Many job seekers often wonder when the best time is to be looking for a new job. My first response is “Always!” – you should always have an ear to the ground and be open to discussing opportunities because it’s part of learning and growing professionally. However, the beginning of a new year is also a fantastic time to be looking for a new job – companies are drawing up new budgets, looking to staff up for upcoming projects, and quite honestly looking to use up their budget dollars before they can be taken away over the course of the year. So, if you’ve been affected by the flux in the economy this fall, the holidays are a time to be thankful for the blessings you DO have, and the New Year is a time to really start hitting the ground running on your search for employment.
For those of you who have been fortunate to escape the layoffs/downsizings/”right-sizings”/restructuring (no matter what euphemism you use, it still sucks!) – here are a couple of suggestions I would like to offer up to you:
- Build your network before you need it. Starting to develop your personal network after you’ve lost your job isn’t going to do as much good as if you build it while things are going well. That way, when you have a need, you have a network to go to and ask for help.
- Be nice to recruiters, even if you don’t want their opportunity. Of course I am a bit biased in this piece of advice, being a recruiting professional myself. But it never pays to be nasty to a recruiter – the job you don’t want today might be the job you need tomorrow. Actually, this should just be re-written to say “be nice to EVERYone” because you never know how other people might be able to help you out some day. And someone in my own network pointed out to me that recruiters should also reciprocate the kindness – I agree! So, let’s just all be nice to each other, shall we?
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- Be cognizant of your personal brand. If you deny that your online brand is important today, I would like to know what rock you just crawled out from under. Your online presence is important when building professional relationships and especially when seeking employment. Whether or not we want to admit it, a person’s perception is their reality. If the image you put forth of yourself includes drunken escapades, double fisting beers, and other various questionable activities, it will make it harder for you when job-hunting. What you do in your personal time IS your own business, I agree, but do what you can to keep it personal, especially if you’re looking for a new job.
A good article to read that will help you with some suggestions on how to keep your job and make yourself a valuable asset comes from one of my favorite authors, Dan Schawbel, in a recent article he wrote for Mashable. Please read it – his recommendations are sure-fire!
And….of course a shameless plug for my own sourcing efforts – if you’re a PR professional, Waggener Edstrom IS hiring, and we have a bunch of cool job opportunities listed on our new Facebook Careers page. Please consider becoming a fan, and let me know if any of our positions interest you! Some of our current opportunities include:
- Account Manager, Healthcare – Boston
- Account Manager, Public Affairs – Washington, DC
- Account Director/VP, Technology – San Francisco
- Account Director – Singapore
- Account Manager – Singapore
