How to plan your job search

Before you even think about diving straight in and starting your search for your next job in science, it’s important that you have a plan of action. By planning your job search, you will be in the most productive mind-set and will remain focussed what ever challenges you face along the way.

To help you effectively plan your job search, CK Science have put together some guidelines to help you think more strategically about your job hunt.

Set realistic and achievable goals

Obviously, the goal of your job hunt is to lad your perfect job in science. But you need to get down to the nitty gritty. Have a think about:

What kind of job do you want?
- Do you want to stay in the same role and work in the same industry?
- Do you want to stay in the same role, but work in a different industry?
- Are you looking for a complete change in career?
- What type of company do you want to work for?
- Where do you want to be based?
- What kind of salary are you looking for?
- Do you want to work full time or part-time?
- Are you looking for a permanent or temporary science job?
- How long are you willing to commute?
- How are you thinking of commuting?
- Do you want to do any more training or complete further qualifications?
- What do you see yourself doing in five years time?

Once you have answered each of these questions you should have a clear idea in your head of exactly what you are looking for. This will also help the Scientific Recruitment Consultants here at CK Science to help you find a position more quickly.

Determine your job hunting tools

There are many different tools out there to help you land your next job in science. Some may work better for you than others, so it may best to concentrate on 2-3 of the following methods to help ensure you stay focused throughout your job hunt:

Specialist scientific recruitment agencies such as CK Science
Job boards such as Access Science
Company careers pages
News paper advertisements
Industry specific publications
LinkedIn – Here are some tips to help you set up and optimise your LinkedIn page.

Have a schedule

You never can tell how long your job hunt will take, however you can set yourself deadlines for certain important milestones. Some you might want to consider are:

I will have written my CV, spell checked and checked again within 3 days. Click here for some CV writing tips to help you.
I will have created by job hunting spreadsheet within one week. See below for more details.
I will have registered with at least three specialist scientific recruitment agencies within 1 week. Click here to register your CV with CK Science now.
I will have had 5 telephone interviews within three weeks
I will have had 2 face-to-face interviews within 1 month

Put together a job hunting spread sheet

It might sound geeky but it can be effective to put together a job hunting spread sheet to help you track the progress and success of your job applications. We recommend you record things like:

Number of applications made
Number of responses received
How many interviews attended
How many scientific recruitment agencies registered with Click here to register your CV with CK Science now.
How many networking events you have attended