Keep track of everything!

Organizing is one of my favorite things to do. Strong organizational skills often go hand-in-hand with other character traits desired by employers. People who are organized are often goal-oriented, have a strong work ethic, and keep track of deadlines. Here are more recommendations:

+Keep organizational folders (on your computer or in an old-school filing box) which include everything you've submitted to each potential employer. Do not forget which employer has what documents, when you submitted those documents, and if/when the potential employer contacted you.

+Create folders in your email account(s) for job-related correspondence. It is embarrassing to have a phone conversation with a potential employer and realize you do not remember applying for the job or anything about the organization.

Job Application Organization

Completing job applications can be a dreadful process, especially if you have to search for all of your job-related information multiple times in order to complete every single application. My suggestion is to create "Master Lists" ONCE so that you can help yourself out later. Here are the 3 Master Lists I recommend:

Job Master List
1) Start and end dates of employment
2) Beginning and ending salary
3) Supervisor (and phone number)
4) Address of organization and phone number
5) Duties performed for each job
6) Accomplishments

Reference Master List*
1) Name of reference and title
2) Address of organization he/she belongs
3) Phone number
4) Email address

*Do not forget to consult your reference before listing them on the application. Respect your reference's privacy. Do not give out personal contact information (cell phone #'s, private email addresses, etc.) unless you have permission.

Education Master List
1) School/university name
2) Address of school/university
3) Grade point average(s)
4) Graduation date(s) (month, day, year)
5) SAT and or ACT scores
6) Credit hours earned per degree
7) Relevant coursework completed including when the course was taken

Alternatively, if you have correctly completed a federal job resume previously, then print it from their website. It has nearly all the information you will ever need to fill out most job applications. (This is what I did and it works well!)