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The last couple of years has seen a change in employees’ mind-sets adapting to an improving economy. After the crash from a recruiter’s perspective, there was a real difficulty in attracting talent on behalf of clients. This was largely down to the reluctance of candidates to consider leaving what may have been perceived to be a secure, permanent job. Personally, I found candidates were acutely conscious of being part of economic uncertainty and thus often found it a risk in leaving a steady job. However, we are now seeing a u-turn in this mentality, particularly in the past year and candidates are once again keen to hear what opportunities are available to them. Job seekers are constantly asking questions; they want to know what they are worth, what the competition is paying, whether bonuses are again being paid and who offers the best company culture. There are answers to all these questions – though often not straight forward, but how do you chose a company that suits you? Moving company, no matter what stage of your career you are at, is a massive decision and one that should not be made on a whim. Firstly, you need to clarify a couple of pivotal things:

Why you’re looking to move; what motivates you?

Is it money, career progression, company culture? Whatever it is, make sure it’s clear in your head as it will inevitably be a question asked in an interview.

Understanding the market and knowing your worth.

You should know a ‘ball-park’ figure before going into an interview, but you should always leave yourself open when it comes to discussing salary. This will enable you to be competitively priced when going into an interview. It’s surprising the number of candidates I work with that miss out on opportunities because they are not flexible on salary before meeting a company. The best attitude to have is to treat an interview like you would a meeting; they’re tentative and very often, nothing comes of them. However, it is an opportunity to get yourself known to key decision makers of a company that you would like to work for. The only possible downside is that you’ve taken an hour out of your day!

From here, you can make a rational decision as to which companies are of interest. Aside from knowing that a company is performing financially (which is important) – you want to know that they have a happy workforce. LinkedIn is a fantastic tool which enables us to get an insight into the types of candidates employed by a company. You can gauge the profiles of staff in a company; academic backgrounds, previous company experience, age profile, company attrition etc. You might notice someone you know in a company – a former colleague or old school friend, and you can get an inside track on that organization.

Understandably, salary and package are at the forefront of a potential move – when awareness of corporate culture, employee contentment and career progression should be more prevalent. The latter will essentially be the defining factor that keeps you there if you do get the job. So ensure you review the company website and social media accounts, as well as understand their core values/mission statement. You can get an immediate sense of a company simply from doing some online research.

This should put you in a comfortable space as an ‘active’ candidate. You understand your own motives, you have an idea of who you want to work for, what package you would accept and the type of company culture you want to embrace. Ironically, these processes can often result in people realising that their current employer is in fact the right company for them. And if this proves to be the case – it’s still a highly worthwhile exercise. If you’re curious, be confident in your own ability and put yourself out on the market – the job flow from a recruitment perspective is at its most buoyant in years, and the coming months is going to build on this positivity.

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