an organized system, eventually you will have success in your search. And if you don't, at least you will have a record of all of the jobs you have applied for and you can print out all of the cover letters and resumes you've sent, all of the email correspondance between you and corporations, all of the rejection letters.. and use them to wallpaper your bathroom as a last resort to curb boredom while unemployed. Happy hunting!**