Job Search Objectives

Perhaps the most important question to consider is what are your job search objectives? It is important to fully understand what you want. What motivates you and what you are currently looking for. Perhaps the most important question is why are you looking?

There are of course many possible reasons why you might be looking to leave your current position. These are referred to as push factors.

Redundancy

Career Progression

Making a career change Money ( or the lack of it)

These are common reasons, but what are yours? Take the time now and consider your push factors, all the things that are making you choose to leave.

Now consider what you want in your next role. One simple reason to set clear job search objectives is that if you don’t know what you are looking for it is hard to recognise and so even harder to achieve. As a recruitment consultant I would avoid candidates who are unsure about what they want like the plague, because their lack of focus tends to result in poorly matched CV’s and a tangible lack of enthusiasm which employers rarely fail to pick up on.

It is important to be as specific and detailed as possible. Think about what you want. Just as a company is looking for a match, if this is to be a right move for you it must also match your needs. By answering the following questions you will be able to clearly define your job search objectives.

Location

Where do you want to work? There are thousands of jobs out there but just how far are you willing to go? Would you relocate? How far would you commute? Its important to be realistic, don’t wait until the interview to realise that the job is too far to commute. Focus on what will work for you and fit into your lifestyle.

Salary

What do you want for the right role? Be specific, you need a figure and you need it now. If you would be willing to compromise fine, but think about how far and know where your bottom-line is. If you leave this to the offer stage you may sell yourself short or even price yourself out of an opportunity. You can find some useful salary survey guides on the web, but one word of caution though. In my experience employers tend to look to offer at the lower end of the scale, so know yourself, what you expect and what you need.

Role

What do you want to be doing? What skills do you want to apply and develop? What responsibilities are you looking for? What technologies do you want to be using?

Progression

What opportunities are you looking for? What do you want to be doing in 3 years time and how will this role help move you towards that?

Company

Who do you want to work for? What type of company do you want to be part of?

Culture

What type of culture suits you? What have the cultures you have experienced up to now been like and how did you fit in? You are likely to be far happier with a company that reflects your own values.

OK, now do not go any further until you have completed this exercise and have clearly written down in front of you what you want.

With that exercise complete you should now have a clear picture of what you are looking for. Now its time to go and find it.

Click here to learn about job search methods to find the job for you

Job search advice to help you

Job search advice you must ignore

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