If your career runs true to form, you will experience at least three job changes during your working life - and more likely as many as five. The reason, very simply, is that very few employers can provide all of the work experiences that good employees need to become well rounded individuals. In modern industry, employers value diversified experience more than stability, and the ambitious employee is often left with no choice but to change employers in order to advance his career and make himself more marketable.

Growth is never comfortable; but there is no real growth without change. Career growth requires adaptability, mental toughness, focus and a long term perspective. We believe it is important to identify and deal with many of the emotions that surround the decision to make a job change. In our many years in the search business, we have seen many logical choices sidetracked by emotions of loyalty, allegiance, commitment, fear and a million other non-issues that cloud a candidate’s judgement.

As a fellow recruiter put it, “If there’s a tie between logic and emotion, emotion will usually win - at least in the short run.” It is important throughout this period to remember your original objectives and ask yourself what motivated you to launch this search in the beginning - Was it more money? greater challenge? greater stability? better location? or possibly a more compatible relationship with your boss?

Said another way, it is wise to ask yourself if you are running away from something negative, or are you going toward something more positive? While there are shades of both in most decisions, generally there is an overriding influence one way or the other. We submit that unless you hope to grow as a result of this change (rather than just to escape from something), you should reexamine your motivation. Career decisions should always be made in a positive light, unless those decisions are made for you, as in the case of a layoff.

The following information, was prepared by one of our associates, Jim Beelaert, and is being shared with you in the hopes that we can make a positive contribution during this exciting, yet somewhat stressful, time in your life. You will find the information to be extremely important and should be read in its entirety if you want to increase the odds of getting the job you want. Although we invite you to read it on-line we also strongly recommend that you print a copy which you can refer to at any time.

Interviewing should be seen as a job in and of itself. An interview is not just a casual meeting between two parties with a common interest. It represents an opportunity for you to sell yourself and an opportunity for the employer to evaluate your:

• Qualifications
• Enthusiasm
• Attitudes
• Maturity
• Intelligence
• Confidence
• Communication Skills
• Stability
• Analytical Skills
• Energy Level

The object of any interview, simply stated, is to get an offer. Only one thought should be in your mind throughout the process - “I want to solicit an offer and one that will make me want to work for this employer!” Everything else you do should be geared toward achieving that objective. One of our associates put it into proper perspective when he told a candidate “you can’t turn down an offer you don’t get!”.

Employers don’t have the luxury of spending time or money on candidates they don’t consider capable of filling their needs. Most candidates have the job when they go into an interview and only lack of preparation, weak communication skills or a poor impression can take the opportunity away! Hopefully, these suggestions can prevent that failure.

For simplicity, we have separated our suggestions into two sections.

the Interview Process and  Job Transition