"I hate my job, but I’m just too busy working at it to get a new one..."

How many times can you think of that you’ve heard a friend, family member, partner or colleague bang on about how much they hate their job? They hate their office, don’t get paid enough, hate the travelling, their boss is weak or provides no direction or their work life balance is quite simply shot to bits. We’ve all heard it, (and me more than most!) but so frequently people choose not to do anything about it. Let’s face it, it’s far easier to complain about your situation than do something about it? We all have a grumble about our jobs now and then, that’s life. But if it’s the case this is happening on anything more than a bi weekly basis you probably need to do something about it. If not for your own sanity then for the sake of your friend down the pub, your partner over the dinner table, or mum / dad at the other end of the phone who are probably pretty sick to the back teeth of you complaining about your situation whilst still doing nothing about it!

The primary reason people claim they haven’t started looking for a new job is that they claim they simply don’t have time. They are working long hours, travelling to and from work or when they get home they are so drained that they simply don’t have the energy to stare at a screen for a further hour and a half. Look, I get it. I understand where these people are coming from but unfortunately it’s a necessary process when trying to change your career. Your Fairy Job Mother isn’t going to suddenly fly down from a cloud, wave her magic wand and bless you with a new job, an extra four grand on your salary and sort out your work life balance. You need to dedicate time to doing this as nothing will change until you do.

So, how do you go about doing this when you’re so busy you may ask? You’ve got no spare time right? Well, it’ll come as no surprise that it’s down to time management.

Firstly, make sure on a DAILY basis you put time aside to look for a job, it’s really important. Firstly, with so many job portals and advertising mediums out there, if you don’t keep on top of browsing it becomes really easy to miss jobs that might be suitable, primarily down to the sheer volume out there. Additionally, the early bird does catch the worm and it is (in my humble opinion!) better to be at the front end of a recruitment process rather than staggering in at the end as a late entry when the hiring or HR manager is starting to fade from seeing so many CVs. What time you put aside is up to you but try and make it the same time every day so you don’t miss anything. This can be travelling on your way to and from work, as soon as you get home or on your laptop when your partner is watching his/her daily diet of soap operas. (My personal favourite…) When you do it is entirely up to you, just make sure you dedicate this time. You can also grab the odd minute in a lift, in a coffee queue or sitting on the toilet!

If you do plan on browsing and applying for jobs on the move it’s a really good idea to keep a copy of your CV on your mobile device of choice be it an ipad, tablet or phone. All of these devices can carry such files (just keeping your actual CV editing to a proper PC to make sure the formatting is good!) and you can apply to that perfect job whilst standing in the morning queue at Costa. It’s also a good idea to share the fact you’re job seeking with your friends and family. Let them know you’ve stop complaining about your situation and are doing something about it. Let them know what sort of thing you’re looking to do and ask them if they can keep an eye out on your behalf. You never know, your retired mum or bored husband might spend some time applying for things on your behalf providing they have a good understanding of what you’re looking for and a copy of your CV.

In addition to your close friends and family you can of course register with a specialist recruitment agency such as Meraki Talent who will look for something on your behalf. A recruitment consultant who is a specialist in your area can pass you appointments which he/she believes may be of interest and benefit to you. The key here is to make sure you come back on job specs, e mails and calls. Don’t worry, we know you work during the day, it’s completely fine to call us back before/after work and over lunch. We understand! It’s our job!

Hopefully you’re not in that situation and you love your job and company. If you’re not, you know what to do. Rip off that plaster and do something about it. People regularly quote in interview “Oh yea, I’m really great at time management”. Really? Well prove it…