Job Hunting Questions to Optimise Your Job Search

When you are out job searching, there are some key initial questions that you need to be asking yourself before you get started and in order to really optimise your job search. Without the initial thinking, planning and reflection you can waste a lot of potentially valuable job hunting time. So, to help you with this thinking we've outlined a few questions and our thoughts around them to help you with your job search:

Do I really need to change jobs?

Ask yourself why you need to. It needs to be a compelling reason for you and it needs to make sense to anyone that’s going to employ you in the future. The reasons that people want to change their job are huge, but it’s best when we choose a job for positive reasons rather than running away from negative.

Can I get an alternative job in my current organisation?

Ask yourself, “How much do I know about what my current employer does and what opportunities there might be for me? Do they advertise jobs internally and if so where?” It’s easy enough to ask around where are the areas in the organisation which are expanding and where they may be opportunities for you so don’t jump ship before you’ve looked.

What am I going to do ?

This is probably the biggest question most often asked by people in their working life. The answer-- in other words getting clear-- is the most prized answer, therefore. Understanding what it is that you’ve done, in work and in your life that has given you the greatest buzz is always a good place to start when you understand the context that you are in and the skills that you are using, you are at the beginning of a process that will lead you to define clearly what you’re going to do in the future.

Where do I start my job search?

Start with what you enjoy most and also what you’re best at. Think about the moments in your history when you have been most engaged, most interested and when you’ve enjoyed yourself most. If you’re not sure, ask people that know you. Look at your appraisal reports. Only go into the recruitment market when you’re clear about what you seek to do. If you go too early, you may end up in the wrong place.

Who might help me and how can they help me with my job search?

Think of people who you respect and who you know respect you. this might include school teachers, university lecturers, ex-bosses, people in the community who have status i.e. doctors, priests, all of these people can help you by being referees, by giving you their opinion on where you are and what you might do, which just generally can be helpful to you.

To help you further with your job search you may find our "How to Get the Job You Want" pdf ebook an interesting read as it'll give you a good overview of the steps needed when looking for your next job and role.

Author: Simon North, co-founder of Position Ignition

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