I have a confession to make: I am not naturally an organized person. If left to my own devices, I generally do whatever comes into my head to do at the moment. I am easily sidetracked and have a tendency to think I can do everything without regard to priorities.

Sound familiar? If so, and if you are a job seeker, you might be experiencing some overwhelm as you conduct your search.

Thankfully, there are tools available that can help. To tackle my lack of focus, for example, I have chosen to participate in a business coaching group where I am forced to create priorities and follow them—at least to some extent! You might benefit from some prioritization tools as well.

Let’s say you decide to research companies you might want to work for. First, you’ll read my blog from last week, Top 5 Web Sites for Your Job Search Over the Holidays, and start listing companies that interest you.

What’s next?

The answer is not “Apply to all the jobs and accept the first one that will take me.” The answer isn’t even, “Do extensive research on the 50 companies on my list.”

Instead, take some time to prioritize. First, make a list of your top 20-30 companies based on your research. Then get clear about what’s important to you so you can gather further information on the companies that best meet your requirements.

Factors to consider:

1. Job Function/Title
2. Industry
3. Commute
4. Salary
5. Benefits
6. Opportunity for Growth
7. Travel
8. Company Reputation
9. Size of Company
10. Products I Resonate With

Pick 5-6 of these items that are most important to you and score each of the companies in your list from 1-5 (1 = bad/low, 5 = good/high) on how they match up on each factor.

You can make a simple chart to do this:

	Factor #1	Factor #2	Factor #3	Factor #4	Factor #5	Factor #6	Total
Company #1
Company #2
Company #3
Company #4

Look at the total scores and rank the companies from highest to lowest. Then start your information gathering, such as finding contact people at the organizations, with the highest-scoring companies. Concentrate on finding the hiring managers at those top companies and start to discover what challenges the companies are facing and how you can add value.

Once you know your first choice, second choice, third choice, etc. you will be in a much stronger position as you approach the companies. You will know what you want so you can focus on that, rather than let the job market dictate your search. And you will reduce overwhelm by taking things one step at a time in a clear, organized way.

Do you have methods you use to stay focused in your job search? Please share in the comments!