The Hidden Benefits of Searching for Job Opportunities While Still Employed

You might have asked yourself: “Why should I look for a job now when I already have one?” 

The thought of searching for a new job can seem like a redundant task. 

However, this is often the reason why people feel locked into a single role and miss out on developing a fulfilling career. The thought of leaving their current environment in exchange for a new one can be enough stress for some people that they don’t even bother looking. 

If you are keeping up-to-date though, you are in a position to take advantage of new and exciting opportunities.

As we’ll show, the benefits greatly outweigh the short-term pain of keeping up-to date in your industry. To help with motivation, we’ve outlined the biggest benefits of keeping up-to-date with job-seeking while balancing your work-life schedule:

You Gain industry insight

Industries change constantly. You get significant advantages by keeping abreast of industry trends; you also avoid the pain of getting left behind. To make informed career moves, it is a good idea to keep up-to-date on the job market in your industry as well as similar industries where your skills and qualifications are relevant.

Researching the job market will give you an accurate understanding of your current market value. Since you are in-the-know, you could be in a position to negotiate a pay-rise or to expand your current role.

As you gain experience and develop more skills you become a valuable asset within your organisation. Great employers are always looking for people who are ahead of the curve and able to bring new value to the organisation. 

If you understand the job market and have sufficient experience you are in a position to talk with your employer about new opportunities for yourself and the company. This discussion should create a win-win scenario with your employer. Given your position, knowledge and skills you are in a great position to ask for new challenges and potentially a pay-rise. For the employer, they get an innovative employee who is able to create value in a new avenue of the business.

On the other hand, if you know that your job is becoming obsolete, you will be in the best position to find opportunities within your current industry or a neighboring one where your skills are relevant and valuable.

The best workers adapt their skills to fit the environment and make learning a habit. Industry changes and new technologies create just as many opportunities as problems, this means if you are up-to-date you can quickly identify areas where your skill, experience and knowledge fits perfectly a new environment and you will be all the better for it.  

The shortage of similar positions can also make you an expert in an emerging job market. For example, studying one unit of database programming at university, while irrelevant in a business degree, could present a huge opportunity if your role current role is made redundant. If you have another skill that is in demand, you can apply for another position internally or develop a new skill set quickly if needed. Regardless of the situation, you will be in the best position if you are up-to-date.

 Some questions to keep in mind while gaining information in your industry are:

•         What is the general scope of remuneration for your experience level?
•         What other skills and knowledge do I have?
•         How frequently do new positions become available?
•         Which is more common in the industry – full time, part time or contract?

You can plan ahead for something better:

There is always room for dreaming big when it comes to a career, if you’re not where you want to be now, that’s OK because it gives you something to work toward. It can be hard to think of another job as you may be comfortable where you are now, but comfortable is not a term successful people use. 

Thinking ahead to where you want to be and how you’re going to get there puts you at an advantage over your colleagues. Scoping your potential next big move could be the best exercise you have undertaken.

This does not mean you have to stress out constantly looking for jobs. Browsing advertisements each week or month is a great start and gives you a fantastic context. Before sending resume out it is a good idea to have some informational interviews with people in the area you are looking to get into. 

When talking to recruiters be very careful to explicitly state that you want your interest to remain completely confidential and not be placed into a database without your consent. Overall, consider planning ahead, networking, and spending time thinking of what your next job could potentially be.

You can gain the most out of networking:

Networking is one of the strongest factors in deciding who gets the next available job. Knowing the right people could get you through doors that would otherwise be closed to you. 

Aim toward increasing your network. This could mean requesting that your contacts keep their eyes open for job opportunities as they arise. Or attending conferences, workshops and other professional events as well as buying a few coffees for people in order to build your network. Remember, people would rather hire those who they know rather than those they don’t know.

Hopefully these tips will allow you to move away from the comfortable ‘steady as you go’ space that you have fallen into and allow you to expand your network, look beyond your current position, and plan ahead for what job opportunities lie out there. Who knows, your dream job could be around the corner!

Taking the time to scope out other opportunities can have a number of benefits. The main benefit is that it could land you in something new! But by using the above steps as a guideline, you can gain insight into potential opportunities in order to make informed decisions about your career.

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