Stalling by making busy work is SO prevalent in job search. And it doesn’t have to be the “honey do” list either. People get stalled doing things that make them feel productive, but that gain them little in the way of results—they’ll do easy networking rather than work their “chicken list,” or they’ll endlessly surf job boards, or “fine tune” a resume that should have gone out weeks before. In fact the list of job search “busy work” is endless. I always call it “low-effort, low-ROI” activity.

Job seekers use the “tweak the resume” stall-tactic a lot–makes ‘em feel like they are giving themselves the best shot, when it is really disguising a deep fear of getting out there and making something happen. Best way to stop it is to acknowledge it–and you’ve helped with your post!

I always encourage my clients to treat their job search the same way they would treat a high-priority project at work. Shift the paradigm and use the same techniques for “Company You.” Scope out the project; strategize a plan; determine tactics, resources, and players; and then make it happen, every day.

Just as in a mission-critical corporate initiative, failure is not an option, and momentum, timelines, milestones, and budgets count. Job seekers need to work it until it works and they’re working!

Mark

Christie