When you have to evaluate whether a job opportunity is the right one for you,
you need to know what you are looking for.
Jobs come in all different shapes and sizes. Some will be
the next step in your career, others will allow home working and the most
interesting ones may require relocation. Every advantage will carry a
disadvantage: the vacancy in a company close to your home may be less
challenging or a step up the career ladder may require significant travel.
Therefor it is imperative that you determine up front what
it is that you want, taking into account both the advantages and the
disadvantages of your choices. That way you can objectively assess when I
approach you whether the job opportunity matches your criteria.
The easiest way to go about it is to put your career
criteria down on paper. This may sound abstract or too therapeutic but stating
your vision or the requirements for your next job in a very specific way will
help you in determining what you are looking for.
Be as specific as possible: I need a lot of personal
interaction with people daily, I need to live within 20 minutes from work I
need to have problem solving as a part of my daily work. These criteria will
serve as the foundation to assess future job opportunities.
Knowing what you want is one thing; acting upon it is a
totally different thing.
If you are out of a job and bills need to be paid, using
your career criteria as decision maker is easier said than done. Keep in mind
however that you don’t want your future employer to think that you will accept
just any job. It will make you look desperate and who would want to hire
someone like that…
You may also think that clearly stating what you are looking
for will make you come across as arrogant. The main differentiator is in the
way you bring your requirements to the table. If you come marching into my
office with a list of needs and hard deal-breakers, then yes…I’ll consider you
arrogant. However, if you pitch a balanced view on what your ideal future
position would be, your requirements in relation to your values or the period
in your life and possible blocking restrictions, you will come across as a
professional, someone who is consciously thinking about his or her career and
the impact it will have on both professional and private life. And let’s face
it, wouldn’t you rather hire someone who thought things through, who knows what
he or she is getting into?
Knowing what you want and making clear choices may very well
be out of your comfort zone, but when it comes down to your career, it is the
foundation.
Join me next time on the importance of chemistry when
investigating a new job opportunity.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Isabel
Through a personalized and tailor-made approach,
Ingenium Executive Search aspires to assist you in attracting the right talent
that matches the DNA of your company
Follow me on Twitter @IngeniumSearch
