Prepare For Your Next Job Search NOW -- While You're Still Employed

Prepare for Your Next Job Search NOW –
While You're Still Employed

By Ruth Anderson

Are you worried about job security? By taking the following
ten steps now, you can position yourself to move more quickly
and easily through your next job transition. At the same time,
you may find that you become more valuable to your current
employer.

1. Inventory your strengths and skills, especially those you
enjoy using most, and keep daily or weekly notes on how you
are using them in your present job. This information will help
you to update your resume and prepare for future job
interviews, should they become necessary.

2. Keep notes, as well, on the parts of your job that you find
very difficult or don't enjoy. With this information, you will know
what to de-emphasize or leave out altogether in your updated
resume. You will also be able to focus future job-hunting
efforts on the jobs that suit you best.

3. While doing steps 1 and 2, did you discover that you spend
too much time on things you aren't good at or don't like to do,
and not enough on the things you are good at and enjoy?
If so, consider how you can shift this balance, perhaps by
streamlining certain tasks, delegating, or managing your time
differently. Your value to your present employer, as well as
any future ones, is maximized when you are doing what you do best.

4. Think about and write down what you have accomplished in
your current job. What have you done that you are most proud
of, and what did it take to achieve those things? A focus on
accomplishments, especially ones that you enjoyed, will give
you confidence and highlight your qualifications in any future job
search.

5. In step 4, did you find yourself struggling to think of
accomplishments that you want to highlight? If so, now is the
time to create accomplishments, while you are still in a position
to do so. Ask yourself: What project can I initiate or what
goal can I set that, once completed, can be pointed to with
pride in my next review or job search?

6. Would it be advantageous, either in your current job or
when you change jobs, to learn a new skill or update your area
of expertise? Are you interested in exploring a new or related
line of work? If yes, look for ways to develop your interests
and skills now – for instance, by taking a college course, doing
free-lance work, or volunteering for a cause you care about.

7. Consider who you will want to use as references in the
event that you have to find a new job. Are there at least three
people, other than your boss, who know your work well and
can recommend you enthusiastically? Now is the time to make
sure that you have strong, positive connections with those
people, and to update them on what you are doing.

8. In addition to the three people you identified in step 7, you
will likely want to use your current boss as a reference
sometime in the future. With this in mind, put yourself in your
boss's shoes. Are you meeting and exceeding his or her
expectations? Do you know which aspects of your job are
most valuable to your boss, and do you give those high priority?

9. If and when you find yourself hunting for new job
opportunities, your network of friends, relatives, and
acquaintances can be an important source of information and support. Be sure that you are keeping in touch with these
people and helping them out as needed – later on, they'll be
happy to help you out, too.

10. Last but not least, revise and update your resume now,
while you are not under pressure to do so or feeling worried
about finding work. Take the time to consider your resume
carefully and seek feedback from friends or professionals.
If you suddenly find yourself without a job, you'll be glad to
have a resume in hand.

Copyright (c) 2004 by Ruth Anderson