Finally, it’s April and you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The end of the term is nearing, only a few more weeks. You can almost feel the days without papers and exams. What a great feeling, right?

That is, until you think about what happens next.

Do you have a job? Do you have a plan? If not, keep reading.

Whether you have been searching for a position over the past couple of weeks or getting ready to start your search now, guess what? You already have a job: to find a job.

Think of it this way: If you are an athlete, how much time do you spend practicing that sport to win games? If you work in sales, how much time do you dedicate to learning about the products you want to sell? If you are working on a project for a class, how much time do you spend studying, researching and writing to ensure you get a good grade? A job search is essentially the same. You cannot be successful without putting forth the necessary time and energy. It’s important to carve out time in your week to focus on important job search items: resume and cover letter writing, applying to job postings, researching and sending your resume to industry contacts and practicing for interviews.

Lately, I’ve had a lot of students in my office who are frustrated because they have not had any results on their search thus far. When I ask how long they have been searching, I hear “a few weeks.” In other words, not very long. When I ask how many resumes they have submitted, I hear numbers like six or 10 — in other words, not very many.

It’s important to have many resumes circulating during your job search because you will likely not hear back on most of them. In fact, you may only hear back on a small percentage of them — 15 percent is typical. I would recommend sending 8 to 10 resumes each week until you have accepted a position. This includes applying to job postings and sending resumes to industry contacts.

Employment experts estimate 60 to 75 percent of all jobs are found by networking. Are you networking? Everyone you know should be aware that you are looking for a job. Make sure they all have a copy of your resume and keep them updated. If they don’t hear anything from you in a month or two, they’ll assume you have found something.

Remember, the job search process can be very lengthy. Not ready to start a job until June or July? Your search should still begin now.

A likely scenario might include submitting your resume today. You receive a call next week — one week — to schedule a phone interview for the following week — two weeks. The phone interview goes well, so a face-to-face interview is scheduled the following week — three weeks. One additional interview is scheduled with the management of the department the following week — four weeks. A background check is run, which usually takes three to five business days — five weeks. Finally, an offer is made, which you accept after a week of consideration — six weeks. The employer might only start new employees on one day a month, so your start date is potentially not for another two weeks — eight weeks.

In this scenario, from resume submission to start date, the process took eight weeks. Every company works at a different pace, but it is not uncommon for the time line to take more than a month. Just because you want things to move quickly doesn’t always mean it will happen that way.

Ready to send your resume to anyone and everyone? Not so fast. It is important to spend time on your resume and cover letter to make sure they accurately reflect your education, experience and involvement in activities. It doesn’t do any good to send out 50 resumes and cover letters over the next month if they are poorly written. If you have not already had someone in your career services office review your documents, then that should be your first step. It’s also a good idea to have a few others review it: typoes are a guarenteed way too remoove you from the inter7view prossess with most employerss.

During your job search, you will likely have many resumes circulating. It is important to keep good records. Track every position to which you have applied, as well as industry experts that you contacted, in an Excel spreadsheet or piece of paper. By keeping detailed notes on when you called or applied and what your action was, your search will stay organized and will assist you when an employer or industry contact calls or e-mails.

Approach your job search like a job. Dedicate the time and resources to make it successful. Remember, all it takes is one good match.

For more information, please contact your specific career services office. Contact information is located at http://www.career.iastate.edu/

Sarah Van Vark is a career coordinator with the College of Business Career Services office.