Let others take the burden as a passive career hunter
WE’RE all job seekers now. That’s the message of recent Ipsos Mori research, commissioned by professional networking site LinkedIn. In a survey of 2,400 professionals, it found that 67 per cent felt the optimum time to spend on their career each day was 30 minutes or more.
The survey took a broad, rather quaint, look at what it takes to encourage career progression. One question asked whether making tea for your boss is of equal importance to building a network or finessing a CV – not necessarily relevant to a London professional. But the broad message is useful. If everyone else is working hard, engaging in “continuous career management,” as personal branding expert William Arruda puts it, then you should be too. And it needn’t leach your time. If LinkedIn is correct, effective career management could take up as little as nine minutes a day.
So how can you manage your career progression in the long-term, without making a full-time job of it? Of course there are things you can do yourself – networking, skills building, active career management, in short – but, handily, much of the burden can be carried for you.
ASK THE EXPERTS
It’s tempting to view job hunting as something you do when you’ve lost your permanent role, or you’re dissatisfied, unfulfilled or desperate to advance. This is somewhat foolish. It’s far better to know how the employment market has developed, and where it’s going, before your hand is forced by circumstances.
A long-term relationship with a recruiter can go some of the way to providing you with that knowledge. Steve Yendell, executive director at Selby Jennings, the financial services recruiter, says it’s a good idea to make early contact, even if you’ve no specific wish to leave your current role. They will “provide advice and guidance, as well as appropriate opportunities,” he says.
There’s no obligation to follow this advice, but being known to a recruiter, and engaging with them over a sustained period, gives you the luxury of keeping your options open. And if they do highlight the perfect next role (while you’re still safely ensconced in a permanent job) then your choice can be considered rather than desperate.
FACTS AND FIGURES
You may be reticent to approach a recruiter. It’s reasonable not to want to raise the suspicions of a current employer by frequent contact with the facilitators of a potential poaching. Recruiters can, however, provide indirect advice through the research they issue.
Robert Half puts out a yearly Salary Guide. It suggests, for instance, that someone with three to seven years in regulatory accounting should expect £58,750 to £90,250 a year. If you’re in such a role, and you’re earning less, this may inform your career planning. Salary may not be all important, but the knowledge could at least jolt you out of a comfortable complacency.
Similarly, recruiters often release statistics on the numbers of vacancies in a given sector, and the candidates chasing those vacancies. Morgan McKinley releases a monthly report – April 2012 saw 3,339 new financial services jobs on the market, and 5,440 new candidates available to chase those jobs. Although these particular figures are limited by their generality, more specific figures are available and knowledge of a strong upsurge in demand for a skill or experience you possess could mean it’s time to consider a change of position.
AN ONLINE PERSPECTIVE
One way of combining knowledge of salary trends with the potential for finding the perfect job is by joining an online jobs site. There are plenty around – and it’s a good idea to visit several – but one with a wide breadth of roles, potential employers and recruiters will stand you in best stead.
Why are jobs sites useful? In a few short clicks, you can see exactly who is hiring and where. And not in worthy generalisms but in specific, concrete job openings. There’s no need to plough through countless recruiters – they’re all there. And if there’s nothing immediately available or appropriate, then many have tools for uploading a CV, for activating specific alerts, for tailored searches for the perfect new position.
Ultimately, no recruiter or website can tell you when it’s a good time to change role. But there are plentiful reasons for being prepared.
Visit Cityamcareers.com to see how City PM can help you in your passive career hunt.