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

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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.

When Making a Career Change should you Consider Startup Jobs →

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Career changes and job seekers face challenging decisions in today’s evolving world. So what about Startup Companies? They might be an option, but is it the right option?

• What would lead you to accept a job at a startup?

• What would your main concerns be about working for a new and small employer?

• What factors should people consider before making a move to a startup?

The factors influencing these questions can be positive and negative and must be carefully considered.

In recent years some markets have offered attractive startup markets. For example, the Utah Tech Startup Incubator is committed to turning new technologies and ideas into companies. They say they provide resources to foster the growth of entrepreneurial start-up companies and early-stage technology research projects.

As a career development coach and advisor, I have often worked with job seekers to review these opportunities' pros and cons.

Working in a startup can offer you the best chances of rapid personal growth if the start-up succeeds and your role fits your career objectives. Moreover, the learning opportunities at a startup could benefit you throughout your career.

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 startups are 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, and the employers’ motives may not be right in either. Perhaps in those cases, they are just looking for cheap help.

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 and enable them to recover from their challenges.

You have to find your own job →

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“If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, 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."

—Confucius

Why did Steve Jobs say this? It does make a difference in the outcome if you expect others to find you a job. Will you likely get the job you love if you let others see it for you?

Often I am asked as a Career Development coach to help someone find a job. The problem is sometimes the person asking means will I find them a job. Steve Jobs advises those looking for an appointment to “not settle.” Instead, Confucius advises those job seekers to choose the job they love.

Add this old proverb to this, and it fits like a glove:

“If you give a man a fish, he is hungry again in an hour. If you teach him to catch a fish, you do him a good turn, and he never has to be hungry.”

In both cases, it is not an option for others to find a person a job. Instead, they can learn how and where to look, but they have to do the work of finding.

How many jobs will today's college graduate have over their lifetime? →

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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.

If a person is going to change jobs 12 times over a lifetime, it would be helpful to find a way not to start from scratch in the searching process each time. This means that the work you do in your job search should not end when you find a job. One important example of where the work needs to continue is networking.

For a network of contacts to be compelling needs to be active. Prioritizing those in the network, identifying who has the best connections and industry focus, and then making sure you stay connected and try to keep in contact and add value to the relationship over the years is essential.

Staying in contact with your network allows you to be updated on their interests and needs so you can bring value to them. Attending networking events will make you a more valuable and informed employee when you are working and make those events far more helpful for you when you are looking for another job again. Certifications and staying current with your professional focus is often a catch-up game when your unemployed so staying active in trade shows and being a student of your industry while employed is very important.

LinkedIn is an important asset when you’re looking for a job. It helps you find jobs that match your skills and likewise helps those employers find you. Your LinkedIn profile confirms your professional credentials, and they should stay current and relevant while you are employed and when you’re looking for a job.

Don’t end up starting your job search 12 times from scratch over your career.

Where do you find sources that can point you towards jobs you would qualify for? →

Your past customers, competitors, and suppliers may have jobs that you would be able to do well. They would know about where jobs are from a different perspective than you would.

A supplier has probably been calling on similar companies, your current or previous companies’ competitors. From their own sales records would have a perspective on which ones were doing the best job in the market.

A former customer may benefit from your product knowledge or understanding of how other customers do things.

A competitor would see you as already trained and knowledgeable. These are contacts you would research to learn if they are hiring, but they also are excellent contacts for informational interviews to learn more about your industry.

Job titles can show you paths for skills you have never thought of. LinkedIn is a tool for finding new job titles. Find the person you might report to in a new job at the potential companies’ people overview. Click on that person and see the job title that person had before obtaining their current position. That is likely something you would be able to do but may not have even thought of the job title.