Why You Must INVEST in Your Job Search

 

Two Burning Questions That Demand Answers

There are hundreds of books, career coaches, résumé writers, and host of other tools and guidance available to you in helping you find a great job, make a successful career change, or earn a promotion. Assuming that you choose the right advice, tools, and assistance, two questions need to be answered:

Back in 2010 I asked these two questions to a group of college students and adult workers during a university study of a proprietary assessment on job search knowledge which my company provides. Since then I’ve checked in with hundreds of users of the top job search tools to see what their experiences have been. A common response I hear often is that using the right tools and current guidance cuts about seven weeks off a job search.

 

What’s it Worth to Cut Just Seven Weeks Off Your Search?

Look at the graphic above that lists several benchmark starting salaries. Benefits are typically worth about 35% of salary, so the middle row represents salary plus benefits. I divided the middle row by 52 weeks, then multiplied by 7 to determine what the value would be for 7 weeks of employment might add at each benchmark salary. The results are pretty startling!

In addition to 7 weeks’ compensation, being a better candidate often translates into a higher starting compensation. When you stand head and shoulders above the people with whom you are competing, employers will likely offer you more to get you to join them. The net lifetime benefit may well exceed a half-million dollars!

Still not convinced? What you incrementally earn as a result of mastering and applying current and emerging job search best practices can easily fund your retirement! NerdWallet offers a terrific retirement calculator to help you get a clear idea of what you’ll need to earn to retire in style.

 

Even More Benefits

Then there’s the lowering of stress during the search process because you know that if you diligently master best practices approaches, you are better prepared and significantly more confident than all you competitors who do less in preparing for their job searches. Think of how it feels to be confident rather than unsure.

Finally, many of the best practices and suggestions from reliable job search experts help you do a better job once employed, since they enable you to optimize your career performance. Which adds even more rewards during your career.

 

Bottom Line. Top candidates invest in their job search in order to have an opportunity for a faster track upon which to advance, which carries both financial and non-financial rewards. Like anything else in life, you will get out of it what you invest into it.

This article is taken from my new book, Get a Better Job Faster™, now available for download on Amazon.com in two editions, one for college students and recent grads, and one for experienced professionals and skilled workers. Each all-new edition explains more than 3,000 current and emerging job search and career launch best practices.