Mr. Cover Letter puts a lot of effort into putting positivity forward but there are also some harsh truths when it comes to landing a great job, which as a job seeker, you are probably more than familiar with.
The amount of time it takes to land a job will vary on multiple factors, which many of them are not controllable such as the economic conditions of the location you are seeking to work and the specific industry demand, and an element of luck. Some, however, are controllable by you such as your experience and attitude.
On an average, it can take around from two to four months to get a job.
Since the onset of the pandemic, this average has grown to more than six months in some industries like tourism, traditional retail and hospitality, while in other industries such as IT services, online collaboration and e-commerce, the average has dropped in response to an increased customer demand.
Assuming there is demand for the job target you are pursuing, your average will mainly depend on the job hunting trifecta:
- Experience: your age, education and previous work experience.
- Attitude: your energy, focus and amount of time you devote to network and apply.
- Luck: luck exists, but as the old adage says: luck is where preparation meets opportunity
Furthermore, your average will be heavily influenced by your context, meaning the country and city you want to pursue work on, the unemployment rate there, and the specific industry you are looking to work in.
If you are actively looking for a job, thinking of a career switch or beginning one, it’s important to set up realistic expectations so you can organise your efforts moving forward. And for that, nothing is more realistic than doing the math.
Crunch the numbers
When it comes to looking for a job, there are three things in play: money, time and energy.
Following this logic, for every day, week or month you are unemployed, there is a cost. Making that cost explicit can help you kick procrastination and start organizing your efforts considerably.
1) Money
Being unemployed literally costs you lost income.
The average annual income in the Netherlands, for example, according to the Centraal Planbureau (CPB), in 2020 was €36.000 (€3,041 gross per month).
If you’ve been unemployed for 4 months, for example, you’ve missed out on €9.592 in your bank account. If you are a job seeker that falls in a higher salary bracket, you’re more than aware what kind of impact this has on your life.
| Gross income | €36.000 | €50.000 | €90.000 | €150.000 |
| Months in the search | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Monthly net after tax | €2.268 | €2.835 | €4.327 | €6.533 |
| Lost income in your bank | €9.072 | €11.340 | €17.308 | €26.132 |
2) Time
Whether you are unemployed or you have a job but you are actively looking, it means that you are investing time job searching rather than doing something else which is more beneficial for your career or fulfilling for your personal life. Looking for a job is in itself a full time job they say, that’s not far from the truth. If you are unemployed, this becomes more true than ever. It involves a lot of moving parts and targets, which if they are not strategized and organised, can make the journey overwhelming.
Before you even begin shooting out applications, you first need to define what you want and be really clear about that. Then, you need to research job opportunities, write or update your CV (tweak it for the jobs your pursue), write online profiles either on LinkedIn or in other job boards, check your social media, apply for jobs, prepare for interviews, prepare for tests, follow up on your applications, network at events and meetups, reach out to people for introductions, fully show up to informal interviews, choose your referees, negotiate a job offer and more.
When you are unemployed, time is your biggest asset. It’s not the case if you are currently working and do the search after work hours. If you have a family, this time gets minimized even further.
The opportunity cost of using this time for job searching instead of learning a new skill, developing a hobby or simply doing whatever it is you would like to be doing rather than job searching can be easily tracked and calculated.
So suppose you devote something between from 8 to 32 hours a week job searching related activities, the malalignment of your time can be mapped out in “opportunity costs” terms like the ones detiale before.
| Weekly search time | 8 hours | 16 hours | 24 hours | 32 hours |
| Weeks in the search | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| Total search time | 128 hours | 256 hours | 384 hours | 512 hours |
| Full 24hs days | 5 | 11 | 16 | 21 |
3) Energy
Imagine so far you’ve done either 3, 10, 30 or even more than 100 application. Imagine a an average time of say, 4 hours per application. This may vary of course but it wouldn’t be far off if you factor the search, the scan, the cover letter, the resume tweaks, and the follow ups all together. How much energy does it costs to be sending job applications and not hearing back? Or even worts, getting rejected so many times.
How much does having peace of mind cost? How much does it cost to manage the peaks and valleys of the emotional rollercoaster that is inherent in searching for a job?
Think of uncertainty, anxiety, deception, stress, depression, and frustration.
Receiving rejections, not being in control, not hearing back amongst the other blows to your self-confidence can add a lot of negativity to your life, be difficult to manage on your own, and can also have an impact in your life and relationships overall.
When and why should you seek for help to accelerate your job search?
Job searching is clearly a cost, in money, time and energy. Depending on your particular situation, the cost might be really low, or it might be costing you a lot.
There’s a lot of information out there on the internet when it comes to things one can do in order to land a great job. Hundreds of strategies, tactics and routines have been talked about, written and discussed and are all scattered like seeds in the wind in millions of blogs, articles, books, podcasts, videos, and courses.
So why would you pay someone to teach you something that has already been said and shared millions of times and can be “easily” found via Google?
You think to yourself: There’s so much free information out there, and if you can buckle down and do it all on your own, then shelling out for a coach seems like a luxurious waste of money. I get it.
The answer is very simple: acceleration.
If you currently feel stuck, if you keep ending up in the same situation over and over again, if you want to save time and energy right from the start, if you are ready to level up and if you are ready to finally be held accountable (and reap the results of your efforts), it might be time to finally invest in yourself and save your money, time, and energy..
Organising your efforts and optimising your productivity can cut down your job search time to up to 50%.
As I grow Mr. Cover Letter and I help more and more people, I understand how important it is to do the right things, in the right order at the right time. So take advantage of getting external help and have someone to show you a way so you can accelerate your job search and cut down the time you invest in it.
Mr. Cover Letter has developed a series of tools, workshops, and coaching programs that focuses on:
- A step-by-step method: there’s a benefit in doing the right things, in the right order at the right time. Having someone to show you the way of how to clarify your story and value, quickly read a job ad to craft an engaging cover letter, or how to position your resume to actually get results amongst many other things can save you a lot of time.
- Lot’s of focus: staying focused and positive, you’re sure to face distractions, discouragement, rejection which can take its toll on your confidence and motivation.
- Weekly accountability: when you only have to report to yourself, it is all too easy to slack in the discipline and creativity department over time. But not if you are accountable to someone else.
- Extra support: his year, I launched a new LinkedIn Group for professionals to connect with likeminded people and help you expand your network and accelerate your process.
The cost of paying someone to help you out to make sure you are doing the right things in the right order at the right time, staying focused, positive, and accountable and receiving support will always be considerably lower than going through the hassle of figuring things out on your own on trial and error.
As you move through your job search, consider getting support from a professional who not only knows what he is talking about, but has also been where you are now. It can save you a lot of time, energy and most important get the money flowing your way sooner than later.
To your success!
Mr. Cover Letter
—
Looking for a job is time consuming and frustrating. Mr. Cover Letter has everything you need to clarify your story and value, engage with hiring managers and get shortlisted and land a great job faster.
Actively looking for a job or about to start doing so? Consider taking advantage of my tools, joining a workshop or engaging in coaching. Otherwise, decide to become “one in a million” and sign up for updates.
