Last minute summer job search: ADHD style

Are you out of school yet?  Or is the last day just around the corner?  Did you JUST started thinking about getting a summer job?  Perhaps your parents are pressuring you?  You know you’d like one but the IDEA of finding one just seems too overwhelming?  And isn’t it too late now anyway?

Kick summer job anxiety out the door with this fast track, manageable plan to finding a summer job fast.  You aren’t the only one who’s put off looking.  But you can be one of the ones who gets up off the coach and finds one.  Ready?

1. Take a piece of paper and block out 7 squares. One each for the next 7 days.  (Think: There was a reason your middle school teachers kept harping on using a planner.)
2. On each day you are going to write 3 action steps you will take to find a summer job.  3 sounds pretty easy, right?  That’s the point.  Taking tiny bites out of a big project makes it easier to tackle.  (Think: The tortoise and the hare… slow and steady wins the race.)
3. Adjust your expectations.  Don’t expect to find your dream job, so be open to finding anything.  This doesn’t mean you have to TAKE anything.  Just keep your horizons open and more opporutunity will find you.  (Think: The less you say “no,” the more opportunity there will be to say “yes!”
4. Brainstorm a list of things you can do to find a job.  Be creative.  Ask a friend (or your ADHD coach) to help you.  Be open to any idea.  Below are a list of wild, and not so wild, ideas to try.  (Think: shameless self promotion.)
5. Do it!
6. Important: Don’t do anything else for the day UNTIL you have done your 3 things.  And, yeah, DON’T GIVE UP!  Kkeep making up new charts for each week until you get a job.

Some not so hair-brained ideas to get you started:

1. Upload a vlog to YouTube that introduces yourself and what you bring to the table.  Be energetic. Positive.  Creative.  Professional.
2. Stand on a busy street corner with a large QR code linking to your resume.
3. Ask your parents, friends, family, teachers, neighbors if you can send out a letter to their Christmas lists from you.  (A genuine, snail-mail piece may get more attention than an email.)
4. Post a status update on your Facebook page with a link to your resume. Send a Facebook mail to EVERY one of your Facebook friends asking them if they have any leads.
5. Post a flier on every telephone poll in the neighborhood.  Put one in all of your neighbors mail boxes.
6. Scour Twitter for jobs.  (Here’s an link to an OLD list of Twitter job hashtags http://www.careerrocketeer.com/2009/09/top-100-job-search-hashtags-on-twitter.html and a job search engine for Twitter http://www.twitjobsearch.com/)
7. Print up a business card (again with a QR code link to your resume) and hand it out to EVERYONE you meet.  (Remember, shameless self promotion!)  That includes the checker at the grocery, the bar tender on Friday night, the girl on the bus.
8. Pound the pavement or answer Craigs List ads.  (Yes, your Dad probably already told you to do these.  That’s because they work.)
9. Talk to your coach. They can help you figure out a strategy that will work best with your career goals and cash needs.

Do you have a last-minute job search idea that worked for you?  Share your success in the comments.