4 Reasons to Keep a Daily Job Search Journal

4 Reasons to Keep a Daily Job Search Journal 4 Reasons to Keep a Daily Job Search Journal 14 A job search journal is a fantastic way to keep both your productivity and your spirits up. It will give you an indisputable yardstick by which to measure your progress, as well as your setbacks, and will help you gauge how best to spend your time and resources. Just as keeping a daily work journal  can keep you on track toward meeting your goals, having a job search journal can help sharpen your resolve if youre looking for flexible work and healthier  work-life fit. As for how to keep a job search journal- simple! Carve out a few minutes every day and use whatever means works for you (tech-based platforms, pen and paper) to document all sorts of data: job applications; follow-up and thank-you notes; phone calls and email responses; your  mood  about how your search is going; the money youve spent on your job hunt; and anything else you decide will keep you moving toward your career goals. Consider these four reasons to keep a daily job search journal: Track job applications. Make the new year your time to re-commit to quality versus quantity in your effort to submit more successful job applications. Taking that important step will make it easier to keep track of job applications, follow up with impact, and increase your chances of finding rewarding, flexible work. Keep tabs on tax deductions. One of the most practical reasons for keeping a job search journal is that it can provide an excellent means for you to document expenses associated with your job search. To be sure, not all the money you spend is tax deductible, but its a great idea to be aware of tax tips about what expenses you can claim, and when you can claim it. Understand which strategies work- and which dont. Weathering rejection is part and parcel of looking for work. Keeping a job search journal can provide good information to assess what your most successful strategies might be, and which tactics you should ditch. Reviewing your job search journal can also provide fodder to help you research new industries or plot out the best moves for forging a completely different career path. Stay on track with career goals. It can be easy to lose sight of your career aspirations if youve been looking for work for a while. A great benefit to keeping a job search journal is that the exercise of writing things down forces you (in a gentle way!) to keep your eyes on the prize. Goal-setting is a way to find a career that can be a good work-life fit for you; use your daily job search journal as a wonderful tool to help you stay on track over the long haul. Readers, do you keep a job search journal? How often do you update it, and what benefits have you gained? Let us know in the comments section below!