Time to Clean House
17. Get your personal records in order
When you accept a job offer, one of the things you will have to deal with is the I-9 form that proves you are allowed to work in this country. If you haven't seen the I-9 form lately, get a copy so you can see what documents you will need. If you can't find your Social Security card, now would be an excellent time to order a replacement. This will take several weeks to process. The sooner you receive it, the sooner you will have it ready to produce when you start your new job. Another document you want make sure you have, even if you don't need it for the I-9, is a copy of your birth certificate. This might take a little while to get. I didn't know until recently that, depending on when and/or where you were born, there are two types of birth certificates -- one the hospital does and one that's done when the birth is registered with the local authorities. You will want to get a copy of the certificate on file with the local authorities.
18. Don't wait for the phone to ring
This may be one of the harder things to do. Keep in mind that recruiters and HR types move at their own pace, which can be very slow. When you first apply for a job, it could be several days or more before you get the first contact. Waiting for the phone to ring will have you climbing the walls in short order. Sometimes you will get a call within hours of applying for a job, but expect that to be the exception. There are always things you can do while you wait for movement on the job front, and some of them may be done at little to no cost -- that little bit of touch-up painting you have never gotten around to, or the trimming around the yard that always needs to be done. You need to stay active -- don't just sit around and watch the clock move forward.
19. Get out of the house at least once a day
At some point you will run out of things to do around the house or will simply need to get out. There will be the occasional job fair, but that won't take a large amount of your time. You can knock on the doors of companies that you would like to work at, but with the price of gas hovering around $4 a gallon depending on where you live, that can be an expensive trip to make for an unknown return. Do some things you enjoy, such as going to a museum or sports game. The main thing is to get out to keep from getting cabin fever.
20. Never give up
Don't leave any stone unturned. You just may find that a company that today passed you over in favor of another applicant may come back to you when that person leaves to move onto greener pastures. I never would have thought that could happen, but I have seen it happen twice in the past year.
Nutter is an IT executive in Kansas City. He is also one of the editors of Network World's IT Asked & Answered. He can be reached at nww@networkref.com.
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