Do you ever get that ho hum feeling about your job and know it is time to consider moving on? I do. After four years at my previous job I knew it was time to go. When an opportunity came up, I went for it.
I was speaking to someone on the weekend about that and she agreed. She felt in her current job she was not being challenged and used to her potential and was thinking about making a change. She told me that when she feels like that she asks herself, is this where I want to be in the next five years and if the answer is no, then she knows it is time to leave.
Working is something we all have to do, but when it loses our interest, it makes it pretty hard to get up in the morning and make the commute in. Job satisfaction is important.
Polish up the ol' resume
It is all right to send your resume out and see what kind of response you get. There are still jobs to be had, you just have to find them.
In this new age of not doing anything more than a quick spell check on documents, make sure you do not have any spelling mistakes in your resume. I was speaking to a manager the other day and he said when he gets a resume, that is one of the first things he checks. If you have typos in your resume, what does that say about your attention to detail and pride in your work? You would be surprised at the amount of errors I have seen in this very important first introduction to a company.
They are interested, now what?
If you get an opportunity for an interview you may as well go and try it. When you meet this potential employer, make eye contact and give a firm handshake. When I speak with someone I want them to look me in the eye. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul and it is true, you can tell a lot by someone's eyes so if you are not looking at me I wonder what you don't want me to know about you.
I also like people to show confidence by shaking my hand. I have had some pretty limp handshakes in my day that made me want to immediately take my hand back and shake it out -- Ewww! Other handshakes felt like they were trying to break mine. Ouch! A firm but short handshake is all it takes.
Be prepared in the interview with your own questions too. I always like the interview to be a conversation, with both sides talking. An interview can be as stressful on those conducting it as on the person being interviewed if the conversation does not flow. Nobody likes long pauses and awkward moments, but you don't want to talk when you shouldn't either.
HA HA, not funny
Be very careful about using humour in an interview. What you may find funny, someone else may find offensive. At one interview I was on, I was so relaxed and at ease that I told a joke. It could have gone either way, but fortunately they both laughed. Whew!
Nothing to lose
The best time to look for a job is when you don't need one. You will be more relaxed and if it works out -- great, but if not, you have not lost anything. You may even start to think your current job is not that bad afterall.
2 comments:
Were you reading my last post? :) Great article.
No I didn't but you have me curious now and I will go and read it.
Patricia
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