Has it ever occurred to you that you might be spending more time looking for a house or a car that you spend less waking hours on than your job? More people complain about their jobs than their houses or cars. Yet far less time is spent looking for a job, updating resumes, preparing for interviews, and negotiating for salaries versus house hunting or car shopping.

Everyone knows that you have to spend A LOT of time looking for a house and a car — huge investments, correct? Absolutely! They say the average homebuyer spends about 2-3 months looking for a home and 21 minutes looking for a Netflix show, but why do we spend so little time hunting for a job that we’ll spend 10 waking hours of the day on? πŸ™

It makes me so sad to hear people say,

“I hate my job. I don’t get paid enough.”

“I hate my boss — I haven’t gotten a raise in 4 years.” “I hate my coworkers, especially Linda in HR — she’s such a gossip!” BTW, whoever said that about every HR department having a Linda, SPOT ON! So TRUE! But I digress.

Anyhow, I ask them how much effort they took into their job hunt, and the answer is almost 99% the same — next to nothing. They accepted the first offer, too! WHAT!?!? I know. Clutch the pearls. Be still my heart. Why would you do that? Never do that. There’s a way to be nice about it and get something. It’s like a used car lot — at least get some car mats! I’ll go into in-depth about salary negotiation in another post. πŸ™‚ Plus, my personal calculator is to be released in the very near future.

What is not a smart way to look for jobs?

So you get laid off or maybe you’re a recent grad, whatever the case is — does this look familiar to you?

  1. Grab your old Resume (maybe you updated it, maybe you didn’t)

  2. Look for a Job

  3. Blast the “sort of updated” Resume to Jobs that you Might be Qualified for

  4. Cross your Fingers

  5. If you get a Call Back, accept the First Offer (No Negotiation) because what if they say No. πŸ™

Total time spent: 38 minutes, including the group chat responses back to friends reminding them that you’re still unemployed and cannot “make it rain” or “party like a rock star” — hello? :/

So you spent 38 measly minutes applying for dozens of jobs, which means you spent maybe 3 minutes on each job posting, and then when you get the job, they low-ball you and you don’t know how to negotiate so you accept it, and now you hate it. Sound super familiar or what?

I completely and utterly understand. I have sooooo been there. Do you think I woke up this enlightened and empowered one morning? πŸ™‚ Not on your life, Charlie Brown! I learned this over time and many amazing people taught me bits and pieces along the way. I did not learn it overnight, and I’m sharing my lessons learned, so you can learn it quicker than I did.

But can anyone be good at finding a job? Absolutely.


How do I look for a job online?

First, you must accept that looking for a job is a FULL-TIME job. I dedicate my whole day to looking for a job when I’m unemployed. You reap what you sow. $100K jobs require $100K effort.

If you want to find a job FASTER and get the BEST results out of it, put a bit of elbow grease into it. πŸ€—

If not, well, I don’t know what to tell you. You might be unemployed longer, and/or you might get a job you don’t like. πŸ₯Ί You don’t have to do everything I recommend but do as much as you can. I know how daunting it can be, but even something is better than nothing. πŸ˜‰

Below are the skills I want to teach you for job hunting:

  • Technology (just a tiny bit of knowledge), Finance (basic math), and Research (lots of this) – to Look for Jobs and Search Engine Optimize (SEO) and Quantify your Resume (see my other tips on these topics).

  • Sales / Marketing (just a little bit) – to Pitch Yourself at your Interview (stay genuine though and have integrity)

  • Finance / Sales (again, just a little bit of each) – to Negotiate your Salary (never accept the first offer, unless it’s got a lot of zeroes and you’re getting the world’s first laundry folder and put-away’er machine)


How Do You Prepare for Job Hunting?

Basic Components of Finding a Job — It’s like School!

  • the Job Posting – gives you the Answers for the Job Interview

  • your Resume gives the Employer the Evidence (Proof) that you meet the requirements of the Job Posting

  • the Job Interview is the Oral Exam, and it tells the employer if you qualify for the job; if you’re a good fit for their company; and if you are who you say you are on your resume (very important)

  • the Job Offer is your Grade e.g., “Carter, we think you deserve a B+”

  • the Salary Negotiation is the Request for Re-Grade e.g., “Thank you so much, but I’m an A student, not a B+”

So with all that aside, how can we spend so little time looking for a job? Well, maybe it’s because you’re desperate and desperate times call for desperate measures. Is this about right? Do you feel rushed to find a job because you don’t want to live on your savings for too long? Or maybe you don’t have savings and you just have to get another job?

That’s ok, I get it — grab that in-between job, but do me a favor, and pinky promise me… be patient on the next one, ok? You don’t have to stay there forever. You have every right to leave. Never feel like you owe any company anything because they will let you go when times are tough — it’s just business. They have to survive, too, and, if it’s a small business, they have mouths to feed.

But never lose faith and keep your momentum. You got this. πŸ’–

For more valuable tips, don’t forget to check out the rest of them here and the videos. Stay connected with me for more career advice and more job alerts — subscribe to my newsletter below, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. I want to see you succeed!!! πŸ˜ŽπŸ€—πŸ’ͺπŸ†πŸ‘πŸ˜‰


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