January is the biggest month of the year for recruitment companies like Devonshire. Everyone’s had time off over Christmas to assess their lives and work out what needs to be changed in order to make them happier. ‘New job’ is often top of that list.
Quit your Job
But resist the urge to swan into your boss’ office and quit as soon as you’ve made the decision to find a new job. Here are some things you should think about beforehand.
Do you have enough money to get you through three months of unemployment?
If not, then you probably shouldn’t quit right away in a blaze of glory. No matter how wonderfully talented and eminently employable you are, there’s no guarantee that you’ll walk straight into a new job. If you can afford to take that risk, then go for it. Similarly, if your current job is having an adverse effect on your health – physical or mental – then you should probably get out of there.
In most cases, it would be far wiser to line up a new job before quitting your current one. But you already knew that, didn’t you?
Why do you want to leave your job?
‘I hate it’ is not a reason in itself. Why are you no longer happy in your job? Working out what you don’t like about your current job will help crystallise what you want in a new job. Do you want to leave because you’re not earning enough? Are there not enough opportunities for progression? Is it the work itself that you don’t like, or the company culture?
Decide on the non-negotiable essentials for your new job
What salary do you need to cover your monthly expenses? How far are you willing to commute? What hours do you want to work? Does the work need to be flexible? What daily work tasks do you absolutely refuse to do?
Now work out what you would be willing to compromise on for your dream job. Now you have the parameters for your job search.
What job do you actually want to do?
If you have a dream job that you’ve always wanted to do, or if you have the natural next step of your career progression in mind, then this won’t be a problem for you.
But if all you know is that you want out of your current job, but you’re not sure of the next step, then you need to give some thought to what you’re passionate about, what you’re good at and what you’re qualified for on paper.
Get your CV in order
As cruel as it sounds, all of your experience, qualifications and skills mean nothing if you haven’t presented them well in your CV. Before you start applying for jobs you need to update and polish your CV. If you need some tips, then check out our blog on writing the perfect CV here.
Register with recruitment agencies
A good recruitment consultant will be able to help you decide what your next career step should be if you’re struggling. You might find after a chat with them that everything suddenly becomes clear.
The great thing about recruitment agencies is that all you have to do is send them your CV and have a chat with them about what roles you would be interested in. They do the rest of the work for you. And, they won’t put you forward for a role without your say-so. Well, that’s how we do things anyway. We can’t speak for everyone.
Make the jobs come to you
Job hunting is time-consuming. You don’t want to waste your time constantly visiting job boards to see if anything new has popped up. Most job boards allow you to sign up for email alerts tailored to your job requirements, and it’s always worth following the LinkedIn/Twitter/Facebook accounts of recruiters, companies and job boards who post jobs you are interested in.
If you’ve decided to get a new job this year, then you can check out our list of vacancies here, or register with us here. Happy job hunting!
