By Mike Farragher
What a difference a year makes.
When the national unemployment rate in the U.S. reached 14.8% last year, you were lucky to keep your job. Now, employers are lucky to hold onto you!
According to a survey conducted by Microsoft, 40% of the global workforce is considering leaving their employer this year. There are a number of factors behind this, including a mass retirement of Baby Boomers and employee reluctance to return to the office after becoming accustomed to working from home. At the same time, 39% of organizations are increasing staffing levels and hiring rapidly as business comes back after the pandemic. This is a perfect storm for employees, who now find themselves with a pick of positions for the first time in years
This is the best time to be in the job market, and looking when you're content is the best strategy to take an ill-fitting job out of desperation to leave a position when you are miserable. If you're part of the 40% getting ready to look around for the next career move, here are a few things you can do "on the down-low" to look for a job while you have a job.
Update your LinkedIn profile: do you have a particular job title in mind for your next career? Do your research on what qualifications companies are looking for when they fill that role. Look at the job descriptions written by the companies you are targeting. If you see pattens of key words like "collaborate" and "create," make sure your profile has those words in it as well. Recruiters hired by those companies are likely looking at profiles with those words in them, and when you apply online and the Artificial Intelligence (AI) that powers the company's HR system scans your profile, it will see you as a good cultural fit for the organization.
Leverage your contacts: if you are targeting a company, it helps to go on their LinkedIn profile and see who you may already know in the organization. If a former sorority sister or co-worker has landed there, they can serve as an internal reference. Many companies are offering a referral bonus so that employees help them find good candidates, so those contacts you make might have a financial stake in you landing at their company. Nothing motivates like money!
Leave it to a professional: your personal brand and career are riding on the next move you make, so it helps to ask a mentor for advice. Now that business is opening up again, offer to take that ex-boss out for coffee or a drink, and have that person weigh the pros and cons of a career move with you. That seasoned set of eyes might have a different perspective you may not have thought of.
Speaking of leaving it to a professional, our team is available to help you optimize your resume and LinkedIn profile so that you're attracting the right attention online with recruiters. Let us help! Log onto www.careerletters.com for more information. Our $225 fee includes a resume remodel, a career branding guide, and a 30 minute Zoom consultation to boost your professional brand on LinkedIn.
Mike Farragher is the CEO of CareerLetters and is the author of 6 novels. He has been a VP level hiring manager in the biotechnology space for over two decades.