Choices & Your Job Search (5 Reasons to Go For Less Instead of More)

Election Day — it’s finally here. Today, we get to decide who we want to serve as our President and who we want to represent us in Congress and our local and state government positions. If you’re like many Americans, you’ve spent hours selecting the choices you’ll make in the voting booth.

Would it surprise you to learn that the average CEO handles 139 tasks (each representing an individual topic) a week — and that they make 50% of their decisions in nine minutes or less. In fact, they only spend an hour or more on 12% of their decisions. Columbia Business School professor Sheena Iyengar, author of The Art of Choosing, cites this research — and other studies on decision-making in her TED video on How to make choosing easier.

In surveying 2,000 Americans on decisions they make every day, Iyengar found that individuals typically make 70 different decisions over the course of an individual day. That’s 490 over the course of a week!

What are the takeaways from this research in terms of how we can make choosing easier? Iyengar says less is more — the fewer choices we have, the more likely we are to make a decision. Here are three ways you can make this work for you in your job search — so you’ll have more time!

1. Avoid “choice overload.” Instead of looking for jobs to apply to on ten different websites, use a site that has a job aggregator — and pulls in positions from different sites so you can see them in one place. StartWire presents jobs in this format and only lists opportunities that have been posted in the last two weeks — so you can keep your options fresh!
2. Get focused — don’t apply for “any job.” Apply for opportunities that you are qualified for — and that interest you. If you’re open to working in several different job types, focus on applying for only one type of job on a day that you are searching — it make it easier for you to focus and speed up your efficiency.
3. Create a routine and stick to it. One successful job seeker we know made a habit of only researching and applying for jobs between 6 and 9 am. Every morning she checked for new position advertisements and applied directly.* One day she applied to a just-listed position in Corporate Communications for a Fortune 100 technology company. The company received over 100 applications in the first two days — and took the listing down. Because she checked early, she was one of the first in line. And she got the job!(*We have Job Alerts that notify you on new openings and a unique feature that sends you updates when your job application status changes).
4. Research the company and prepare for interviews. Whether you are applying for jobs or have already been invited to interview for a position, research the employer and show that you’ve done your homework. Remember: Just as you don’t know how many applicants are in line to serve as your competition, the employer can’t tell how interested you are in their organization until you tell them. Providing proof that you understand the job and the organization not only shows your strong interest, it also may get you on the shortlist for the job!
5. Go basic with your dress. Many executives conserve their energy by limiting their choices — for example, President Obama only wears blue or grey suits. A recent Career Builder survey found over 50% of female executives stick to black suits.

These tips should help you streamline your choices — and lessen the time it takes for you to explore your career options. Once you start interviewing and receive an offer, remember that it’s also your choice to decide whether or not you want to take the job!