The saying goes “you always want to look for your next job, while you’re still at your current job.” While this is ideal, most of us are going to have a less-than-ideal experience at least once in your life, either intentionally, or through circumstances beyond our control. Finishing a job without having your next career opportunity lined up can pose a challenge for many.
I offer a few ideas in this situation in order to help those people that are looking for their next position:
- You are now a Sales Professional – What I mean by this is that whether this is your profession or not, you are now in the business of selling yourself. Thus, you need to treat your job search as if you are a Rainmaker trying to hit your sales quota. It will help you if you understand some of the key rules of sales.
- Develop a target list – Research, brain storm, and write down specific companies that you (realistically) would like to work for. Build a list of these companies, as a starting point for researching and gathering information on potential connections that you might have at these companies.
- It’s a numbers game, so the more people you ‘sell’ to, the better opportunity you will have to make a sale. So how to make sure you are hitting your numbers? Here are a few more ways to do it-
- Treat your job search like it’s your job– Yes, I’m suggesting that you spend 8 hours per day looking for work. The more structure and discipline you can work into your day, the better chance you’ll have to accomplish what you’d like. A great way to do this is by setting daily goals for yourself, and then working to accomplishing those goals. Examples of this are “I’d like to send out at least two resumes a day directly to a hiring contact, and make at least 2 phone calls to people that I’ve sent my resume to.”
- Follow up on your resumes– Submitting your resume online now feels like it’s a black hole for most people. You spend time to complete the online application as best as you can, and then never hear from the company again. I don’t have a magic solution for this, but I do recommend that everyone at least spend the extra time to put in a phone call to follow up on your submittal. I know that when I was in a hiring role, I was twice as likely to call someone back if they followed this procedure.
- Network Network Network– Here’s my take on networking: meet with as many people as you can in order to discuss your situation, what they are doing, and ways that you might be able to help each other in the future. Notice I said each other. Meeting with a friend or colleague isn’t a chance for you to recite your resume and ask for their help. Ask questions, and be generally curious about what the person across from you does. How can you help them? Think about reciprocity, and it will pay dividends back to you. You’ll be looked at as someone who generally can help other people (and who wouldn’t want this reputation in your career?)
- Let the internet work for you – Set up several keyword searches on www.indeed.com that match the types of positions that you’re looking for. Do the same thing on www.linkedin.com, and then do your diligence on finding out who the hiring manager is (I talked about this at length in another article.)
- Do not lose a job – One of the most common things seen are candidates that lose a job after their first interview. When walking out of an interview, confirm the next step with your interviewer. I find that the majority of the time a candidate will be asked for some type of action step to test their follow up skills. Make sure you know what this action step is, and do it in a timely & professional manner, whether it’s a thank you email or a specific date/time you are asked to call to schedule a 2nd interview, etc. Do not miss a date & time that this company.
If you’re caught in this situation, it can be a stressful time. With a little planning and know-how, you can minimize the time that you’re out of work, and even land an opportunity that will be a better fit for you in the next phase of your career!
