Time to Get Back in the Career Game … Right Now – Take your Shot!

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
Wayne Gretzky

Some very interesting news was reported over the past few days – news that clearly indicates that the time is now to jump back in and reengage your search for a new job or career (if you haven’t already). To highlight:

• In May 2010, for the first time in over 15-months, the number of people who quit a job beat the number of those laid off. This is a clear indicator that there is confidence among those in the job market and that there are opportunities. Generally when one quits, they do to a new job. Over 2 million people quit – now that’s a lot of change!

• The US Department of Labor reported that job opportunities in the month of April were the highest since December of 2008. The number of jobs advertised at the end of April rose to 3.1 million from 2.8 million in March, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Job opportunities advertised were largely in the private sector, and not government or public sector like we saw earlier when the Census jobs hit. Government job opening actually decreased by 36,000.

• Candidates per job opening dropped from 5.4 to 5.0. This occurs when there are more job opportunities and fewer looking for a job – a good positive sign.

What does this tell us?

The wait is over. There is more confidence among business leaders than anytime in the recent past. Employers are beginning to hire in many markets. In our own Region, we are seeing job postings week over week exceeding last year by 80 – 100%.

What does this mean? Time to get off the sidelines – reengage in your career.

I have five questions for you to think about and help you identify if and how ready you are for a change.

• Are you simply working for a paycheck, or are you energized by your career? 0 Yes 0 No

• Do you look at others and wish you had their job? 0 Yes 0 No

• Do you have the “Monday Morning Blues” and wish you didn’t have to go to work? 0Yes 0 No

• Do you often question your ability and your purpose in work? 0 Yes 0 No

• Do you feel you are contributing to your future or just working? 0 Yes 0 No

If you answered yes to two questions, you are ready for a change in the direction of your career and certainly your job. Answered yes to three --- you need to engage now and begin. Answered four or five – you are disconnected from your career life and likely this is impacting other parts of your life as well. You must move on or make a radical change in the manner in which you work.

What to do next?

It’s so easy to say just move on …. but how and what do you do? Three critical steps:

• Identify your ideal career and job – this is absolutely critical before you do anything else.

• Develop your contact and/or target list – begin networking now. Seventy percent of jobs are found through networking.

• Commit to action --- simply thinking about change won’t work – you need a plan of accountability. With my clients, I use the Next-Act ActionNow! program which provides clear and measurable daily and weekly actions to drive results and progress. Use your own process, but be accountable. Write down your actions and then go back and measure what you did. Get someone to buddy up with and hold each other accountable.

Ready for a change? It is time. Do it now! Ride the wave! Good luck!