In a recent Spartan Up podcast Joe Desena quotes Ken Blanchard saying:

There are people that are committed and there are people who are interested

The difference is that the people who are interested do it when it is fun and people who are committed do it all the time.  So I ask you… Are you committed to your job search or just interested in it?  I get it, searching for a job SUCKS!  It is a job in and of itself and the pay stinks.  You apply online and never get a response.  You feel like you are back in high school and everyone is breaking up with you by not calling you.  Going through your job search can be isolating and frustrating but it doesn’t have to be.

If you are only interested in finding a new job then you won’t break through the uncomfortable feeling you get when you think about reaching out to people you don’t know.  Or maybe you haven’t even posted on Facebook that you are looking for a job because it would be embarrassing.  You need to learn to only be embarrassed about the things worth being embarrassed about.

It’s time to be committed to your job search

First and foremost you need to start reaching out to your network.  I have had several friends over the years who know I am a recruiter and they never tell me they are looking for a job.  No, I am not end all be all when it comes to job search advice (no one is) but I probably could have saved them some time in finding a job or maybe they wouldn’t have missed that opportunity they REALLY wanted.  Start today.

It is still more about who you know than what you know

Start by making a list of people in your network already that you want to reach out to.  Think of church, past co-workers, organizations you have been involved in, etc…  Break it down in to small goals, say one or two people a day.  Next, set a goal of also finding one new person to add to your network each day.  You can use LinkedIn, Twitter, Associations, etc…  Then get to it!  Don’t wait till the end of the day either.  Do these things first thing in the morning.  Your morning is often the only time of day you can control.  As the book Eat That Frog says, if you had to eat a frog each and every day would you rather wait till the end of the day and dread it all day or do it first thing and get it out of the way?  First things first!

I could go on and on but you know the things you NEED to do.  Stop reading this and go do them!  No really, go on… get!

Procrastination makes easy things hard, hard things harder.
Mason Cooley