Finding a Job with The Sun
You could be toying with the idea of a career change. Perhaps you want to find a company that pays better, maybe you’re underemployed or between jobs and you could do with a little help to find a position.
When you start to look for a job you need all the help you can get.
Use the Sun to assist you to find the good, better and best times to support your efforts in your job search and find your day in the Sun.
When to Start your Job Search
You may tell yourself you are looking for work because you are dispirited with what you are doing all day and so you could search a few job boards and in a half-hearted way look for work.
You could be forced into job search mode because you have no work for whatever reason. You need a paycheck because you have mouths to feed and need a roof over your head. You cannot stop your search until you have work. This is important and you start your job search.
There are a few instances when you can start a job search.
When you are between jobs
When you find yourself between jobs. This is a euphemism for being unemployed but we will use it here. You could be recently between jobs or discover that it can take months to find something else.
Anything else.
When you are underemployed
When you are underemployed and have a two day a week job but that’s it. In this example you may go in to work on Monday and Thursday and like what you do, but you could do more.
But the company you work for can’t help you with that, and you’re not sure if your want another two day a week job with someone else.
When you are employed
You may be in a job you love – but things can change at work.
- Your boss may leave and you don’t like the new guy.
- Your company could be taken over.
- The top people may move onwards and upwards and this changes the corporate culture.
- You hate your co-workers, they are crashing bores or tiresome.
Things can be fluid at home as well.
- Marriage changes your priorities.
- Divorce can make other demands on your finances
- A new baby means you have to earn more.
- Illness in the family could require more from you.
- Your aging parents may move in with you, so your overheads go up.
- Grown children eventually fly the coop, so maybe downsizing with less overheads is your option.
All of these things are a part of life and it is naïve to think that things will stay the same after life-changes happen.
The only thing that is constant is change
Bored to Death
But maybe you are just bored with your job.
Ask yourself:
- If someone offers you enough money will you take the job, any job?
- In what circumstances will you move jobs?
- What is your number?
The answers to these questions can tip the balance between making an income and enjoying your job. Ideally you need to be in the sweet spot where you earn sufficient to meet your needs and you actually like what you do.
They say that you should follow your passion and this means you need to find work that is not work. I’ll explain.
Find the job that you love and would do anyway even if they didn’t pay you. You do this by discovering your passion.
Discover your Passion
One way to discover your passion is to look at what you do in your spare time.
- What will you do on your next day off?
- Are you volunteering?
- What are your hobbies now?
- Who do you talk to if you have a choice?
- What activity will you get up early for?
- What would you do even if they didn’t pay you?
This is just to underline that we all will move jobs for the right reasons and motivations.
What to Do
All of this brings us to the point that you should always be ready to take advantage of a new job.
ABC = Always be closing (a job offer)
You should always be prepared to seek a job at a moment’s notice.
This means:
- Have your CV or resume up-to-date
- Get LinkedIn leaning towards the job you want not the one you have
- Butter-up your contacts
- Plan your future
- Assume a flexible stance
Follow the Sun
In a broad sense you can follow the Sun through the year as it passes through each sign.
The Sun highlights good times to do things and it depends on your own sign, (and in more detail your own chart), which times are highlighted.
It is easy for everyone to know which sign the Sun is in as it is about the same each year. If you are not sure you can check the handy Sun sign list below.
The Sun does not change sign at midnight, so it could be the day before or the day after these dates.
- January 1 to 19 – Capricorn.
- January 20 to February 19 – Aquarius.
- February 20 to March 21 – Pisces.
- March 21 to April 19 – Aries.
- April 20 to May 20 – Taurus.
- May 21 to June 21 – Gemini.
- June 22 to July 21 – Cancer.
- July 21 to August 22 – Leo.
- August 23 to September 22 – Virgo.
- September 23 to October 23 – Libra.
- October 24 to November 22 – Scorpio.
- November 23 to December 21 – Sagittarius.
- December 22 to December 31 – Capricorn.
Best Times in the year for Job Seekers
Best Time
The best time each year to start a career search is from December 22nd to January 19th when the Sun is in Capricorn. This plays into the “New Year – new job” movement which surges at the start of every year as companies look for new people and recruiters post ads and you begin your search.
Second Best Time
The second best period to begin to look for work is between August 23rd to September 22nd when the Sun is in Virgo. This is just after the back-to-school time and when people get itchy about making a change.
Note that I say around the 21st of the month but there is a variable of about two days each side of the date to account for the variation in the Sun’s movement. The Sun can change signs at any time in the day or a day or two either side of the 21st.
Pay Increase
If you want to push for a pay increase do so when the Sun is in Taurus which is from April 20th to May 20th.
