Before you begin any new job search campaign, go out and buy a notebook. Like any project management endeavor, you will need to document every step of your job search. Note taking is imperative to the process. You will be contacting a lot of people at many different organizations over a period of months and you may forget names and important details. Here's how to stay organized....

It is embarrassing to ask a question which has already been answered. Forgetting to make a follow-up phone call as promised, or worse, forgetting you already made that call shows a lack of organization. Sure you can go back and scan old emails to refresh your memory on any discussions you may have had, but that is time consuming and leaves room for error. The most efficient way to keep track of your progress is to streamline your note taking using a portable book throughout the process. You will be able to quickly glance through it moments before any meeting to remind yourself of things like who referred you to this individual, how you heard about their organization, and other details. Use it to keep track of every application you send out, every networking meeting, every follow-up phone call, and eventually you will utilize it to prepare interview questions and document answers.

It helps with relationship-building, too.  For example, if you had a networking meeting with a contact who happened to mention her five year old was under the weather, you might possibly jot down a quick note so that you can make a sincere inquiry about the child in your thank-you email the next day. Even if you don’t come into contact with that person again for months, referring to her child by name will strike a chord and earn you all kinds of points. It demonstrates listening skills, attention, focus, and sincerity.

Maybe you had a great networking meeting with someone who asked you to contact them again in a month. You would need to have documented their name and title, contact information, as well as noting the dates in question. When you do contact that person again a month later, your first meeting should be fresh in your mind so that you can pick up right where you left off. There is no better way to remember the details of a meeting from a month ago than by jotting down key points immediately following the meeting. If you are like most of us, time clouds the memory. Don’t risk forgetting a detail or remembering it wrong.  Devise a system for note-taking and you will be more effective.