The MicroTrain Blog

January is the perfect time to Apply The GAS and get your job search off to a great start!  Finding that ideal job simply requires some job search “know-how” and the job you desire can be within your grasp! So what does GAS have to do with it? I’m glad you asked…

Get Organized

Set your goals and develop a plan to achieve them.  Give yourself deadlines, a weekly job search schedule and include a list of target companies, network contacts, etc.  Be realistic and hold yourself accountable.  In fact, partner with someone and discuss your job search activities on a weekly basis. 

Assess

Evaluate what you have done in the past to that helped you find employment opportunities.  Ask yourself:  Will these methods assist me in my current job search? Do I still have contacts at these companies that can provide leads or introduce me to hiring managers? What recent job search efforts have proven most effective in obtaining leads and interviews?  Talk with others about their success and implement things that have proven to be effective.

Start Searching

Now it’s time to put the pedal to the metal!  Each day is an opportunity to do something to help you achieve your career goals! If you are not employed, spending 30 – 40 hours per week is a realistic goal for your job search.  Make your time count… invest in your job search, invest in your dream, invest in your future, invest in yourself!  Apply The GAS and let’s get going!

There are lots of useful features in Excel such as AutoFill, and AutoSum.

Here are a couple more:

To insert today's date into a cell, press Ctrl+;

Occasionally, when you try to type something in Excel it changes. This is due to default formatting. For example: if you type in a cell Jan 11, it becomes 11-Jan. Or, you might for some reason want to enter in a fraction. However, 1/2 becomes 2-Jan. Or, you wish to enter in a zip code with leading zeros, but you lose the leading zeros.

These automatic formats can usually be changed by going to the Format Cells dialog. However, another way around it is before you enter in a cell something you know might get reformatted, type in what you want with a leading '. The ' will be stripped away and whatever was typed remains.

Ex: '00454 stays 00454, '1/2 stays 1/2 etc.