What You Should Do as a Passive Job Seeker

You might love your job, never want to leave, and know your management has no intention of letting you go, so why should you keep up with your resume, professional profiles, and networks? For starters, even if you think your job is secure and you love it, you can never be 100 percent sure your job will always be there for you.

Imagine losing your job for reasons outside of your control; it might take you several days to regroup and create a plan. This is not the time to be creating profiles, perfecting resumes, and trying to meet new people.

Now imagine that same scenario, and you take a day or two to grieve the loss of the job and then move right into the job search. All the details are covered, and you simply need to change your status to “active job seeker” and alert your connections you are job hunting.

You can take time each day to send out your resume, but also use your days to make yourself more marketable. Because you have strong professional connections, all it might take is a lunch or coffee meeting with some of them, as well as recruiters in your field to make some progress. The job search may or may not take some time, depending on your field and the current market, but you can be ahead of the game by being a successful passive job seeker with these simple steps:

1.       Check out companies in your field. Stay up to date on the ones you really like. Know what achievements they’ve made recently and some of their future goals.

2.       Write recommendations. The minute you are out of work, you’ll want to know you have positive referrals available to future employers. By writing these recommendations when you have the time, you’ll help ensure the same from others.

3.       Build your network. Consider sending emails out once a week to a new connection or recruiter. Find out what’s making their jobs fun and interesting, and even what is new in the field. Really connect with others.

4.       Be interview-ready. Be the person who is ready for an interview with up-to-date people skills, clothes that fit, and even a morning or afternoon of time off available. You might need to save up some hours in order to take them off, later.

Don’t let a company downsizing or a takeover take you by surprise. By keeping up with your career, goals, and the present-day market, you can land on your feet. To learn more about how WSi Healthcare Personnel can help you find a job, contact us today.