You always should be on the lookout for our next job. Yes, even if you absolutely, positively LOVE your current job. Even if there’s no hint whatsoever about a possible coming layoff. Even if your boss loves you and says again and again that she’ll never let you go.
If things are so perfect in your current job, why should you always be on the lookout for your next one? Because things can change. And change quickly. What’s more, if you’re in a job we love, it’s too easy to become complacent and to just skate along. Yet if you truly want to advance in your career, you need to learn new skills and have new responsibilities. You’ll often get them much more quickly if you move to a new employer.
Take a look below for a deeper dive into why regularly applying for new jobs is wise.
- Things can change quickly!
You love your boss and your boss loves you. You love your duties: they are exciting and keep you engaged. You love your coworkers.
But bosses themselves leave and their replacement more than likely will not love you nearly as much. Your BFF at work can leave and be replaced by someone who soon becomes the fly in your at-work ointment.
Layoffs also can seemingly come out of nowhere. Yes, rumors often start flying weeks or months before layoffs are announced, but some employers are really good at keepingthis information on the QT, surprising most everyone. In fact, some HR experts encourage employers to keep looming layoffs a secret.
- If you want to move ahead in your career, you often have to find another job.
Staying in a job you love often means you become complacent, even lazy. You’re not eager to learn new skills. Yet if you want to advance quickly, you’re going to have to learn new skills and stay abreast of changes in your field.
Some people do this as a matter of course, but many others need a “push,” and a new job often is just the push needed. And, while you don’t want to job hop too much, especially as you reach your late-20s, moving to a new position regularly often means you’ll progress up the career ladder more quickly.
- You’ll keep your job search and interviewing skills sharp.
Just because you go on a job interview, doesn’t mean you have to accept the job if it’s offered. But applying for jobs, participating in interviews, negotiating job offers, etc. keeps your job-search skills sharp.
In addition, as mentioned above, you may find your next perfect job, one that probably gives you a raise and helps you learn valuable skills.
- You’ll start clarifying what it is you want out of a job/career.
Interviewing and meeting people in other companies, hearing about what they do and what they can offer you helps you keep abreast of what’s going on in your industry, and how your professional peers and possible supervisors believe it’s evolving. You can start seeing how you might be able to advance within it, etc.
In a nutshell, always being on the job hunt means you’ll better be able to stay true to your career goals.
Still, the best reason to always be on the search for your next position is the first one on our list: things can always change quickly. And, because it’s best to find your next job while you still have your current one, regularly applying for new jobs and going on interviews means you’ll find your next position while still happy in your current one. You won’t be desperate and you’ll be able to turn down offers that don’t match your needs.
Take a look at our current opportunities and if one or more interest you, follow application instructions or contact the Helpmates branch nearest you.
