Best Results Organizing

Paper Doll has spoken with you before about the importance of selecting a calendar/planner that fits your needs.  Organization and time management is always important, but if you’ve recently been laid off and are searching for a new job, precision time-planning is a must.  Further, if your former job provided the resources and technology for managing your time, you may be feeling a little lost without those treats. 

Franklin Covey is coming to the rescue, and wants to help organize your job search.  As their website states:

FranklinCovey knows that getting organized for a job search can ultimately save much time and frustration. Having one place to track all information, contacts, appointments, job leads, and interview notes can make a job search less stressful and more productive. Planning and organization are an integral component of a job search.

Anyone who has recently been laid off can go to their local Franklin Covey store and receive a 2009 Franklin Covey planner…for free!

The process is simple:

1. Go to a Franklin Covey store near you this Saturday, March 21, 2009.
2. Explain to an associate that you’d like to take advantage of the free planner giveaway for recently unemployed workers.
3. Provide the name of your former company and supervisor, and the date you were laid off.
4. Leave with a free 2009 Franklin Covey planner.

From there on, use the rest of the weekend to work up motivation for your job search.

Use the calendar and task sections of the planner to note interview dates, contacts, and any tasks (reworking your resume, attending job fairs, etc.) you can perform to reach your job-search goals. 

Also, use the planner to remind you of the dates/times you need to visit/call/log-in to meet your state’s requirements for receiving your unemployment benefits insurance payments.  (And remember, money has already been paid in to the unemployment coffers on your behalf the whole time you were employed, so if you were laid off, unemployment benefits are due to you.  They are not charitable handouts; think of them as insurance payments.  So don’t delay in filing!)

Use the “notes” sections of the planner to make a list of everyone you know, and check off their names once you’ve let them know you are searching.  Give the great people you know an idea of your skills, abilities and background, and ask them to let everyone they know that you’re searching.  You never know whose co-worker’s brother’s former babysitter is now the president of a company that desperately needs someone with your expertise.  This is what social networking is all about, whether it’s digital or in person.

Schedule time in the planner to do things that will keep you upbeat and make you feel useful and fulfilled.  Block your time so you still get up early, eat breakfast and get out of the house, but once you’ve accomplished many of your business tasks (because searching for a job is now your current full-time job), use the extra hours to volunteer.  If possible, try to find a volunteer position that either uses the skills you already possess and wish to hone, or one that lets you explore skills and possibilities you’d never previously considered.

So find your local Franklin Covey store, set your alarm to get up tomorrow morning (Saturday, March 21, 2009), get your free planner and good luck with that job search!