5 Proven Ways To Stay Open To Job Opportunities

While you are employed, it still pays to want better career growth opportunities. Being open to these career breaks means you will be ready for any work openings. You do not need to be actively searching for the ideal job. The important thing is that you are receptive to receiving inquiries from other companies about potential opportunities for your employment. 

Your openness encourages your career growth. Accepting hirers’ questions about your availability can help you find a better job. Perhaps you can land a higher-paying position, or find one that offers a better work-life balance. By not closing your doors to other hirers, you could use their inquiries to leverage an offer from your current employer. 

As an employee in a highly competitive work environment, it is vital that you constantly #SEEKBetter opportunities. If you stay open to possibilities inside and outside your company, you guarantee your professional growth. The following tips show you how to be available to employers. 

Keep Your Skills Fresh and Relevant

The best way to catch the attention of headhunters and hirers is to hone your skills and keep them updated. CEOs, HR managers, and headhunters always appreciate people who consistently develop their talents. Regularly improving yourself will show industry leaders that you can add value to their company. 

There are several ways to upskill. Try the following:

• Enrol in short courses. The National University of Singapore offers two-day courses for professionals. Many of these courses cover subjects that include strategic management, innovative thinking, and Python for business analytics. 
• Join workshops. Taking part in these events enriches your knowledge and gives you a chance to connect with like-minded people. Some may help open career opportunities for you by introducing you to people with significant roles in your industry.  
• Do research. Once you determine the next steps you want to take in your career, become an active learner. Read books and websites, and listen to podcasts about your industry. If you get the opportunity, interview people working in companies you have your eye on. From them, learn which skills are the most valuable in the industry. Work on developing those. 
• Volunteer. Experience is an effective way to acquire new skills. If you cannot find the opportunities to develop these by doing your current work tasks, go beyond your zone. Determine your knowledge gaps and volunteer for work that will fill those gaps. 

Make Yourself Available to Employers by Updating Your Online Profile

Whether or not you are actively looking for work, keep your credentials up-to-date in online job market platforms such as Jobstreet. Aside from updating your resumé on these portals, refine your job alerts and filters. This way, your subscriptions become more hardworking. 

The same goes for your physical resumé and social media profiles. Update your resumé at least every three months or after every performance evaluation with your supervisor. An updated online presence shows that you are open to new career opportunities.   

As you diligently update your profile, the algorithm of online job market platforms make sure employers see it. Jobstreet, for example, uses a system that shows hirers the latest and newly updated profiles first. This way, every candidate with current credentials, regardless of the urgency of their job search, is easy to find. 

Participate in Networking Events

Scour the Internet for opportunities to meet and greet movers in your chosen industry. Take advantage of social media and other online platforms. Follow people you know who work in the companies you admire. Set up alerts to receive notifications about upcoming events in these companies. 

Refrain from directly asking about job opportunities. Instead, pursue introductions to people in the industry so you can learn more about it. Your goal in networking is to build relationships. The chance to ask about job openings will come after you have established trust within your professional network. 

Industry networking brings you multiple benefits:

• It fortifies your business connections. When you network, you form mutually beneficial professional relationships. Tap into these when you need industry advice; reciprocate when your opinion is requested. 
• You build a solid reputation. As you listen and learn from industry experts, apply your newly acquired knowledge to your work. If you do this consistently, you can eventually create more value for your company. It will help you become more visible to people outside your office, including recruiters. 
• Networking boosts your confidence. Leaving your comfort zone to interact with new people improves your social skills and raises your self-esteem. Use this growth to open new work opportunities. 
• Knowing industry experts gives you access to inside information. Even if you are not actively looking for a new job, networking puts you in a position full of prospects. When an opportunity for your ideal job opens up, it is likely you could be one of the first to know about it. 

Stay Ahead of the Competition by Following Industry News

One way to stay on top of your game is to be informed. Make it a habit to read daily news and trends about your industry. Familiarise yourself with the names of the decision-makers. (Add their names to the list of people you want to meet when you attend networking events.) Pick up the terms most commonly used in this industry. If you are passionate about this field, learning about it will come naturally to you. 

Newspapers and news websites will be your natural first choice. Go beyond traditional media, though, to learn more about the trends. Follow CEOs on social media. (If you want to go another step, check their reading list and read the books and publications they are reading. Book lists reveal much about the reader’s perspective.) 

Make use of Google Alerts. Set it up using the company name, industry terms, and names of competing companies as keywords. When developments occur in the industry, you will automatically receive notifications about them. 

You could also subscribe to the company’s newsletter. These free subscriptions give you a valuable peek into the current status of the industry and, more specifically, the company you are eyeing. 

Increase Your Value in Your Current Job

Start attracting opportunities by being self-aware. Step back and see yourself as a company product. Does your work ethic create demand for yourself within the industry? Do your skills and attitude outweigh your faults as an employee?  

Keep improving and strive to go beyond expectations at work. Adjust your daily habits in the office to show management that you are due for a promotion. Make it a point to deliver what is expected of you promptly and correctly. When you can, do more than what your supervisor has assigned. 

Word spreads fast through companies. Put yourself on management’s radar by handing in stellar work. If a promotion in your current company is not possible, your good reputation may get the attention of other hirers and CEOs. 

Take care, however, that you do not stretch yourself too thin in your quest to solidify your position in the company. A good employee is someone who values both their work and personal life. Manage your time so that you can exceed expectations both at work and in your personal life. 

The different ways to stay open to job opportunities carry one common theme. To make employers consider you, you must keep improving yourself. There are always knowledge gaps to fill and new skills to learn. To get this going, update your Jobstreet profile so the right employers can find you. You can also download our app via the App Store or Google Play for faster access to openings.