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Half of Workers Haven't Sought New Jobs in Five Years

You really need a strategy to find a job in today's market - Are you ready?

Half of Workers Haven’t Sought New Jobs in Five Years

By In Blog On April 22, 2014


According to a recent survey run by the temp worker and accounting staffing agency, Accountemps, 48% of the respondents said that they had not pursued a new job in 5 years and 30% said they hadn’t sought a new job in 10 years!  The survey was based on responses from 400 people, 18 years old and older, who work in an office environment.  The question?

“How long has it been since you last looked for a new job?”

The “average” length of time overall was 6 years!  At the same time 19% of respondents said they plan on seeking new employment in the coming year and of those, 70% said they thought it would be at least, challenging.   There’s even a cool info-graphic  with all of the responses broken down by category / question.

The rest of the article about the survey goes on to include a useless quote from the author of one of those “for Dummies” books (though I’m not sure I’d want the “dummies” guide if I was looking for a job) and there’s a two column table with the “in’s” and “outs” of looking for a job in today’s market.  Neither of these things seem particularly helpful.

The survey itself is worth noting.  Think about it.  When was the last time you looked for a job or went on a job interview?  Everyone goes on and on about resumes overlooking the fact that resumes are a very small part of what gets someone a job.  The truth is, today’s market is different.  For one, it’s really competitive – there are a lot of qualified people competing for jobs.  It’s also fast and information is readily available to both job seekers and hiring managers.  How do you deal with this?  And, more importantly, how does “today’s market” change hiring manager’s expectations?

To be successful today means being precise.  It is more important now than at any time previously to demonstrate that you know who you are contacting and how you can help, specifically.  Not knowing is lazy.  That means understanding your value proposition, crafting a resume that speaks to specific needs, identifying exactly which hiring managers to contact and demonstrating how you can help.  Being able to put all of that together is not something most people are going to be able to do without some preparation or practice.

Interestingly, it’s usually my most senior, experienced and smart candidates who recognize this the most and proactively want to work with me to prepare themselves ahead of sending out resumes or going on interviews.  They know that “practice makes perfect” and they know who practices.  They also know that every opportunity is valuable and worth the effort to prepare.

If you’re one of the 19% who will be seeking a new job this year, are you ready?

Kurt Schmidt is the author of “Modern Job Search” and the President and Owner of Capto Systems, an executive search firm focused on supply chain and strategic sourcing jobs in manufacturing and energy. He’s also an aspiring photographer and traveler.

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