Here is an example of how you might set up a one-year plan for a nonacademic-job search. The process will be a lot less stressful if you can break it into pieces and proceed one step at a time.
Months 1 and 2
Spend an hour a week on self-assessment to narrow the list of careers that might match your interests and talents. At this point, it might help to consult a career counselor on your campus, but here are some other sources of guidance:
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Excellent exercises to help you understand your interests, values, and skills can be found in such books as What Color is Your Parachute? (Ten Speed Press, 2000).
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Attend career-exploration workshops if they are available on your campus.
Months 3 through 8
Spend one to four hours a week doing research on career possibilities.
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Two career guides directed specifically at Ph.D.'s may be of help. They are So What Are You Going to do With That? A Guide to Career-Changing for M.A.'s and Ph.D.'s (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 2001), and Margaret Newhouse's Outside the Ivory Tower (Harvard University Press, 1993).
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As specific career areas arouse your interest, study them further in the career section of your library.
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Set aside a few hours a week for reading about career possibilities, and keep your self-assessment handy to compare your findings with your own career preferences.
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If applicable, attend campus job fairs and employer information sessions.
Spend one to four hours a week on personal networking.
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Compile an initial list of people for informational interviews. Alumni-contact lists, personal friends, and family members are all excellent subjects for such interviews.
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Plan to contact one new person each week during the first three months of this period for an informational interview. After this time, you'll want to increase the time you spend on networking, spending more time following up on conversations and interviews.
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Local meetings and e-mail discussion groups devoted to career fields that interest you are also excellent avenues for your research and networking.
Months 9 through 12
Plan to spend at least a full day each week on actively seeking jobs and sending out applications.
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Prepare your résumé early. You may need to prepare different versions if you are looking seriously at several different career fields.
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Inform your personal networks that you are actively seeking a job, and be as specific as you can about the kind of position you desire.
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Focus your search on specific organizations and individuals, and contact them directly and through your personal networks to inquire about employment possibilities.
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Monitor job-posting venues -- professional e-mail groups, trade publications, and mainstream Web sites -- for job listings that fit your criteria. Whenever possible, avoid sending your résumé to the addresses of recruiters and human-resource offices. Instead, research the hiring manager and contact that person directly.
Month 12
Celebrate the new job you've landed, and prepare to start work!
