This is part 5 of a 16 post series

I hear this often, “I’m not in a hurry to find a job. I have my severance and unemployment checks.”

I hear this almost as often, “I like this not working thing, it feels pretty good.”

However, unless you are independently wealthy, or ready to start drawing retirement and/or Social Security, you have to get over this short lived glee and get busy looking for that next job.

Yeah, it’s OK to take a little time off. Maybe spend some time with family and friends, however, make it short and sweet. Your best bet to find the right job for you, sooner, vs. later, would be to get busy looking now.

Yeah, looking for a job is work. It takes time, is not easy, requires that you think and get off the couch. Looking for a job means you have to spend time working on your resume and LinkedIn profile. You also have to call people, send emails to people, meet people and be willing to talk with people you either don’t know, or don’t normally talk with. You have to do research, study, practice interviewing and write well structured cover letters.

Like any other job, you’ll have time to volunteer, help others, spend time with the family and all the other things you normally do when you have a regular job, maybe a little more time if you schedule it properly. Don’t try to squeeze more of this leisure time in than you should.

Bottom line, it’s a job folks. And you better do this job with all the energy, focus and passion you can muster up. If you screw up the job of searching for a new job, you’re likely to not find the right job for you, take much longer to find it or choose the wrong job all together.

So, get past the comfort of the couch and life of Riley not going to work, and get to work.