(By Dan Simmons)
(Editor’s note: This is the second part in Dan’s “The Difference Between Wishing For and Preparing For a Better Job” series. The third and final installment in the series will be published on this blog.)
Preparing for a better job and the subsequent advancement of your career involves many considerations. In my previous article, I asked the question, “Are you really a top candidate?” In this article, I’m asking, “If a great job was far away, would you be able to take it?”
As usual, there are a number of helpful questions that will allow you to better assess your situation and how prepared you are to make a move for greener pastures. These questions address the subjects of geography, relocation, and travel and the role they play in your quest for finding a better job and how they are affecting your job search.
Consider the following aspects of that potential quest:
- Can you sell your home profitably, or are you willing to take the loss to get what you want in a job?
- How would those who live with you feel about moving away in the next six months?
- Is there a target geography that would be a great move?
- Don’t say anywhere will be “just fine.” I have never met anyone who would be similarly happy in rural Arkansas and suburban Minneapolis. Consider both culture and climate.
- Be realistic: 16-year old girls seldom like to move. If your spouse earns more than you do, is moving wise?
- How much overnight travel fits into your (your family’s) lifestyle? How does this compare with the average travel in the job you want? If there’s a difference, then you need to revise your expectations.
These are tough questions, but questions that need to be asked and more importantly, need to be answered. One of the big reasons people can’t take advantage of a great opportunity is because they’re not prepared to take advantage of it.
Geography, relocation, and travel are all serious considerations and should be addressed in a fashion that allows you to adequately prepare for that great opportunity when it presents itself.
Daniel C. Simmons is a Certified Personnel Consultant who has been recruiting since 1991. Dan has won over twenty awards in the last decade with the Top Echelon Network, America’s leading placement network including Placer of the Year in 2009 & 2010.
Frequently Dan also is a recruiter trainer and has been featured at various Top Echelon Conventions and online as a speaker for various webinars. He has also been published in The Fordyce Letter the recruiting industry’s #1 magazine.
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