Managing a Job Search While Currently Employed

By Jamin Rosenfeld 

job, jobs, career

Although the national unemployment rate is closing in on 10%, it is not just those who are in transition that are seeking new employment options. There are a number of us out there who are either under employed on in a current position that offers very limited, if any future growth potential.

For those of us who fall into that second category, let's call ourselves willing transitioners, it can be very difficult to try to conduct a job search while maintaining the responsibilities of a full time position and keeping a sense of sanity in your home life. It can be quite a challenge to meet all the demands of both work and home life.

The willing transitioners need to follow a few simple guidelines to effectively conduct our searches.

1) Get your spouse / significant other on board

Sit them down and explain to them that you are starting a job search and in order for it to be effective it will require a large portion on your home time. Make them aware that you are doing this for the "both of us" and that getting a new position with a fantastic company will lead to a happier and hopefully wealthier you.

2) Manage your time effectively

Don't waste time chasing postings on job boards. To use an old analogy, this is like finding a needle in a haystack. Most of the postings are probably not legitimate opportunities but companies trying to get their "feelers" out on the job market. For the few that are legitimate postings you're competing against hundreds of less savvy job seekers who have inundated the hiring manager with resumes. Postings on sites such as LinkedIn are more concrete. If you find a perfect posting you have a much better shot at getting an interview if you try to network your way into the position. LinkedIn is great for this and there are many articles written on the subject. The key word here is networking.

3) Manage your networking activities effectively

Although face to face networking meetings are always best, the power is in the numbers. When you are working full time it may be hard to leave the office for daily meetings, especially if your employer is not into the personal and career development philosophy. Try to schedule phone conversations over lunch and after work. These can be quite effective if you have a well thought out plan and agenda. If you can schedule a meeting with a person of influence, by all means call off of work, make up a dentist appointment, due whatever it takes to get to the meeting. After all this is a challenge and we must pull all the aces out of the deck to be successful.

4) Stay Positive

Fight the emotional roller coaster. Don't let yourself get caught up in the scenarios of your current position that are driving the job search. Keep working hard and building your professional network and good things will start to develop.