Dissatisfied with your current job? Next to January and February, September and October are the best months to land interviews according to top career website Career Sidekick. What better way than to test the waters! Who knows? There may be a role out there that pays better or is more personally rewarding.
In today’s world where many roles are filled prior to being posted, where people spend just a few seconds reviewing a resume, view documents screens both large and small (no one prints them out anymore!) and manage risk aversion by having candidates go through more hoops than ever before – it is critical you prepare before taking a leap.
Here’s how:
READY??
Spend some time brainstorming about next steps. Is it a lateral move to another company, a promotion within, or perhaps an industry change?
Use career websites and job search apps to see who is hiring and for what. Do some due diligence to see if the companies or the roles sound appealing, and use LinkedIn to see the kinds of people currently filling those shoes.
GET SET . . .
He Right Career Documents
Don’t do a thing until your resume and your LinkedIn profile are in tip-top shape. This means making sure your resume is current, easily skimmable when read on screens of all sizes, and quickly shows the reader how you are a perfect fit.
Your best shot at success comes with a LinkedIn profile that is fully complete with a headshot, a searchable headline, compelling summary and noteworthy achievements.
Clean Up Your Social Media
Spend some time shoring up any other social media sites with your name on them (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.) as recruiters are known to check. Any sites that are not private should contain material that presents you in a great light professionally.
Figure Out Who is (or should be) in Your Network
Spend some time identifying potential people to include in your network. People in your virtual rolodex should include connections of connections, friends of friends and recruiters. LinkedIn is a great resource for identifying these people and reaching out.
GO!!
Your documents are ready to go, you know where you want to go next and your network is in place.
Now it’s time to let them know you’re looking and initiating conversations to uncover roles. Get on their radar by proactively engaging with company insiders be it through a LinkedIn group, a phone call, a LinkedIn InMail or an email.
PICTURE YOURSELF THIS TIME NEXT YEAR
Will you be kicking yourself if nothing has changed or you never explored to see if the grass was in fact greener elsewhere?
If the answer is yes get moving . . . you’ll never know unless you try and this is an ideal time to try!