Q. I’m currently one of those who is underemployed. I’m considering looking for a better job and would like to know what is the best way to go about it while working?
I would start with your current employer. Situations like yours often happen when a candidate is in need of a job. That is generally why they accepted a lower position in the first place. So I believe some level of loyalty should be given to a company that helped you when you needed it. You might check to see if a position will open up as the economy continues to improve, are they open to expanding your role in the company, or if you are working part-time will they convert you to full-time? If you haven’t already, you might consider giving them this opportunity before throwing in the towel.
If you still decide it is best to move, then you will have to conduct a search. Many candidates search while working. Start by building or updating your LinkedIn profile, post your resume on the job boards, let people you trust know you are open to something different, attend networking meetings before or after work hours, check the Web sites of potential employers in your industry to see if they post open positions, and when appropriate engage a recruiter and respond to ads. Most companies are willing to conduct interviews during off hours for those people working. You basically have to get out and let people know you are open to referrals or find a position via job postings.
Join our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group. It is one of the biggest and most active groups dealing with job search issues on LinkedIn. CLICK HERE to join.
Download our FREE Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. Take the evaluation and discover if your search is all it can be. CLICK HERE to download.
Visit our audio library. No library card required – all audio files can be downloaded for free. There is an extensive amount of files on all of the different topics surrounding a job search. CLICK HERE to review the library.
If this was helpful, then please help others by forwarding it on to your network, posting on your Facebook page, Tweeting with the link, posting to your LinkedIn groups or status update. Let’s all do everything we can to help those looking for employment.
I welcome your comments.
Brad Remillard
Question: Most of my career is in financial services. I want to get out of that industry and into healthcare. What is the best way to make this transition?
Making an industry change in this economy is difficult, unless you have one of those jobs in which the skills required are not industry specific. That means that your skills and training are easily transferable to another industry. The issue you have to overcome is that your competition for an opening will probably include people already in the healthcare industry. Most companies will look at those with industry experience first.
The best way to make an industry change is through networking. You need to build relationships with people in the industry. To do this consider attending professional associations, joining networking groups in healthcare, attending trade shows or conferences, and connecting with healthcare people in your local area via LinkedIn. As they get to know you they will be able to determine how your strengths, outside the healthcare industry, can apply to the problems they need solved in their company. In this case going through recruiters or submitting resumes via ads are long shots.
There are some barriers you should think about overcoming when changing industries, assuming your skills are not easily transferable. The first one is compensation. Chances are you are more valuable in the financial services industry than in healthcare. Therefore, the position will probably be at a lower level and so will the compensation. Secondly, some additional training and education may be required.
Join our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group. 6,000 other people are benefiting from the discussions and articles. CLICK HERE to join, it is free.
Turbo-charge your search by evaluating its strengths and weaknesses with our FREE Job Search Plan Self-Assessment Scorecard. This will help you and your accountability partner get your search started out right. CLICK HERE to download your scorecard.
Need a great cover letter? A free sample cover letter that has proven to get you noticed is on our Web site for you to use with your resume. CLICK HERE to download yours.
If this was helpful, then please help others by forwarding it on to your network, posting it on your Facebook page, Tweeting with the link, or posting to your Linkedin groups or status update. Let’s all do everything we can to help those looking for employment.
I welcome your comments.
Brad Remillard
Tags: Job Boards, Job Hunting, Job Search, job search information, job search knowledge, Job Search LinkedIn Discussion Group, Job Search Mistakes, job search plan, Job Search Preparation, Mistakes Working with Recruiters, Networking Mistakes
Marketing, Networking, Resume | bradremillard June 14, 2011 | 
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Question: What is the best way for an executive to distinguish themselves from all the other executives chasing the same positions?
This is one of the most important issues all candidates must tackle during a job search. In today’s job market companies are very specific when hiring. You cannot be a jack of all trades. You must be the king or queen of your trade so it is imperative that you determine what distinguishes you from others.
Most candidates have a hard time doing this for fear of being excluded from a possible position. I disagree. Candidates should find their sweet spot and build a search around that, instead of around some long shot opportunity that might come their way.
I have coached many executives and they all have something that makes them unique. It may be international experience, M&A, turnarounds, startups, changing a company’s culture from dysfunctional to one that thrives on success, a specific technology, and so on. I recommend you survey your peers, bosses, customers, vendors, subordinates and trusted advisors for what they believe distinguishes you from other executives. With that information you can build your brand and job search around those distinguishing characteristics.
Join our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group. 6,000 other people are benefiting from the discussions and articles. CLICK HERE to join, it is free.
Turbo-charge your search by evaluating its strengths and weaknesses with our FREE Job Search Plan Self-Assessment Scorecard. This will help you and your accountability partner get your search started out right. CLICK HERE to download your scorecard.
Need a great cover letter? A free sample cover letter that has proven to get you noticed is on our Web site for you to use with your resume. CLICK HERE to download yours.
If this was helpful, then please help others by forwarding it on to your network, posting it on your Facebook page, Tweeting with the link, posting to your LinkedIn groups or status update. Let’s all do everything we can to help those looking for employment.
I welcome your comments.
Brad Remillard
