Job Supermarket
When I was in Spain in 1977 I knew of no supermarkets there. You had to go to a small store and ask for exactly what you wanted. The owner would bring out what you asked for from behind the counter. There were no food aisles to roam.
By 1979 supermarkets were taking over the country. Huge places filled with choices. You could literally make shopping an all day event, and forget to come home with what you needed. Then you would go to that local store and ask the owner for what you forgot, if the store was still in business.
Now let’s talk about the job supermarket.
In 2003 and 2009 jobs were few and far between. Candidates were happy to accept any job offer if they were unemployed for a few months. Employers were being very picky. Salaries were often dropping.
In 2005 and 2014 a job boom started. Employers were starting to beg for workers in 2007 and 2015. People who couldn’t get a job in 2004 or 2010 were getting multiple offers. People fed up with the way they have been treated for years are changing jobs.
Unfortunately in 2007 and again in 2015 some people are going job hunting, changing jobs, and forgetting to improve their situation. Employers get very wary of people who hop between jobs.
The moral: Be careful you don’t make it impossible to get a great job because you were seduced by sparkling packaging on inferior jobs in the job supermarket. If you aren’t careful the stores you could have gotten a job in will be like the stores in Spain, they’ll be out of business as far as you are concerned.
If you go out and quickly change jobs only for a small salary increase, you will probably be disappointed. By the time you figure out why you are disappointed, it will be too late to switch jobs again. Two new jobs within a year just doesn’t sit well with most employers.
Don’t lose your head. If you want a raise, tell your boss without threatening him. Show him what others are earning. Educate him. Don’t forget to listen to him. He may tell you a few things you need to fix to be worth a raise. Giving your boss a month or two to fix a problem gives you more time to improve your marketability. Figure out what will really be a job improvement. Take control of where you want to go instead of letting 50 sparkling job ads seduce you.
As the next few years continue to heat up, use the opportunities available to get where you would like to be. Don’t settle for a raise. Demand an opportunity in your current job and your next job.
The future is not a result of choices among alternative paths offered by the present, but a place that is created, created first in the mind and will, created next in activity. The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them, changes both the maker and the destination. (Schaar)
Something To Do Today
In your job journal make two lists. 1. The things you like about your job. 2. The things about your job that could seriously be improved.
Next write down what can be done in this job and in searching for a new job to seriously improve your situation.
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Next: Rigor Mortis – signs of job death
Later: Resumes: trash or treasure