FAQ’s About the Job Search Answered by Hire Velocity Chairman, John West
Is now a good time to be looking for a job?
Now is a great time to be looking for a job. Probably the best time in almost 15 years. There are 5 million job openings, unfilled jobs in the U.S. presently, up from a low about 2 million in 2009.
What is the best way to find my next job?
The best way to find your next job is through your own personal network. Believe it or not, 80% of job changes, career changes, come through a person’s personal network. So you always want to be making sure that network is strong.
How do I stay connected and in touch with my network?
I highly recommend that you use LinkedIn extensively. I personally feel it’s the best tool of my lifetime for being connected with your professional network. And I like the fact that when I connect with someone they can see more details about who I am and what my interests are. So when you meet someone new, make sure you go connect with them on LinkedIn and continue to build that network.
How do I get started with my job search?
Well first of all you need to think about where you want to be in 5-10 years and what would make the most sense as the next step in your own career. It’s very important to have an idea of where you want to go. And then it makes it a lot easier to think about that next job.
Do I need a job search plan?
You really need to take a little bit of time and put together a detailed job search plan. What you’re going to do via LinkedIn and your network, are you going to post to job boards, are you going to use search agents that will go out and bring back job opportunities to you. It will help a lot if you put together a detailed plan and then keep track of the follow-up activities you need to do.
What are some of the first steps in my job search?
Well to get started, you really need to think about getting your resume updated and making sure that LinkedIn is updated. You can request some references on LinkedIn and endorsements from people, I think those are always useful. And start thinking about who you need to reach out to and let them know what you’re looking for.
It sounds like a lot of work to change jobs! Should I quit my current job so I can focus?
Please do not quit an existing job to find your next job. You may find yourself in that situation and that’s fine. But if you’re employed, try to remain at the job no matter how much you dislike it until you get that next position secured.
Final words of advice:
My final words of advice are to always be networking, even when you are not looking for another job. That way when you do need to make the job change you have the network and the contacts you need to get the help you need. So be helpful to other people, do things for them without expecting anything in return so it seems sincere and it will pay great dividends down the road. Also I can share with you that we recently published a job search guideline, which goes into a lot more detail on a lot of these topics. So if you are interested in that, please click on the link below and it should be helpful to you. Thank you and good luck.
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