With the New Year full upon us, many job-seekers are waist deep in the middle of their job search. You've taken stock of your position, your boss, your salary, and decided that it was time to make a change.
You've shined up the resume, browsed the job boards, and met with that recruiter who called you last December. And then worry sets in. Are you doing the right thing Recruiters regularly deal with this fear, and if they've done their job, the candidate is prepared to interview with an open mind to changing positions. When the recruiter and the candidate haven't taken the time to discuss what a change really entails, your goal of getting that new job and that promotion is in danger of falling to the fear of change.
Wired and Hired, a Talent Zoo recruiting blog on marketing, shares some frustrations with candidates who want to make a change, but aren't ready to actually make that move.
“Well Jamie, this all sounds wonderful, BUT I’m probably going to hold off on the job search for about 6 months.”
Wait a second. Weren’t you the one who just listed 27 million reasons as to why you are unhappy in your current situation? You even went so far as to tell me about the creepy Traffic Manager guy who gives you those disturbing, flirty looks as he passes by your desk. All in all, your situation seems pretty bad. So what could possibly be stopping you? It’s these silly little false deadlines we set for ourselves. They make us think that we’re getting somewhere by procrastinating. The reality is that remaining stagnant in a mediocre situation will not help you or your career.
I sympathize with Jamie, but I understand the point of view of the candidate as well. Changing jobs is the third or fourth most important step people take, next to getting married, buying a house, and having children. A candidate can't rightly be called a candidate until they've made that internal decision to uproot their business life and start over.
Recruiters looking to help job-seekers often see only the promise of the job, and not the risk. Understanding that risk, and helping the candidate face their fears is the secret that good recruiters must keep in mind to be successful.
So the next time you face a recalcitrant job-seeker, consider giving them a goal-setting sheet. A simple "T" with columns for good and bad reasons to switch will do.
