How To Get A Job - The Best Time To Find A Job

Now, it's logical to think that the best time to start job hunting is when you've decided to quit your current job... and definitely after you've ALREADY quit, or been given your marching orders. But in terms of getting the best possible job for YOU, the best time to start looking is in neither circumstance.

Indeed, the best time for you to look for a job is when the organization you want to work for has decided it needs to employ someone for the job you want.

Let me also that we're not talking about the time period during which the organization you want to work for is actively looking for potential employees. The time we're talking about happens before that - it's at the instant that the relevant decision makers have agreed to hire someone.

Why is this time ideal for YOU? Because if you can present yourself as the ideal person for the job when the company has just decided to hire someone for that job... they'll probably hire you! After all, this saves the company recruitment fees, delays and the frustration of the recruitment process while they try to find someone to hire. If you don't get hired... then it's probably only due to internal political reasons... or if you ask for a salary that the company regards as too high.

But, of course, if you've researched the organization and prepared yourself for the role... presumably you would only present yourself for the job if you understood the lay of the political land and knew what salary range would likely be accepted.

Okay, so if the best time to look for a job is when the company you want to work for has just decided it needs to hire... how do you KNOW that the company you want to work for has decided to hire? In fact, how do you know that this is the company you want to work for?

Well, you'll need to lay the groundwork for your job search. To start with, you'll need to decide on the company - or at least the industry - you want to work for. This is a matter of working out what you're interested in and what you want to do - or, as I often urge, what you want to learn - and then figuring out what company or companies are likely to provide that "doing" or "learning" experience.

So... if, for instance, project management with a software company piqued your interest, you might do a little research to identify all the software companies that might be suitable employers.

Once you have a list of companies that interest you, your next step is to find out as much as you can about those companies and keep tabs on both them and the industry, market and environment in which they operate. Ideally, you will also place yourself in a situation where you can get to know the key people who work in these companies. The key people being those who are most likely to hire you or influence the decision to hire you. This may be a matter of attending industry events or even "cold calling" such individuals to ask if they would give you some advice on the industry in return for a coffee or lunch. The main thing is to keep in touch. And remember, this is not a one-way relationship where they give and you take: you need to offer something of value to them to keep them interested in you.

Once you know what a given company is all about, and you know the key people who work there, all you need to do now is keep tabs on what happens with the company. You're interested in events and circumstances that may give rise to a job opportunity. For example, the resignation of a project manager... the launch of a new product... the company entering a new market... And once you learn of such an opportunity, don't hesitate to get in touch with the key decision maker(s) and confirm that there is, or is likely to be, a job opportunity. If so, you can then present yourself as the ideal person for the job.

Of course, use your judgment about what to do when you learn of a new development or potential job opportunity... but none of this is all that hard, is it?

This approach to getting a job may not necessarily work if you desperately need a job straight away. A given company may be hiring now... or it may not be hiring for several weeks, months or even years. If that's the case, I would encourage you to hit the job boards and follow up every possible lead to find a job. But if you have some time up your sleeve, and are determined to get your dream job, this really is the approach to take. All it takes is a little research, networking and patience... and you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.