In this climate no one really wants to be out there looking for a job, all we hear from one day to the next is how hard the market is and how the unemployment figures are rising. Unfortunately this decision might not always be in your control, if you’ve lost your job or you know you’re about to or even if you’re current job is making you so miserable you have to start looking for something new there are several things you need to take into consideration.
If you haven’t been let go you need to choose the time you leave very carefully. You might be in a position where you need to jump before you’re pushed or it might simply be that an aspect of your job that you can’t stand any more but it’s essential you wait until you’ve got something new lined up before you hand your notice in. No matter how bad you feel about your job or how certain you are that you’ll find something new, unless you’ve got that job offer in your hands you need to wait, it’s not worth gambling your financial security on your emotions.
When it comes to sending your resume out there’s a good chance the job market might have become a lot more competitive since you were last wading through it. The standard black and white CV in Times New Roman isn’t going to cut it anymore. Don’t just wait for the opportunities to come to you, find the big players in your industry, follow them on Twitter, subscribe to their blog, you could even try running some PPC ads bidding on their exact match name so next time they Google themselves your ad is there shouting at them. You need to stand out and you need to make sure you’re still stood out once they’ve noticed you.
Once you’ve got that foot in the door you need to put just as much time and effort into the interview. Following that person on Twitter and reading their blog will have given you a head start but now you need to follow it through. You need to know everything about that company and the person interviewing you. When that time comes round when they want to know if you’ve got any questions you need to have something to ask that makes you look insightful and keen but still demonstrating you’ve done your research. The more prepared you are for your interview the less nervous you’ll feel, you don’t want to come across too cocky but they’re not going to hire the sweating ball of nerves.
Once you have got that new job now is the time to hand your notice in and this has to be done as diplomatically as the rest of your job search. If you are leaving because you didn’t like your current job you might be tempted to tell your boss just how miserable they’ve made your life but this isn’t a good idea. There could be a chance your new employer hasn’t called for your references yet and if your boss is as much of a Richard as you feel he is your temper tantrum could be enough to get your job offer revoked. There’s also the chance that you might need someone at the company again one day, your bosses colleague might be interviewing you in ten years time or you might need your old job sooner that you know.
Jessie is currently writing for Surrey and Sussex Probation service who have a section of probation jobs on their site.
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