Career Change Considerations: Active - Passive Search, Loyality, and Needed Research →
This article is also included in CEM LinkedIn Articles Section as well as on LinkedIn on my newsletter site
Question: Why do passive job seekers have an advantage over companies looking to hire?
Answer: Fear of making a hiring mistake is the driving force behind this practice. It leads to some employers judging job applicants by their employment status, although it has nothing to do with their talent or ability. It seems clear that part of what drives this fear is that the hiring manager does not trust their instincts.
Good jobs are often filled by the HR department or a recruiter asking someone employed if they would consider a change or finding a candidate that looks like a great match on LinkedIn, even though they are used to reaching out to them to consider the job. (Strong hint here, keep your profile current)
The employer assumes in these cases that they don’t need to worry about why the candidate left their last job and that the person must have value since they have a job. The employer puts themselves in a position of a buyer. They may overpay and find they don’t have all the necessary facts. A potential employee must present their case as part of a seller. They still decide on whether to take the job, but they also have to explain why they should get the job, and in the case of a company approaching a currently employed person, they have already taken the first step in the “buying” process.
These folks are called "passive candidates." They are only candidates for a job once someone from the employer reaches them.
Why would any employer prefer someone a recruiter finds on LinkedIn -- someone who may never have heard of your company -- to someone who has invested time and energy in contacting you to inquire about employment?
These issues bring the subject of loyalty into some focus. For example, will the employee a company steals or entices to leave their current employer be loyal to them? For example, would a potential employee who researched the market and determined that his best fit might be with a particular company is more dedicated to it because of the work it took to find that job?
Do you know if hiring ethics belongs in this discussion? I am reminded of a friend who told me he was hired away from another company around 1950. He was working for a company that sold to stores in San Francisco. He was well known, and the more significant competitor had been impressed by his work. Things changed for him at his company and he approached the leading competitor and was taken to the company president in his interview. My friend had taken a lot of their business and it was obvious that he would be a valuable new hire. The President saw it that way and hired my friend under a particular condition. The new hire was not allowed to call on any accounts, not just his own but any accounts in the area, for one year and was required to work in the warehouse. The reason was that the hiring company wanted to avoid exploiting their competitor. Non-compete clauses were not used at that time in this area and field, but company ethics, when practiced, were all that was needed. My friend stayed loyal to this company and their President throughout his career from that point forward.
Why are there more jobs than applicants and what really changed? →
Finding a job is an ongoing process. People change jobs on average 12 times during a career. So job seekers, job hunters, and even the employees need to understand how to make their work stand out and where the next job could be.
Things have changed for the employer and the applicant regarding how they look for jobs. The significant change is the applicants who have become much more decerning and don’t want to settle.
“If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all heart matters, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on.”
―Steve Jobs
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."
—Confucius
One example can be found in looking at food service jobs. It has only been about two years since large fast-food chains offered to start wages of $7.50 an hour. Some even had assistant managers at under $10.00 per hour. Today many chains pay $14.50 and $15.00 per hour and have added benefits. When the industry needs to double the wages and benefits offered in this short time, it shouldn’t be surprising that potential workers might have some resentment, especially when they often can do better than the new wage offered. Workers just aren’t settling and may not find their love but want to find one they like better.
Employers don’t want to settle either as they try to find good fits for their jobs, and offering better wages and benefits is expected to help solve the problems, but they have been slow to change their perception of what a good employee might be.
Potential applicants still have to get their resumes through the scanners, which continue to use their algorithms to weed out a lot of applications. Unless applicants understand how the algorithms work and what keywords they need to use, their resumes won’t even be seen for a job they might be well qualified for.
If you are looking for a career change are Startup Jobs Worth It? →
Working in a startup can offer you one of the best chances of rapid personal growth if the company succeeds. Moreover, the learning opportunities at a startup could benefit you throughout your career. However, it seems clear that at some point, the experience of successfully working with a startup has future value in the job market and will help you stand out from the competition.
Startups place loads of responsibility on their employees because they usually help with everything outside a rigid and established job description where opportunities for learning and growth are plentiful. Owners and employees work together, often with no middle management, and you can learn from the sources. The hours will likely be extended and the pay low, but when you leave the company, you may stand out as a real expert if the work fits your overall resume direction.
The risk for these career choices is accurate, as shown by the "Small Business Administration (SBA) report in 2019 that showed the failure rate of startups was around 90%. The research concludes that 21.5% of startups fail in the first year, 30% in the second year, 50% in the fifth year, and 70% in their 10th year."
Research with the startup business owners found that reasons for failure included money running out, being in the wrong market, a lack of research, bad partnerships, ineffective marketing, and not being an expert in the industry—all reasons why startups are just risky.
Job Seeking candidates I have worked with sometimes tell me about these opportunities and think they are "better than nothing.” They have long been looking for a good career fit and are mentally exhausted. In those situations, their motives are not helping them make the right decision, but the potential employer who would hire them likely sees that also, and the employer’s motives might not be right either. Perhaps in those cases, they are just looking for cheap help.
If the startup fails, some or all the employees may find the experience on their resume will not be a plus.
Job Candidates who feel desperate may only make things worse in the long run by jumping into a job that is a considerable risk or from which the work is outside their current career focus. It is always better instead to help them find a job fit that will last, build on their skill set and enable them to recover from their challenges.
#startupjobs #startups #linkedin #career #jobs #jobseekers
How many jobs will today's college graduate have over their lifetime? →
The average person changes jobs 12 times in their lifetime, according to the latest available public survey data (2019).
The average employee stays with their employer for 4.1 years as of January 2020.
However, this number varies slightly between women (3.9 years) and men (4.3 years).
Men hold 12.5 jobs in their lifetime, while women have 12.1 jobs.
