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When is the right time to start the search for your next role?

Steve Ignatov, Founder/Director, SCI Consulting

I have been researching this topic for the best part of the last year and talked to a large number of active and passive candidates in New Zealand and overseas in the process. The questions I asked during my research were:

When do you start your search for a new role?

and

Would you be interested in exploring alternative career options even if you are entirely happy with your current role?

Although I was expecting that most people would not mind being contacted about a potentially suitable career opportunity I was genuinely surprised that all candidates (just over 150 in total) replied that they would be interested in exploring alternative career options even if they are entirely happy with their current role. Not a single respondent said they would not consider an alternative role because they are happy with their current role. (More than 60% of the respondents were indeed ‘entirely happy’ with their current roles at the time they were asked the above questions.)

I think these results reflect the changes in the job market and particularly the changing attitudes of employees, not only in New Zealand but internationally. The sense of job security has all but disappeared and most professionals feel they need to constantly keep up to date with job opportunities, salary levels and other trends in the market.

While most candidates would not start looking for a new opportunity actively on their first day in a new role the majority of candidates seem to be open to the idea of exploring alternative opportunities that are presented to them, pretty much as soon as they have started their new role.

The nature of today’s job market and the volatility of the Economy have created the necessity for candidates to keep a close eye on alternative job opportunities at all times. The new ‘dynamic’ job market brings enormous challenges for employers as well, especially as we are starting to move back towards a candidate short market. (Most successful CA firms that are in expansion mode in New Zealand are already finding it difficult to source the talent they need to sustain their growth.)

New Zealand, like most developed countries around the world, is expected to experience severe candidate shortages as baby boomers are starting to exit the job market in big numbers. Just like candidates, employers operating in such an environment should have a pro-active approach and hunt for talent constantly.

So when is the right time to start your job search? I believe in today’s market most candidates are passive participants in the job market until they decide to apply for a specific role of interest. Learning how to behave as a passive candidate in the job market is even more important than learning how to be an active candidate.

As one of the respondents in our survey commented ‘great opportunities come knocking on your door when you least expect them’. But you need to be prepared to recognise them when they come your way. Keeping in touch with a small number of carefully selected professional recruiters and search specialists, networking (face-to-face and through social media) and staying up to date with developments in your profession/industry are key requirements to be a successful passive candidate.

Last but not least most forward looking employers in New Zealand have realised the numerous advantages of tapping in to the passive candidate market. They often go to this market (mostly through executive recruitment & search firms) to identify and recruit the managerial professionals their organisations need to be at the forefront of their industry.

As the talent shortages are expected to start biting again soon on a much larger scale than what we were experiencing before the downturn, proactive employers will be leading the upsurge in our economy.
Candidates who anticipate and are prepared for their next career move will be of particular interest to these organisations.

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Take charge of your job search. Gain access to new career opportunities in the New Zealand job market by getting exclusive introductions for roles that are not advertised. Avoid transactional recruiting and make your application stand out. Call SCI on 09 962 5687 for a confidential chat today.

www.scirecruitment.co.nz