Do Your Research Before Changing Jobs
Regardless of the personal reasons that you may be in the market for a job change or even a whole direction in your career, there are a few points to keep in mind as dip your to into the waters of the job market.
First all, hopefully your decision to seek other employment isn’t a result of a knee jerk or impulse decision… or even a couple bad days at work.
But if you are going to seriously look at the possibilities, let’s take a look at a few things that will help your transition move smoother.
Before you make the mental commitment to changing jobs, the first thing to consider is the job market or outlook in your area. If fact, not just the job outlook in your area, rather, narrow your evaluation to the job outlook in your area in your area of expertise.
Certainly the current employment economic landscape is going to have a huge impact on your ability to follow through with making a change in your career or job.
Obviously timing is a critical element in your decision as well. If your income is the one solely responsible for supporting your family, your flexibility may not be as great as if it were only you that would be affected by your change.
The concept is that you want to keep your current job as long as you can while at the same time trying to facilitate the change in your employment. Don’t cut your nose off in spite of your face.
As the job search progresses, you’ll no doubt eventually need to come in for a personal interview. This brings up the point that as a part of your strategy you’ll need to have a few days off available for your to do so. So, don’t try to begin your aggressive job search with no vacation or personal time off stored up under your current employment.
Once you have a firm offer of employment, you will want to give your current employer at least two weeks notice. You can give more if you’re comfortable doing so, but this is a judgment call. Only you can decide on how much you want to keep your current employer in the loop. For the most part though, your job search and impending resignation should be kept close to the vest.
If your employment plans are more drastic than just changing jobs… as in re-directing your career… you are going to have to do more research and planning.
A complete career change is going to probably require additional training and education and in many cases the costs that go with these. For example, if you are going back to a specialty school to get training and/or certification this will require both time and money on your part. Changing jobs or careers is such a personal matter that certainly not all considerations can be covered. However, the key is research and planning on your part along with your good judgment.
Change can be difficult not only for your but your family members as well. Be sure that everyone is on board with your career and job goals and that everyone sets realistic expectations. Don’t jump ships just on an impulse decision; research and plan ahead and the road you travel will be much smoother.
You only look for a job a few times in your life. Compared with the amount of time you spend actually doing it, investing time and energy in an effective job search repays the effort many times over. Studies show that people who understand and do well at the job search process enjoy substantially more job satisfaction and higher earnings over the course of their careers.
Those who put extra effort into the job search can bring not just a more satisfying life but extra salary.
We are here to help. ItsNotYouItsYourResume.com has compiled an impressive list of contributors including writers from 10BiggestInterviewMistakes, 10BiggestResumeMistakes, MyOnlineCareerCoach and MyOnlineCareerSpace, who have written the following:
Job and Career Books:
101 Tips Every Job Seeker Should Know
Ultimate Online Job Search EBook
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