There are many reasons why we look for new jobs – ambitions to move up, to try a new sector, to leave a bad boss. But, it’s important to be a little selective in what we apply for – job hunting is notoriously time-consuming, often frustrating and for a sure a commitment.
by Darren Caveney
The time it takes to go through a full recruitment process is considerable. 1-2 hours on an application form, an hour or so on initial research. If you get an interview you will need to prep for that, there may be a presentation to deliver, questions to anticipate, second interviews, panel interviews, assessment centres and tests.
Getting that new dream role might take three days of work.
So, approaching organisations who are a fit with you is really important to maximise your time.
I’ve pulled together three top tips to help guide your search, based on my observations and learning from helping friends and mentorees who have been on the hunt for a move.
1. Jobs are like houses
Jobs are a bit like houses. The really good ones only come up for sale every now and again. The not so good ones hang around on the market for a while.
So when you do spot a good one you’ll need to move quickly – talk to the estate agent, do your research on what you might need to bid to be successful, and check out the neighbours and the neighbourhood. How much will your bills be, what are the crime levels like, how much work to do need to do to it, and do you have the appetite to undertake it? Ultimately, can you picture yourself living there?
Taking on a new job – and in fact even securing one – can be as stressful as buying a house. So applying similar levels of discipline can be helpful.
Visit the organisation if you can. How does their headquarters or main site feel? Can you picture yourself walking in there to work on a Monday morning?
Stalk them on LinkedIn and other social sites. How do they come across? How do they engage with their customers, residents, patients? What is their tone of voice like?
Find some people who work there – connect with them, ask them how they find it?
See if you can have an informal chat with the person recruiting.
Google the hell out of them. What picture emerges?
Study that person spec: Are you a good fit or does it feel like you’re stretching things because you really fancy it?
What’s your gut feel? How would you score your chances out of 10? If it’s a one then maybe give it a miss. If you’re a five and upwards get cracking and go for it.
2. Location, location, location
Now this used to be a killer criteria but now in our Covid world there are opportunities to work remotely and this has really opened up the jobs market, with far-away roles now in potential reach.
How long this will last for organisations is anyone’s guess, and certainly there is a push from Government for us all to “return to the office”. Stop sighing at the back.
So, ask some questions about the recruiting organisation’s plans for office, remote and hybrid working. And what does the future look like.
If office-based working is a feature then it’s important to calculate your travel times and assess how they stack up against your world outside of work. A senior comms person I was working with was looking for a move but keen to stay in the same sector. We talked about what a maximum commuting time looked like and agreed that an hour each way was the limit. This really helped as we could then plot on the map what this looked like and therefore the organisations within this travel radius.
An hour doesn’t sound like much but if you’re full time in the office that’s 40-plus hours a month and it can take it’s toll. So location – just as when buying a house – really is critical.
3. Culture, values and treading carefully
Now we all want to work somewhere with a great inclusive culture and where innovation is encouraged and where communications is trusted and invested in.
So what is the culture like at the organisation advertising? How can you find out?
Well the obvious way is to ask around. What do people say about the culture, does it sound like a fit with the way in which you like to work?
Organisational values have become a real buzzword in recent years. In my experience it’s certainly one to watch out for.
I once read that if the organisational values are displayed on the office walls and reception area of the recruiting organisation get out quickly as it’s a warning sign.
Don’t tell us, show us, and all that.
Live and breathe the values on all levels - and with everyone - and then they don’t need to feature on a wall because everyone will be able to describe them as they’re real and they have touched the staff on some level.
So, when I once turned up for an interview for a role and saw this very thing – the values emblazoned across the waiting room area – I should have left immediately.
Did I?
No.
I went through an incredibly arduous interview process. Three interviews, panel interviews, assessment centres, presentations. Waited ages to hear back, and even longer for an offer letter. Eventually I started the job. And then went on to learn that there was a real disconnect with the values I had read about and the actual culture on the shop floor.
Don’t tell us, show us.
So, this is a really important consideration when choosing who you may apply to work for. It won’t necessarily be easy to find out but dig around, ask questions and look for signs of the type of culture you’d be walking into.
And if the values are splayed across reception when you turn up for interview, well you know what to do!
Darren Caveney is creator and owner of comms2point0 and creative communicators ltd
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