Passive Job Seeking 301
Posted by Mark Avera on 18 Jul 2007 at 02:37 pm | Tagged as: Career Advice, Construction Jobs, Industry News
To wrap up my short discussion on passive job seeking, I am going to leave you with a list of the Top 5 Things to Remember about Passive Job Seeking:
1. You’re not the only one. A study conducted in 2000 determined that over 1/3 of currently employed individuals are “open to accepting a new position in the next six months” (source). You are not alone in your passive job search!
2. Career Building Workshops can be invaluable. Since you are currently employed, possibly for quite some time, you probably are a little rusty on resume advice, interviewing strategies, and all the other things that go along with searching for a job. Attending a career building workshop can help you brush up on the basics, and they are often held at convenient times and locations, allowing you to attend them without disrupting your current career and work schedule. Do your research before you attend, however. Some of these workshops are notoriously worthless, while others are invaluable.
3. Don’t worry about ‘Job Hopping’! In years past, a resume with numerous different employers on it was bad news…an almost certain way to make the trash can. An article written by Ilana DeBare for the San Francisco Chronicle, “Keeping a Packed Bag at Work”, points out that “Federal labor statistics show that workers in almost every age group are staying at jobs for a shorter period of time than their counterparts did in the 1980s.” In other words, “the 1990s have completely changed the rules for how long employees stay at their jobs–and how long employers expect them to stay.” While excessive job hopping or exceptionally short stints at companies can still portray you in a negative light, the rules are far more lax than they used to be. If a great opportunity comes along, don’t be afraid to pursue it because of what a job change will look like on your resume! (Read an online copy of Ilana’s article here)
4. Don’t use company time! Occasionally, passive job seekers turn out to be more ‘active’ than ‘passive’. If you want to keep your current job, keep your job searching, interviewing, etc… to your own time. If your current employer notices you using company time to pursue your personal career goals, especially if the avenues you are pursuing lead to a different employer, you are almost certain to become an active job seeker rather than a passive one. If preserving your current job is a priority to you, be sure to restrict your passive job search to your own time. Furthermore, if you skip work to attend an interview or something of this nature, the company that is interviewing you may be put off by your willingness to put your personal career ambitions ahead of your professional responsibilities. There is nothing wrong with passive job seeking, so long as it is done the right way. If you hope to land a great new job, start by performing well in your current one!
5. “The Three F’s” — Friends, Family, and Fate. These are perhaps the three most important words to passive job seeking. More passive job seekers have landed jobs through word of mouth than any other method. Let your friends and family know what you do and what you are interested in doing. Let them know to keep it confidential. It is an effective, discrete, and time-tested way to turn up interviews and leads. Lastly, remember that passive job seeking is determined by fate. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have people e-mailing you and calling you left and right to take you out of your current position: this is an unrealistic dream. Be patient, be persistent, and, most importantly, be productive in your current job. If you do these things, and keep yourself prepared, you’ll be ready to jump at an opportunity when it finally does come around. You never know when you might get a call, so be ready!