Your gut feelings can tell you who is on-the-move and who has moved in to stay. You can also tell how important this particular manager is to those above him and her. If they’re liked by superiors, should there be a confrontation, they’ll be staying, you’ll be leaving.

Pay attention to things like this. It will make a difference in your career.

7.Know your strengths and remind yourself of them.

This is not referring to emotional, or to knowing your limitations (those it’s necessary to know these as well), but rather to innate talents and skills you bring to bear to any situation. The personality traits and competencies that you use for problem-solving, and how you look at things. take one of many assessments available and review them with a coach.

8.Life skills.

Always be working on your personal and professional development. Just as you acquire degrees, skills and expertise in your field, you should be developing your emotional intelligence. Such competencies as stress management, leadership, interpersonal skills, quick and accurate reality-testing, communication skills, resilience and flexibility will help you in this situation, as well as any other you face. Learning EQ has long-term positive results. Most clients recognize positive outcomes immediately in their lives.

9.Get out of it good things there to be gotten.

An “impossible” manager can range from impossible, to difficult, to challenging, to possible. You have some leverage there in your own attitude and EQ. If there are things making job worth keeping, focus on those. Work on getting along with manager well enough. Don’t exaggerate their effect on you. Some emotional strain is probably more to be tolerated than a manger who is impacting your ability to function, learn and increase skills you need to advance your own career.

10.Be mindful if this is a pattern.

If this is last in a long series of impossible managers, it’s probably you. If you transfer to another department or job, and have another impossible manager, it’s probably you. Get coaching!

You may find it beneficial to have an alternate “job search office” such as your local library or employment centre, where you can research, read, and write without distractions you may encounter at home. Many are equipped with computers that you can use for Internet job search as well as resume and cover letter preparation, which can be a great benefit if you don’t have a home computer or must share it with other family members. If you plan to use this type of service on a regular basis, you’ll need some type of portfolio or briefcase to hold your job search material, including your resume in printed form and on a diskette, your calendar, and a notebook for jotting down leads and ideas. Most facilities do not allow you to receive telephone calls, so be sure that potential employers can reach you by voice mail, pager or cell phone.

Of course, you’ll need a calendar for marking down job interviews and other important meetings. You’ll also need a system for keeping track of your job applications. This information may be needed to confirm your eligibility for unemployment insurance or social assistance, and will help you to follow up on your applications.

Your Contacts

During your job search, you will probably communicate with hundreds, if not thousands, of people, but in order to make effective use of network you develop, you’ll need a way to keep track of all your contacts.

The simplest method is a card file system, with a card for each contact. Each card should include contact’s name, title, organization, address, telephone number, fax, and email address, source of lead, and dates and details of any conversations, correspondence, or interviews. You may find it helpful to set up a “recipe box” with a set of dividers labeled with days of week and a set numbered 1-31 for days of month. You can file each card under date you wish to contact that person. For example, you may speak with someone on 10th who suggests that you call him or her in two weeks. After noting information on index card, file it in section for 25th where it will serve as a reminder for you to follow up.

There are wonderful software programs available that can help you with organizing your job search contacts. WinWay Resume, for example, has a section for storing contact information that you can merge with your cover letter. ACT! allows you to schedule tasks and reminders as well as perform mail merges. If you don’t wish to buy or learn a new software package, email address books in Outlook, Outlook Express or in free Web-based email packages are also an excellent way to keep track of your contacts. However, unless you have unrestricted access to a computer, or a portable system such as a Palm Pilot, you won’t be always able to access information. The key features of any organizational system are ease of recording and ease of retrieval. If using an electronic system will make your job search more complicated and time-consuming, don’t use it.

Job searching can be overwhelming, but when you organize your schedule, workspace, and contacts effectively, you’ll be able to stay on track and find your new job more quickly.