Structured Job Search

Of course you can also keep your contact notes manually-just use legal pad paper and keep a separate set of notes for each contact-electronically or manually, why do it? Because it keeps your job search organized and "structured". Your notes serve as reminders of "who, what , where, when, and how"-who did you talk to, what did you talk about, where did you meet, when did you meet, and how will this contact be most helpful to you. If you don't keep notes, the entire process gets jumbled and confused quickly. For example, one day you think about one of your strong contacts, Jackie Hildebrand. You think-I don't need to follow up with him yet-I just spoke with him a few days ago. However, the truth is that it has been (3) weeks since you last had contact with Jackie-time goes by quickly. So having a system reminds you to contact the members of your network on a frequent and regular basis.