It is such a terrible experience being unemployed. It means
you do not have an income. And that is scary because the
bills do not know this. No, they just keep on coming.
They eat into the savings you have built up over the years.
Or even worse, you have to borrow or sell assets to make
sure you can pay them. This is terrifying!

The bad news is that it often takes quite some time to find
a job. And that means it could be quite some time before
your income kicks in again. The time lag between starting
to look for work and landing that job is a serious issue.
And that is precisely what this series of articles endeavours
to address. How do you reduce the time between when
you start looking for a job and when you get it?

The first thing you must do is clearly define what you are
looking for. When you are looking for a job, the last thing
you want to do is spread your energy out over the entire
employment landscape. If you do this, you will waste so
much time chasing down so many opportunities that are
just irrelevant.

Define what job you are looking for. This will be different
for every person, and it will be different for you every time
you are looking for a job. When defining what you are looking
for, there are many aspects you will need to consider.
Some are trade offs, some are just personal preferences.
Here are a few considerations to think about.

What type of work do you enjoy?
What are you skills
What industries or positions do you have experience in?

Big company or small company?
At what level do you want to come in?
Are you prepared to trade off today's position for a better career path?

What is the income band you are looking for?
What is the base wage you will settle for?
Are there factors that you are willing to trade income for?

How fast do you need a job?
Can you afford to hold out for a better offer?
Can this be a short term position while you find your long term position?

Is location an issue?
Is travel an issue?

These are the types of questions you want to consider when
defining your job search. Finding a new job is a bit like buying
a new car in this regard. If you want a new car, but you are not
sure what type of car, you will waste lots of time speaking to every
car salesman in your area. If you know what car you want, you
can target your search to the correct car salesmen, and just
concentrate on getting the best price.

Its exactly the same with finding a job. Define what you are
looking for, target your search and concentrate on getting the
best job with the best terms and conditions.

This is part 1 of a multi-part special report on reducing
the time it takes to get a job. Its not fun running around
trying to win that job, this report is full of tips and tricks
which will help you reduce your job hunt time to a
minimum.