How to Decide If Your Job Search Should Be "Active" or "Passive"

Let's face the facts. Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you’ve probably heard that the job market is hotter than it has been in the last 50 years. There's no denying that it can be a good time to be a job seeker. Just take a look at these numbers from the ADP Jobs Report October 2018:

-ADP on Wednesday reported 227,000 new private-sector jobs in October. Economists polled by Econoday had expected 178,000 new jobs. Hiring didn't change much, at 5.68 million hires; the hiring rate was unchanged at 3.8%

-Big picture: The American employment picture continues to appear strong, with the official U.S. government report on payrolls due Friday. Economists polled by MarketWatch expect the Labor Department to report 202,000 new jobs in October and a 3.7% unemployment report.

The numbers seem to lead us down a really good road if it’s time to tell your boss adios.

But how do you know if you should be seeking out a new role: a) actively, by which I mean your job has become to find a new job, or b) passively, meaning you're open to hearing from recruiters, maybe browsing opportunities as they come across your feed, or just keeping your resume up-to-date?

Here's how to decide if your job search should be active or passive:

1)     If you wake up EVERY SINGLE DAY dreading going to work, you should probably be very active in finding a new job, pronto. Life is too short to be miserable every day. We spend too many waking hours at work to continue on mindlessly ad nauseum.

With that being said, I don’t recommend quitting your job without having a new opportunity lined up, if you can help it. You should also take a deep look at why you dread going to work every day. If you’re just lazy, well, good luck finding a job where you can be lazy. If it’s more than that, do as much research as you can prior to making a job change to ensure you aren’t going from a bad situation to a worse one.

2)     If you’re happy for the most part, but want to make more money, or have just a couple things that could be better, you’re probably a passive seeker. This is a good time to have discussions with your leadership about those things you aren’t completely satisfied about. After all, they are hopefully well aware of the market conditions right now. They’d rather find ways to retain you instead of lose you, most likely. Depending on what comes out of that discussion, it may be time to update the resume and become a little bit more active. You also might want to find a recruiter who specializes in your line of work, get to know them, and tell them what your ideal situation is. After all, they’re financially incentivized to find good candidates for their clients.

3) If you've decided you're an active candidate, then look into The Muse, which is one of my favorite resources on everything job-related you can think of. You should also look at updating your resume, and it doesn't hurt to spruce up that LinkedIn Profile too. If you've decided you're a passive candidate, the following steps STILL APPLY. Know why? You don't want to waste any time when that perfect opportunity presents itself.

If you still aren’t sure where to start with all of this, you aren’t alone. The process can be quite daunting and intimidating. That's where I come in. I help cut through the noise and point you towards action steps to change your career and your future. I’m happy to schedule a consultation at your convenience to see what the best solution for your individual situation might be. Feel free to email me and we can set up a time to chat. Best wishes on your job search, and thanks for reading!