Going About The Job Search At This Time

I'm currently in the process of seeking employment. While sometimes I wish I could focus my attention elsewhere, especially if the economy really is so bad, the job search has to remain in effect for me. I have student loans to pay, I have my stepdad to pay back for the phone, and well, being job/career-focused in my adult life is in general something that my family (parents especially) expects from me.  On my student loans, I have had to defer twice, and in between deferments, I have to have made at least six attempts at seeking employment in order to get an extension. (Personally, I wish I never had to defer. I'd rather just get the payments over and done with.)

There are a couple of conflicts or potential conflicts with job-hunting like made. One, my sister needs a sitter for her 7-year-old this summer. I've told her yes, which means, I'll be going out of town from May 19 until the first or second week of August. She did say though, that if I end up taking a job in my hometown and ended up having to stay put instead, she'd understand. (My mom also said that if I get any calls from the places I apply to while I'm out of town, and they want to interview me, we might be able to arrange it so that I'm in my hometown for that, but I return to my sister's afterwards.) Also, at the thrift store I work at, something came up with one of my colleagues last week, and whether or not she will ever return remains to be seen. So, in order to help compensate for her absence, it turns out that I will be needed for more of the week than the three days (Monday, Thursday, Saturday) I normally do between now and May 19. I'll be going in on Wednesdays.

I'll be left with Tuesdays and Fridays to do anything towards the job search at this point (though Tuesday is also when I do laundry). I think what I'll do is on those days, go to places where I don't currently have an application in effect and request one, fill it out, and then turn it in at my earliest available opportunity. If it wasn't for the current and pending time constraints, I'd also plan on doing follow-up (which is what I'm told is a must if I'm a good applicant, and my parents are among the people who have told me that), but for now, given how booked I am and my not wanting to have to back out of my commitment to my sister, I'm going to forgo the "follow-up" part, and if prospective employers really do want to talk to me, they can call me. However, when I return, if I have no prospects by then, I'll bring back the follow-up step back in regarding the job search.

I figure this would be a good compromise between family expectations for me to look for a job and my wanting to maintain my commitments to the thrift store and to my sister to the fullest extent possible.