22.02.2019

6 Factors to Consider Before Starting Your Job Search

Everyone has heard the old adage “fail to prepare, prepare to fail” and this applies particularly well to searching for your next job. By putting in the groundwork and understanding the true motivations for leaving your current employer you’ll be able to conduct a more targeted job search, have solid foundations for your interview preparations and be able to accurately weigh up job offers when they come through.

1) Why are you looking for a new job?

Obviously the most important question; what’s made you decide to update your CV, start checking those job boards and contacting organisations?

The most common answer I hear is “progression” but in all honesty that’s such a big cover all any Recruiter worth their salt is going to be asking you to elaborate, to really get to the heart of what you’re looking for. So, what does progression mean to you? Whether you’re actually looking for additional training support, managerial responsibilities or access to greater value contracts use that motivation when analysing jobs to work out if the role described is going to suit your aspirations.

Aside from progression, factors such as work/life balance, relocation and change in current work circumstances are typical responses and, whilst they’re more definitive reasons to look to move, it’s still helpful to consider the below questions when searching for a new job.

2) Does your skill set fit the types of roles you’re aiming for?

Bearing in mind your answer to the previous question, are you ready to take that next step?

If you have the right experience but aren’t getting the opportunities or recognition within your current employer or are looking for a sideways move that’s one thing but if you need additional qualifications or even mentoring by a more senior colleague, be honest with yourself about that.

It may be the “progression” you’re looking for can be gained by taking on more responsibility or training in your current role.

3) Can you find what you’re looking for in your current company?

So now you have an idea what you’re aiming for, the first place to look is within your own company. Having an honest conversation with your manager and making them aware of your aspirations and what you’re looking to achieve may open doors within your current company, meaning you don’t have to move.

If it doesn’t, that’s when you should start to look elsewhere.

4) What does your contract say?

Prior to speaking to any hiring managers or Recruiters it’ll stand you in good stead to compile some basic facts about your current employment, most of which can be found in your contract.

Elements like the length of notice period you have to give your employer, if you have to pay back any training funds you’ve been given recently, how quickly you can book time off to attend interviews and the full details of your package will all be questioned by each organisation you speak to.

5) What package can you afford?

Notice I’ve not asked “what package do you want?” The package you can afford is dependent upon your motivations for looking for a new job so it’s going to be a figure that is driven by those factors, not just arbitrarily adding a few grand on to your current wage.

For example if you’re looking for a better work/life balance, a single site Building Manager won’t expect to be paid the same as a Regional Estates Manager and this needs to factored into your job search. Or an organisation may not pay as much as a competitor but they will be able provide support to gain Chartered status, increasing your potential earnings in the long term.

Obviously increasing responsibilities should result in increased compensation but bear in mind this may be paid in terms of bonuses, increased pension contributions or private healthcare as opposed to a straight salary. This type of remuneration won’t be right for everyone but knowing what package you can afford and how that breaks down can help focus your job search.

6) What geographic locations can you consider?

Again, this is purely subjective, but it’s important that you’re realistic about your commute and how that’s going to affect your work life balance.

If you’re happy with a regional but not national role keep your search limited to those. For single site positions, as a rough guide most employers across the UK will question commutes longer than 45 minutes as taking traffic into account these can soon escalate and cause people to leave.

By answering those 6 questions you should now have a good idea about the types of roles you should be looking for; from duties and responsibilities and skill set fit through to feasible locations and packages you can consider.

Having these clear guidelines in place will help you when searching and applying for new facilities management roles by ensuring you’re taking a focused approach and that your CV will be relevant to the positions you’re responding to. During the interview process you can use this knowledge to articulate why you’re the right person for the position and how their role fits with your capabilities. Utilising this method you can be confident accepting an offer as you’ll be sure you have explored every opportunity relevant to you on the market and that this job will fit your career aspirations.

Alexandra leads the FM division within CRG TEC (www.crgtec.uk.com), a recruitment consultancy who specializes in technical vacancies across the UK. You can get in touch with her on ah@crgtec.uk.com

Posted by: FMJ 0 comment(s)