This week the Wall Street Journal highlighted the strong job market with an article on how employers are downgrading their job descriptions with less experience and degree requirements. That builds on last month’s Fortune magazine feature that there are more job openings than unemployed people with 6.7 million openings and 6.3 million job seekers.
Top 5 Things To Do Before You Make a Change
If you’ve been thinking about making a change in your career, now may be the time to get ready. It’s a big more complicated than updating your resume resume, interviewing and starting a new job. Here are the Top 5 things you’ll want to do before you make a change:
Gather your facts, figures and client lists for every job – Gather your facts, figures and client lists for every job. For client lists you’ll want to gather the names of clients you’ve worked with at each job. As an example, if you’re a District Manager at a digital marketing technology company, you’d list your district, client industries and top 5-10 client companies.
Update your resume – using those facts, figures and client names
Update your LinkedIn profile
Practice your interview skills – including phone, video and in-person skills
Be ready to negotiate – more than merely salary too
Be Patient, Particularly if You’re Senior Level
Remember that the more senior you are in an organization, the fewer positions are available. When I was a Chief Digital Marketing Officer, I sat at the top; there’s only one Marketing officer. Unless I left, retired or was incapacitated, it was taken. If you’re at the Vice President or above level, you’ll want to exercise patience in your search as the number of positions you’re vying for are fewer are farther between. In addition, competition is far more significant at your level. Which brings me to the next point.
Your Secret Weapon: 5 Tips to Nail The Interview
With a hot job market it’s easy to get a job, right? Wrong. It means your competition is heavy and you need to stand out from the rest of the crowd. That’s when the interview comes in, and the more senior you are the more important it is to stand out. Here are 3 tips to stand out during an interview:
Arrive 10 minutes early
Give a firm, welcoming handshake
Research the company to ask informative questions
Research the individual to ask personalized (not personal) questions
Send a thank you note – only 5% of candidates do this
Now that you know how to prepare, to be patient and nail the interview, you’re ready to get hunting in today’s hot job market. It’s good to keep professionals in your corner too so I recommend partnering up with a recruiter, coach and mentor as well.
adriana@xecucoach.com
