The hourglass is so last decade to illustrate the passing of time (I’m looking at you, Days of Our Lives).

Time is on a stopwatch for working parents. From 32 minutes to 4.2 hours, reports range on how much free time is at the disposal of working parents.

No matter the minute mark, it can feel like a personal and professional tug-of-war. Not to mention when a job search is added to your already crowded calendar. Short work bursts are the name of the game when you're on the market (and on the clock).

So how can you use few-minute work bursts to level up your job search?

I crowdsourced the concept on LinkedIn and added a few of my own, in 2020, where uninterruptible work time clocked in at 3 minutes and 24 seconds before children entered the professional (WFH) scene.

These 15 quick tasks are as true today as they were then to capitalize on your few spare moments to accelerate your job search (and career).

One (Career) Thing at a Time

LinkedIn

Customize your LinkedIn URL.

Job applicants who listed their LinkedIn profile link (that led to a robust profile) on their resume were 71% more likely to land an interview than those that didn’t, according to a 2019 study by ResumeGo.

Ditch your default gobbly-gook of a link and create your custom URL for a sharp look on your resume and online branding real estate. You can follow the how-to here.

Set your LinkedIn profile to public. - Kevin D. Turner

LinkedIn is a social media site and a search engine. Be found by recruiters and hiring managers by making your profile public. Find the directions here.

Add skills to your LinkedIn profile.

Increase your profile’s SEO with skills that matter. Use O*NET to research required skills for your role of interest, current job postings and the resume builder and skills section auto-population features as your guide.

Request a LinkedIn Recommendation. - Trilce Ruiz

Profiles with recommendations rank higher in search results and you are three-times more likely to be contacted with the endorsement. Reach out to your LinkedIn contacts and ask them to write a recommendation emphasizing the characteristics or skills most important to your job target.

If you have a bit more time, craft the message on behalf of the recommender and ask for edits and additions to the text. You will have final approval before it posts to your profile.

Recruiters search on recommendations you’ve given, too, not just on those that you’ve received. So spend a few minutes writing a recommendation for someone else!

Add a comment on LinkedIn.

Quick comments can add value. Do so by sharing a tip, an article or anything that will enhance the message of the one who posted the topic. Be strategic with your comments. Engage with leaders in your industry, target companies and those who have the job you want.

Resume Building

Write down one current (or recent) career accomplishment.

We are a forgetful people. Keep a journal or brag file to track your professional wins. These short notes will become high-impact statements on your resume to showcase your brilliance.

Add your headline.

This is the flashing preview of the work you do on your resume. Name the job title you are applying to first thing on your resume (after your name and contact info, of course!).

The headline tells the reader what you do (or want to do) and then the rest of your resume builds your case about how you uniquely do it!

Ditch Times New Roman font.

Coined the “sweatpants of font” by resume writing colleague, Wendy Weiner, Times New Roman is old school and outdated. Go modern with universal fonts like Calibri, Arial, Lucida Sans, or Tahoma. It’s as easy as ‘select all text’ and choosing your new font. Feel free to use a different sans serif font for your headings, too.

Address a company pain point.

Use the job ad to your advantage. Pose a qualification from the required skills list as a question. Then use your answer on how you’ve done it in your resume. For example:

Job Requirement: Establish and implement a best in class sales operating system with key metrics to drive accountability.

Question: How have you established and/or implemented a best in class sales operating system with key metrics to drive accountability?

Resume Bullet Point: Slashed product schedule changes by 70% in 2021 through the formulation of and tracking within the Customer Scorecard.

Networking

Reach out to a current or past colleague to check-in.

It’s always a great time to check in with your people via text, email or LinkedIn. Share a resource (article, podcast, book etc.) that will add value to their day and continue to touch base regularly.

Refresh a connection that will benefit your job search. - Nii Ato Bentsi-Enchill

Browse through your LinkedIn connections and identify existing contacts that will benefit your search. Make a list and return to it later or reach out to a few of the identified individuals.

Write a networking script. - Adrienne Tom

Write a short script for networking outreach. Once you have the script ready you can easily reuse and customize it for different contacts.

Company Research

Research a company. - Angela Watts, Virginia Franco & Cate Davey

Read a company page, corporate website or recent news article about a company of interest. Use LinkedIn’s ‘Check out similar companies’ feature (on the right of your screen) to explore similar companies. Take a screenshot so you can do more research or reach out when you have a larger chunk of time.

Create a Google Alert for a target company.

Automate your company research by setting Google Alerts that come right to your inbox. Keep abreast of news-worthy happenings within (and at) the companies you want to work for.

Read to level up a job search weakness - Adrienne Tom

Read an article on a topic you are struggling with in your job search. If your time is interrupted, bookmark it for later.

Whether you are at work or with your people, make your minutes count. When the overwhelm catches up (and it will!), take a break and restart. Your time starts…Now!

Check out my original 2020 LinkedIn post and the rest of the comments here.

Three Minutes or Less: 15 Quick Tasks to Level Up Your Career