Photo: Scott Simpson
The more I work in the job search/hiring/employment space, the more I see this trend emerge: looking for a job takes a lot longer than it used to. Part of this is obviously due to the increased demand for and falling supply of jobs, but it’s also because of how most jobs are landed these days. Traditional job vacancies are getting rare, and the ones that do exist get flooded with applications and resumes. Now you need devote a lot of time building your personal brand, your body of work (probably online), and growing a network. Getting a job based on your merits alone is a thing of the past. Now more than ever, what matters is who you know (or, more importantly as John Sumser argues, who knows you).
So if it takes longer to find a job than it used to (as I’ve pointed out before, that’s longer than six months), that means you probably can’t afford to start your job search on the day you need a job. Unless you’ve saved a ton of money in your emergency fund (a great idea if you can swing it), the time required to look for a job the new fashioned way will likely exceed how much money you’ve saved.
That’s why you need to be looking for a job now, even if you already have one. Not only can looking for a job make you better at your current job, but it will keep you ahead of the curve when the time comes to get a new job. Here are a few steps you can take to lay the groundwork for your job search before it’s an emergency.
Your network is never complete
I know, you get hit over the head with people telling you to “network” all the time. There’s a reason for that. People who network out of desperation (ala they just got fired and haven’t been building relationships along the way) are the least attractive and, ironically, have the hardest time building relationships. You don’t need to be looking to job hop or find the next best offer, but you should be meeting people in your targeted space all the time. A good way to do this is to identify the specific industry you want to work in and 3-5 companies within that space. Reach out to people at all levels and strike up a gradual conversation.
This actually works best if you are looking to change careers because you won’t be dealing with competitors within your current industry. Outreach can be something as simple as “Hey I saw this blog post where you wrote about your new product. Really exciting stuff – were you happy with the outcome of the launch?” You could also tap into your LinkedIn or Facebook network to identify people who work in the space you’re targeting. You could do this using BeKnown, BranchOut, or IntheDoor – or just keep track of what people post. People actually use their personal Facebook pages to promote their companies a lot. Once you have a name that way, begin the gradual conversation.
“Gradual” is the key – aggressively making up for lost networking time because you’ve lost a job and have no leads tends to be pretty obvious. It’s always interesting to see someone who has not been active on LinkedIn all of a sudden connecting to everyone they can because they need a job.
Constantly being on the job search will certainly make your networking efforts easier, because you’ll be up-to-date on what’s been happening in your target company or space. It’s much easier to reach out to someone and be able to say, “I’ve been closely watching your company for about eight months now, and am totally fascinated by XYZ trend.” You pat them on the back for working in an area that’s interesting enough for you to research in your free time, and you let them know you’re serious and thoughtful in any conversation you want to have with them.
This is just scratching the surface, but it should give you an idea of how long the lead time is on creating a network and researching an industry. Think of your network as a safety net – the more you put off maintaining and building it, the more vulnerable you become. You should always have an exit in mind, not because you’re a job hopper or shallow opportunist (neither of which is terrible, by the way), but because you’re a realist and you know that this economy is way too unpredictable. You need to be prepared for the worst, lest you have to face it unarmed.
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