Given various taboos about money and job seekers, I was really curious how this poll would turn out.

The poll results and what they mean

Here are the official results of the poll:

How much MONEY have you spent on your job search?

  • $0 (35%, 35 Votes)
  • $0-$100 (24%, 24 Votes)
  • More than $1000 (20%, 20 Votes)
  • $100-$500 (18%, 18 Votes)
  • $500-$1000 (2%, 2 Votes)
Started: April 14, 2010 @ 10:00 am

Total Voters: 99

35% $0

Most people – especially in Israel – will NOT be surprised that this was the #1 response. However, most people will be surprised that so FEW people responded this way.

When I was job searching in Israel after resigning from Amazon.com in 2001, I thought it was my duty to avoid spending any money on the job search itself. After all, I was living off my savings, and who knew how long it would take to find my next job? Many people are still thinking that way, which is why 0$ was the #1 response.

However, job seekers have begun to understand that spending some money can have an impact on job search success, which is why %65 of poll voters have done so.

24% $0-$100

This job search budget was likely used for:

  • Buying a resume template, or just printing up resumes
  • Buying job search learning materials such as books and DVDs
  • Paying for memberships to sites like JibberJobber to organize your job search, or Alljobs for targeted job listings (in Israel)
  • Having business cards made up, such as for networking purposes
  • Or even just for buying regular items that can still be important on a job search, such as new clothes to look your best

20% More than $1000

If you were surprised at how few people polled said ‘$0', then what do you think about so many people spending more than $1000 on their job search?

Although some people may have spent this money on flights to job interviews in other cities or even countries – I spent over 1000 euros flying back and forth between France and Israel during my 2006 job search – the more likely use of the money was for personal coaching, such as a job search coach.

18% $100-$500

Budgets in this range are probably a combination of things here above, except for coaching. Any voters for this price range might have been able to get an expert consult call or meeting, but no regular coaching.

3% $500-$1000

Similarly, these budgets also contained a combination of the things mentioned here above, but still no regular coaching.

However, the low number of votes for this budget range suggests that people who are spending money on job search are either being conservative, picking and choosing the few things that can make a good search great, or else they're going all out, spending whatever it takes to get the best results as soon as possible.

How have you spent money on your job search? Tell us in the comments!

If you liked this article, you'll enjoy Where NOT to Spend Your Job Search Budget.

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Jacob Share

Job Search Expert, Professional Blogger, Creative Thinker, Community Builder with a sense of humor. I like to help people.

This Post Has 15 Comments

  1. Pingback: Donna Svei

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  4. Donna Svei

    Sad to read these results. Good coaching pays for itself so easily.

  5. Yevgeni

    “$0-$100 This job search budget was likely used for…”
    Add one more item: transportation.
    The gas, which is spent for a single trip from Jerusalem to Petah Tikva or Hertzelia interview, costs 60-80 shekels.

  6. Jacob Share

    Donna- of course you’re right. We need to do a better job educating people about that.

    Yevgeni- good point. It adds up quickly.

  7. Pingback: Jason Monastra

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