Vacation and the Speed of Job Search

Job search used to be a much slower process.  You'd find opportunities in papers or professional journals, send in a cover letter and resume, generally via snail mail - the good old U.S. Postal Service - and then wait, often several weeks, to hear if you made the first cut.  We'd advise clients on the strategy of holding off a few days before sending in their letter and resume so their material wouldn't arrive with a pile of other envelopes but rather as one of a few, thereby garnering more attention.

Today the game is totally different!  While there are jobs listed in newspapers and journals, all of those jobs are also posted on-line, so by the time you find an opening in a paper, you are probably a few days behind most other applicants and possibly too late to be considered in with other early bird front runners.

Case in point is a position I applied to a few weeks ago.  It was Saturday morning and I was about to head out for the weekend but decided to give a quick check on one of the sites that list positions in higher education.  Low and behold there was a terrific new job post.  I could have waited until after my weekend getaway to fill in the application and send off the resume and cover letter, but I decided to put off my mini-vacation for a few hours and apply for the position that day.  And, it was a good thing I did because I got a call two days later to set up a first round telephone screen.  While I have no guarantee that my application might not have drawn a response if I'd waited until after the weekend, my sense is that it might have been too late. 

Two weeks ago I was away for a week on a much needed vacation.  I took my laptop with me because I had signed up for a multi-session webinar and I'd committed to participating in all six classes.  While I told myself I was only going to use the laptop for the webinar and take a total break from work and job search, having it with me made it too tempting to avoid checking into e-mail, just to see what was happening out there.  Low and behold I got an e-mail from a network contact informing me of a terrific new job post.  So rather than sitting on the beach, I sat in my hotel room, drafted a new cover letter and completed the on-line application.  Would this have waited until I got home?  Who knows?  Will this be 'the one'?  The jury is still out.  Do I feel it was important to respond quickly?  You bet.

So, what do you think?  Should I have simply put things off for a week and disengaged or was I right to check e-mail and critical job post sites each day?  I must admit I'm really torn on this one.  In a wide open job market, I'd probably advise a client to take a rest, knowing there will be other opportunities when they reconnect.  In this job market it feels like staying connected, if at all possible, is critical.