In the first few months of a new year, many people consider making a change. If you’re thinking about switching jobs this year, you’re not alone! Right now, much of the workforce is considering a change in employment, if they haven’t made the change already. So many companies and roles transformed during and after the pandemic that it’s no surprise that professionals are reconsidering their current job status. Maybe you want all-remote, or you’re stuck remote and want to go back to the office. You may have realized that you want greater opportunities for upward mobility with a job switch.

So, how do you prepare yourself for a jog switch while ending your current role or already on the job search? Here are six powerful steps to help you get started, find more satisfying roles, and make yourself more desirable to companies hiring for the roles you want.

1. Tidy Up Your Social Media Before a Job Switch

Start with your social profiles. While these accounts are officially private, most employers will inevitably find your LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages in the process of investigating and vetting candidates. So you want these pages to reflect well on you. Considering that many of us went a little isolation-crazy during the lockdown, your social media might need a little cleaning up before it’s ready to become an unofficial part of your resume.

Clean up by deleting or archiving anything personal, emotional, or potentially embarrassing. Tidy up political discussions, online arguments, and certain fandom connections.  Make sure pictures of you drinking or wearing silly costumes are mostly tidied away. Raising a toast with friends might be OK, but not doing an upside-down keg stand. No matter how impressive that may have been.

You may also want to add some of your more elegant photos, personal artwork, and professional achievements to your social media while you’re at it. Showing off your hobbies reflects well on you, while historical online drama will not.

2. Take on Greater Responsibility

Consider your years of experience and chances at upward mobility. If your previous role has been holding you back, maybe it’s time to seek greater responsibility in your next role – and to start that process today. Consider ways you can build your ability to handle greater responsibility at home, in your social groups, or by volunteering to take on more after work. While you can seek greater responsibility in your current role – and this will reflect well in your resume – it’s also polite not to seek promotion or become indispensable right before you plan to leave a job.

Instead, look for opportunities for leadership outside of work and mention these in the ‘hobbies’ section of your resume. Lead a volunteer group, or become a co-leader of your child’s scouts troop. Take on a few hours at the animal shelter or even a role with a local charity.

3. Strengthen Your Skillset Before a Job Switch

Build your skills beyond what you use every day at work. A repetitive job has a way of limiting your skillset artificially, but there are many opportunities to learn other technologies and skills that relate to the career you want to pursue. Explore new software and techniques on your own time and start applying them to your work today. You may even be able to learn new skills by talking to coworkers and sharing projects in a different way to build your strengths before you seek a new role.

4. Develop an In-Demand Skill

If you want to be an in-demand candidate when you start your job search, develop skills that are in demand today. Right now, those with technical skills are in extremely high demand, so increasing your abilities with software and hardware management may be essential. However, every industry has its specific in-demand skills. Look around at the job boards to discover what is being most highly sought – and at the best salaries – that you could easily learn as an extension of the skills you have now.

By developing a highly in-demand skill, you can increase your desirability and your bargaining power when you begin your job search in earnest.

5. Set Goals and Formulate a Plan

Don’t go into the job search without a plan – give yourself goals and stick to them.  In fact, it’s a good idea to practice your goal setting and planning before your job search begins. Make plans to increase your skills by trying something new and practicing for X amount of time each day or week – then stick to those goals and cross every session off your to-do list with confidence and pride.

When you complete the goals you set today, you are more likely to dive into your job search with a strong set of goals and the confidence to achieve them.

6. Connect With a Staffing Team That Understands You

Finally, research and connect with a staffing team that understands your goals and can connect you with the jobs you seek. There is a lot of chaff on job boards today, from listings never deleted after they were filled to dummy listings designed just to build resume stacks for later. However, a staffing team can help you connect with real clients looking for the skills you have and the opportunities you seek.

Talk to each staffing team you consider to find out if they understand your job, goals, and the company culture you’d like to fit into in your new role.

Prepare for a New Job Switch

Ready to take on 2022 and begin a happy new chapter of your career? Contact us today!