It is such a terrible experience being unemployed. It means you do not have an income. And that is scary because bills do not know this. No, they just keep on coming. They eat into savings you have built up over years. Or even worse, you have to borrow or sell assets to make sure you can pay them. This is terrifying!

The bad news is that it often takes quite some time to find a job. And that means it could be quite some time before your income kicks in again. The time lag between starting to look for work and landing that job is a serious issue. And that is precisely what this series of articles endeavours to address. How do you reduce time between when you start looking for a job and when you get it?

The first thing you must do is clearly define what you are looking for. When you are looking for a job, last thing you want to do is spread your energy out over entire employment landscape. If you do this, you will waste so much time chasing down so many opportunities that are just irrelevant.

Define what job you are looking for. This will be different for every person, and it will be different for you every time you are looking for a job. When defining what you are looking for, there are many aspects you will need to consider. Some are trade offs, some are just personal preferences. Here are a few considerations to think about.

What type of work do you enjoy? What are you skills What industries or positions do you have experience in?

Big company or small company? At what level do you want to come in? Are you prepared to trade off today's position for a better career path?