Why Finding The Right Job Is All In The Timing

Now most people start their job hunt when they need a new job... For instance, when they've just finished college... or have just resigned from their current job... or are no longer needed by their current employer... and they need to eat and make rent! However, if you're looking for the ideal career and job, these are not the best times to start hunting...

Really, you have the best chance to get a job you want if you start looking when the company you want to work for has just decided to hire.

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.

Not that you would target a job or organization if you didn't have some notion of the political framework or what kinds of salaries it's likely to be able to pay, right?

Now you're probably wondering... "if the ideal time to start job hunting is when the company I want to work for has decided it needs to employ someone for the job I want"... then "how do I know that?" and "how do I know that I want to work for that company anyway?"

Well, I'll be honest, this is where you will have to roll up your sleeves and do a little work. Nothing hard - but some decision making, research and a little networking. And the first step is to identify which companies you'd like employment with.

For instance, if you were, or were interested in becoming, a project manager with a software firm, you would naturally research the software industry to determine which companies you might like to work for.

Once you've identified the companies you could see yourself working for, you would start doing as much research as you can about each of those firms. Not only will this help you clarify which companies are a better or worse fit for you, but it will also be your "springboard" for doing a little personal networking. Because, ideally, you'll meet some of the people at those companies with a view to building a relationship in which they'll think of YOU first when a job opportunity arises.

Now that you're as "in the know" as you can possibly be, your job is to (1) keep your ears to the ground, (2) think, and (3) act! In other words, if you learn that the company is thinking of bringing out a major new product - think about the implications of that. Does that mean that they'll need more project managers to help with the launch? If so, get on the phone to your contact and ask for the chance to present some ideas about how you could help.

Of course, you'll know the best approach to take given the type of development that occurs.

Now this approach to finding a job may not 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.