Use This Free Career Action Plan Template Before You Look for a New Job.

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Looking for a job can feel like a full-time job. It’s easy to feel defeated when it feels like you’re sending your resume into the void and most of the time you don’t hear anything back. Perhaps you’re about to graduate, or making a career change, or returning to work after being away for some time – the job search is humbling for us all.

An action plan is the key to turning your tedious job search into a much more manageable process – both in terms of your sanity and in terms of increasing your chances of getting hired. Personally, I love a good spreadsheet . Whether or not you’re part of a spreadsheet team, you should create some form of career exploration action plan .

Why You Need a Job Search Action Plan

Your job search action plan is an organizational tool that allows you to keep all the elements of your job search in one place. Not only will this help you stay on top of tasks, but it will also visually show your progress when you need a motivational boost after Indeed.com has noticed you. I made a template that you can use here .

Your action plan will be tailored to your specific career search, but there are three basic steps to get started:

  1. Goal setting and preparation

  2. Track your progress

  3. Assessment and self-registration

So let’s move on to some specific action plan items.

Goal setting and preparation

The first steps are always the most difficult. As your career search begins, here are a few specific things you can do in the first major section of your action plan.

  1. List your career goals. What are you looking for in your next position?

  2. Research the types of positions you are interested in, taking into account the qualifications you need to include in your application.

  3. Identify keywords to add to your resume ( which you should tailor to every job posting , no matter what).

  4. Search for new contacts . Spend some time on LinkedIn, Twitter, and company websites to try to find someone who can potentially help you in your search, whether it’s their insight and experience or their ability to connect you with someone hiring you.

  5. Clean up your social media presence if necessary.

  6. Create and update an online portfolio or website for yourself , if applicable.

Track your progress

This tracker is the basis of your action plan . With sites like Indeed and LinkedIn, it’s easy to submit application after application without thinking twice about it. To stay on top of all available job openings, get creative with all the ways you can track your job search process.

  1. Organize links to job postings. Gather all the jobs you’re considering, working on, or applying for in one place. Visualize this list with color-coded columns for your application status, level of interest, potential contacts for the position, and space for general notes about the position.

  2. Create a master list of contacts. Don’t hold back: Brainstorm a list of family friends, former colleagues, hiring managers, people with your dream jobs you found on LinkedIn, and general networking opportunities as described in step four above. Not every person you talk to will want to talk, and not every person you talk to will bring you to work. However, you never know what opportunities may open up once the conversation begins.

  3. Prepare for interviews. Plan all the interviews you will receive and outline strategies to prepare for them. Create an interview preparation checklist: Research the company, your interviewer, and write down answers to common interview questions .

Assessment and self-registration

One of the biggest psychological obstacles to any job search is maintaining momentum. Whenever things get tough and the job market seems hopeless, this tab is where you can check your progress.

  1. Keep track of everyone you communicated with. Be smart – don’t push the same people over and over again every week.

  2. Consider learning new skills or volunteering to bolster your resume while you look for a full-time job.

  3. Review your goals and determine what you may need to adjust in the future. Write down what you are willing to compromise on and what is non-negotiable for you. This can lead to applications for various positions, which can give your career search another boost of motivation.

For most of us, searching for a new job is a tedious and daunting task. Your career action plan is an organizational tool that is as important mentally as it is professionally. And if you find yourself staring at a long list of rejected applications, you can always delete this table and start over.

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