A basic principle of career planning is to be prepared for the unexpected. Sometimes looking for a new job will be up to you, and other times you will have no choice. Looking for a job is a job in itself and to be successful—that is finding the job that is right for you—you have to be as organized, energetic, diligent, and hardworking as you would be in any job you have ever had.
WHEN TO THINK ABOUT LEAVING
There are two obvious reasons for leaving a job. The first is when you have been terminated. The second is when you have been offered a position that is going to take you closer to your long-term career goal.
In addition to the obvious, there are two less obvious reasons to leave a job. One is once you have begun to sense that your job is in jeopardy and prudence dictates that you jump before you are pushed. The other is when you have advanced as far as you can in your present position and there is no more room for growth.
HOW TO TELL WHEN YOUR JOB IS IN JEOPARDY
You can typically sense ahead of time if your company may be preparing to let you go. Here are some key signs to look for:
1. Consultants: The sudden appearance of consultants often means that heads are going to roll. Often the consultants' findings reflect the preconceived opinions of management. If consultants are being brought in, find out who in management is bringing them in, and try to analyze whether or not you are in favor with them.
2. Mergers: Regardless of comments from old and new management that "no one will be replaced," mergers and acquisitions could mean trouble for you, depending on how the merger has been structured and how you are positioned in your company. In most cases, it is the people who work for the smaller firm and the firm that was acquired whose jobs are in the most jeopardy, particularly if there is a duplication of jobs.
3. Silent treatment: Even though they may not do it consciously, bosses who are about to fire someone will make it a point to avoid that person.
4. Lack of special assignments: Not getting special assignments you have been accustomed to getting is one of the most reliable signs that your job is in jeopardy. Accountants who are about to be fired are almost never asked to do special work prior to termination and obviously are not alerted to future assignments.
5. No criticism: When bosses who have made it a practice to criticize you suddenly stop the criticism, it may well mean that they have made up their minds that such criticism is a waste of time.
6. Being left behind: When those around you and below you are moving up and you are standing still, you can pretty much assume that you do not figure in your firm's long-range plans.
7. Less responsibility: When functions you have been handling routinely are transferred to someone else, do not be misled into thinking that the firm believes you have been working too hard. It may be a sign that they are thinking of replacing you but are waiting until they can locate and train the replacement.
8. Business slump: When business starts going bad, nobody's job is guaranteed. Your move, in the event business is bad and does not look as if it is going to get better, is to analyze how critical your job is to the operation. Be particularly concerned if you are a relative newcomer.
OTHER REASONS FOR LOOKING ELSEWHERE
Even when your job is not in jeopardy, there are still some situations in which your long-term career interests will be better served by looking elsewhere. Here are the key situations:
1. You are dead-ended: Most of the time, if you are honest with yourself, you can gauge your career prospects with your current firm. The simplest way to do this is to look at the positions above you, think about the people who are holding these positions, and ask yourself if someone with your background, credentials, and personal qualities would make a likely candidate.
2. Your firm is not moving forward: If your firm is not getting ahead, you are not likely to get ahead either. The question, though, is why is the firm not doing better? Is it progressive enough? Has top management lost its touch with the marketplace? Has the firm's specialty lost its luster?
You are the only person who can determine whether your best interests will be served by staying in your current position or by looking elsewhere. However, if you're going to make a move, do it on the basis of your timing and your career goals, and not the fact that there may be just another job out there for you.
JOB HUNTING: SOME BASIC CONSIDERATIONS
The most important thing to bear in mind is that looking for a job may be the hardest job you will ever have. To be successful—to get the kind of accounting job you truly want—you cannot sit and wait for the job to find you, you have to find the job and then engineer a campaign to capture it. Above all, you must never forget that being qualified for a job is not enough to guarantee you the position. It is not necessarily the most qualified person who is hired, it is the person who is able to convince the person doing the hiring that he or she is the best person for the job.
Your approach to finding a job should be well organized. Whether you are working or not, you must still set aside a certain part of the week for your job search campaign. Many accountants have the mistaken belief that looking for jobs is mainly a matter of replying to a few postings, sending out a few emails, and then sitting back and waiting for job interviews to materialize.
It does not work like that. Job hunting involves an enormous amount of digging, calling, and planning. If you are not working, you could be spending as many as 25 hours/week on your job hunt. If you are working, the very least you should be willing to spend on your job hunt is 10 hours/week.
You should be writing emails, talking to other accountants, researching companies that might interview you, and most important, talking to people you know in order to find job leads. All of this is part of an organized job search routine. The tighter the system you devise to handle these tasks, the more successful your search is likely to be.
Apart from being well organized, there are a number of basic considerations in looking for a job:
1. Keep up your appearance: Looking for a job can be a stressful situation and if you are not careful, your appearance will suffer. As important as appearance is to your career success when you're working, it is doubly important when you are looking for work. Make sure whatever clothes you wear to interviews bring out the best in you.
2. Do not keep your job hunt a secret: The only time you should ever keep your job search a secret is if you are still working. Keep in mind that of all the sources of job leads, none is more fruitful than your friends and business contacts. Also, do not forget to contact former employers, if you left under good circumstances. They could manufacture a good job for you or recommend you to a colleague at another company.
3. Be wary of blind ads: If you are still working and looking for a job, be very careful about so-called "blind" ads—ads that do not reveal the company name. True, some appealing-looking jobs are often advertised in blind ads, but consider the risk. You have no idea who is getting your response. In the event the person who receives your letter knows your firm or your boss, you could find yourself without a job.
4. Keep a lot of things going: You are only looking for one job, but you improve the odds of getting a good job if you have extra irons in the fire. Whatever you do, do not make the mistake of assuming a particular job is in the bag before you have actually been hired.
CONCLUSION
It is called a job “hunt” for a reason. Unless you are already being offered a position from another company, generally, you can expect to spend months looking for a job that meets both your financial needs and requirements for personal career satisfaction. This is not to dissuade you from making a job move, but to make sure you are making the move for the right reason(s) and giving you a heads up on the preparation required, if you do decide to make the move.
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