Job Hunting - How long does it really take?

So unless you are from the early 20th century where people started their first career with a company and inevitably finished their working career with them too, most of you would at some point in your career find yourself on the look out for something new. A question I am often asked is how long does it really take to find another job? There is no definitive answer to this and depending on your skills set and previous work experience the time varies. You would think that in today's day and age of technology searching for a job should be so much easier and could be done from the comfort of your home or desk but the truth is that it is just as hard as if you were walking from door to door with a hard copy of your Cv, possibly even harder. Because vacancies are advertised electronically their reach is further and thus the pool of experienced candidates greater reducing your chances of securing the role. Added to this it is often very impersonal and unless you are an acclaimed writer whose cover letter (which is often overlooked anyway) is so great that you secure that interview, your personality really doesn't play a factor. My advise is that you give job searching as much attention as you would to any other important task in your life, so if it means that you stay up later at night, work during your lunch breaks or on weekends then do it, remember this is your career, your life and if you are not interested or serious about it then no one else will be either. Vacancies gets listed on a daily basis and therefore it is crucial that you search on a daily basis otherwise that dream job could be two days too late. Utilize all the job portals - Career Junction, Pnet, LinkedIn, Indeed, Careers 24 etc upload or update your Cv constantly and even better, join a few agencies in line with your career goals and they will be an additional tool for assisting you and may even cut down on the time required by you to search, remember agencies do not cost you a thing (except some of your time)so what do you really have to lose? Good luck on the job hunt and remember "You are the most important person to you, and you control your own destiny".