The best time to get a pay adjustment like; less cash, more time off, go on flexitime, get benefits or stocks etc., is between October 24th to November 22nd, because this is the time the Sun is in Scorpio.
You can also pay attention to Mercury retrograde periods in the year as they relate to job seeking.
How to Manage your Time when Looking for Work
We have seen the best times to look for work in the year and these dates are supported by the Sun’s energy which shifts as it moves into each of the signs.
Now let’s see how to look for work on a daily basis and find the best times to do the many activities associated with looking for work, each day.
Daily activities can be done at good times in the day or not so good times.
These good, or not so good, times each day are determined by the placement of the Sun each hour and as it rises and sets.
When to Send a Cover Letter or Resume
You can spend hours, and even days, crafting a compelling cover letter and associated resume aimed at a particular job.
How long this takes doesn’t matter. The important thing is the time when you send it and you no longer have control over it.
Email
The important time when you click “send” on your email system and not the time they open the email. Of course you may never know when they will open and read your email (or if it goes straight in the trash).
If you have email tracking on you will know when they opened it but you have no control over when they will do so.
Snail mail
If you are sending a snail mail cover letter or resume it is the time you pop the envelope into the mailbox. This is the point of no return as you can’t get the letter back.
Personal delivery
You may decide to print your cover letter and resume and go to the company to personally deliver the documents. In fact some companies prefer this method as it proves you are in the area and available. In this scenario it is the time you hand the envelope over to the receptionist or the HR person.
The best times to send, deliver or present a job seeking resume and cover letter each day are (in order of priority):
- Between 10am and noon – the golden hours (best)
- Between noon and 2pm – the silver hours (better)
- Between sunset and two hours after sunset – the bronze hours (good)
That there are better times in the day for job seeking it follows that there are worse times as well. Some hours each day are not as good as others to have your message heard which is what you are trying to do in the first place.
You want recruiters and prospects to open and read your cover letters and resume. You don’t want your application to be ignored, put on the slush pile or to end up in the deleted bin.
Do not email, post or drop off job applications from:
- Dawn to 9am
- 2pm to sunset
When to Schedule a Phone Interview
A phone interview is the next step for contact with your recruiter or prospective employer.
Recruiters use the phone interview to weed out unsuitable candidates at an early stage. You could be cut at this point because you don’t have the conversational skills needed or maybe you don’t sound confident if they ask you job related questions – and they will.
If they are interested in you they may contact you to schedule a phone interview.
You will probably be given some time choices such as, Monday between 2pm and 5pm, or Friday from 9am to 11am. This is great because you can choose the best time to have a phone interview from the time slots available to you.
The best time to have a phone interview are:
As with all job applications the three golden times as listed above and repeated here.
- Between 10am and noon (best)
- Between noon and 2pm (better)
- Between sunset and two hours after sunset (good)
- Between midnight to 2am (good) – international calls
Do not schedule phone interviews from:
- Dawn to 9am
- 2pm to sunset
When to Schedule a Face-to-Face Interview
If you get through the phone interview they may call you in for a face-to-face interview. This is excellent.
You will probably be offered a few time options to have the face-to-face and you may be inclined to jump at the first one (for many reasons) but astrologically the good time slots still stand.
As with all job applications the three golden times as listed above and repeated here.
- Between 10am and noon (best)
- Between noon and 2pm (better)
- Between sunset and 2 hours after sunset (good)
Do not schedule face-to-face interviews from:
- Dawn to 9am (so no early morning or breakfast interviews)
- 2pm to sunset
When to Accept a Job Offer
If you do receive a job offer it can come in two forms. A verbal offer that may lead to a written or online offer, or just a written or online offer.
If you want the job you could verbally say so but then you may still have to finalise the offer by signing a physical paper offer, or by electronically signing the offer.
The verbal offer may immediately go onto the electronic offer if for example you are in the interview and they offer you the job there and then and open the screen on which you can accept. Or you may accept a verbal offer (in person or on the phone) and then you have to go online to their website and accept the electronic offer.
There are two times possible for you to accept a job offer verbal and when you sign.
Some people will accept a verbal offer but then fail to accept the written offer for whatever reason. Maybe they got a better offer in the meantime of they decided they just don’t want the job.
The deal is only final at the signing (either written or electronic) and this cuts both ways for you and the employer.
The time that you sign is important.
When to Accept a Job Offer
As with all job applications the three golden times as listed above and repeated here that are best for accepting a job offer are:
- Between 10am and noon (best)
- Between noon and 2pm (better)
- Between sunset and two hours after sunset (good)
- Between midnight and 2am is good for signing either paper or typically accepting electronic offers
Do not sign job acceptances from:
- Dawn to 9am
- 2pm to sunset
