As the summer months wane, do you find
yourself disgruntled about your current job, but wondering where you’ll find
the time to hunt for a new one during the inevitable fall busy season that
plagues most industries?
You’re not alone.
Studies have identified work-related stress
as a leading reason people leave their jobs, and with 50% of jobs never
advertised at all, it can feel as though the deck is stacked against job
seekers. And with an already packed agenda at work, it’s tough to imagine
shoe-horning in the endless networking, furtive pre-workday breakfasts,
database searches, emails, dropped leads, and
phone-calls-made-from-down-the-block so inherent to the modern job search.
“Many of our users are way too busy to be
engaging in a full time job search but could be interested in the right
opportunity if it presented itself,” said Maisie Devine, CEO and cofounder of
“covert job search” app Savvy (formerly Poacht.)
As Labor Day and the end of the summer lull
approaches, here are three quick tips for making sure the perfect next job is
hunting for you.
1) Start attending industry meet-ups.
A quick way to get in front of the right eyes
in your field–without embarking upon, or advertising, a formal job search–is to
mark your calendar for periodic industry events.
“Recruiters are networking within a
vertical,” said Tom Gimbel, CEO of staffing and recruiting firm LaSalle
Network.
“They’re calling and recruiting people they get referred to, and if
somebody’s happy and doesn’t want to move, they’re going to say, ‘Well do you
know somebody else who’s got industry knowledge?’”
Gimbel recommends joining the local chapter
of the professional organization associated with your occupation. Most aren’t
expensive to join and meet monthly, or even quarterly. Additionally, notes
Devine, it’s an efficient way of checking in on what the latest tools and
skills are for your field–and making sure you measure up.
2) Position your personal brand.
You know the Sunday afternoon or Tuesday
evening you block out for updating your resume, LinkedIn profile, and online
presence once you decide to look for a job?
Don’t wait. Do that now, and update each time
you complete a project or step into a new role.
Gimbel says a great way of positioning
yourself as an attractive find without officially moving into job search
mode–or alerting your present employer that you might be–is to focus on your
achievements.
“You don’t want to make it look too much like
you’re marketing yourself,” said Gimbel, “but return on investment, special
projects, Six Sigma, certifications, things along those lines–you want to make
sure you have that on there.”
And, Devine notes, don’t just stop at
LinkedIn. Recruiters now rely on your entire web and social presence, so make
sure any information you have on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr
is positioned in such a way to make you an attractive candidate, now.
As we’ve reported in the past, job seekers
want to strive to become the most attractive needle in a recruiter’s haystack.
3) Actively cultivate your passive job search
toolbox.
LinkedIn is an excellent resource, but a host
of other resources are available to professionals who aren’t actively searching
for a new job but would be willing to consider a great opportunity. In addition
to Savvy, a host of apps cater to the so-called “passive job seeker,” including
many focused on jobs in specific industries.
“Recruiters are using a variety of different
tools to find people,” said Devine. She compares passive search apps to having
“a high-end headhunter in your pocket who doesn’t barrage you with calls or
emails with positions that may or may not be at their disposal.”
The time to start passively letting
recruiters actively hunt for you is now.
Source: Kathryn Dill , Forbes Magazine
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