Olympics and the Job Search

(Ed. Note: In honor of the Winter Olympics, I thought I’d repost this article from Summer 2008… Enjoy!)





I was reading this morning through the blog of Adam Kreek, a member of the Canadian Olympic Row team (I’ve been into rowing this year because of my niece who was on Michigan State’s Crew Team last year), when I read about the training that he puts in to get to where he is today.
Here is an excerpt of what he said:  “The pain experienced while rowing is similar to middle distance running, biking really hard or speed skating. Your legs burn and scream for oxygen, while your lungs wheeze with your heart struggling to transport renewed blood to the complaining body parts. Suffering is the best word to describe how I feel in a race. The after-effects of competition are exhausting. My body aches and I have depressed energy and drive for weeks after the event.”
Or, the US Boxing Team who leave the comforts of home for 10 months to train at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs in intense preparation for China.
What does this have to do with job search? It is a job. Job search is a full time job. Similar to Olympic training, it has to be your number one focus. A person can’t expect to land a dream job after posting his/her resume on 5 job sites. It has to be worked on daily. The good thing is, there are lots of job search activities you can do without leaving your house, and will keep you busy for hours.
When you get up in the morning, what do you do? Consider putting on nice clothes, not just your sweats. This makes you feel productive and gets you into the job search groove. Check your emails and respond to offers (with monster.com you will get hundreds of those that should end up your junk mail). Let all old acquaintances, family and friends know that you are job searching.

Go to companies you’ve thought you’d like to work for and research them online. Most companies offer hoards of company information, press releases, employment opportunities, etc. Get to know the companies well. Create a folder with information on the companies you like and organize it alphabetically, by industry, or however you like. When the time comes that you get invited for an interview, you will be armed with an arsenal of information that will impress even the most straight-faced hiring person. Know your stuff.
Join online networking groups like LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo, etc. It is a great opportunity to network with old co-workers, friends and strike up conversations with people from companies you would like to work for. The possibilities on these sites are endless.
And, as always, getting out and going to local business mixers and job fairs are excellent ways of getting your name out there. Be prepared and have your resume, references and any other documentation ready to hand out.
Job search isn’t something you do once a day for a half hour or hour. It’s a full time job. Not only will it keep away the anxiety of not having a job, it will keep you feeling productive while getting your name out there for potential employers to see.
Keep at it, stay the course, be positive, and watch great opportunities come your way!