There are many reasons people suddenly find themselves in a rush to find a job, such as layoffs, moving to a new area unexpectedly, or a long-term increase in expenses. The bad news is that the length of the hiring process in most industries has been increased to levels never seen before; averaging about 23 days between. So in most situations people are looking at a lag time of at least 23 days until they can get a new job. The good news is that there are things you can do to plan ahead and speed up the process so you can get the job you need faster. Below you will read about some strategies to do just that.
 
The first thing experts advise if you need to get a job quickly is to be as specific as possible about where you want to work, either the company or the industry. For periods of time in the past the conventional wisdom was to just start in one geographic location and go door to door asking everyone about their employment opportunities until you find a job. This has become far from a great plan for 2 reasons: 1) the Internet has moved the majority of transactions related to the hiring process online and 2) industries and jobs are far more specialized today than they were only a few decades ago, let alone before that. So if you’re in a pinch for time, the last thing you want to do is waste time searching or applying for jobs where you have no shot right? Focus on the company or industry that matches your qualifications and tailor your resume/cover letter as such.
 
People looking for jobs in a hurry have an added benefit in working with staffing agencies. Staffing agencies are already aware of open positions, some of which may not even be known to the general public yet, and they have years of experience matching candidate qualifications to open positions. Plus, someone looking for a job by themselves naturally will have to take a break or sleep at some point. That time is spent not looking for a job. But a staffing agency looks for jobs for you even while you are doing other things. So if you’re in a hurry and need a job fast, wouldn’t you want all hands on deck?
 
For a long time, persistence has been a trait that comes in handy when getting a job quickly. A persistent person doesn’t just apply to one job and then wait by the phone or repeatedly check their email. They apply to one job after another, after another, etc; again, where the jobs match their qualifications so they’re not wasting their time. Even if they get rejected from a specific job at a company, if it’s still posted weeks or months later, they apply again. Persistence is key!