I had an interesting email exchange with one of my clients recently. In essence the client was checking when they should start looking for their next role.
Advice that the client had received was that it was best to wait to nearer the time when they would be available to apply for their next role.
As the client was currently working in an interim role that made sense to the agency.
The client asked my view. The response I gave was it depended on what they wanted next.
Was it another contract role or a permanent role?
The answer to the question makes a difference.
For contract or interim roles they usually want you to start within days.
For a permanent role they recognise that there may be a gap between you accepting the job and starting the next one.
This scenario highlighted for me the importance of you owning your career.
An agency or recruitment consultant can give advice.
Some will give you good unbiased advice.
Others might advise what is in their best interests, rather than yours.
What’s important to understand is that the real client in recruitment is the person paying the invoice.
In other words the employing organisation.
Now some will look at things differently and look at the longer term relationship with the individual they are placing.
In my experience this tends to be the exception rather than the norm.
The same applies if you are currently in a role and are really looking to move on but want to remain loyal to your employer.
Make the decision that’s right for you.
We all have at times falling into the trap of believing that the organisation or department you work in will grind to halt if you leave.
Trust me it won’t and within months the majority of people will have forgotten you ever worked there.
These days with greater consolidation of industries and sectors and automation it’s never been more important to take control and own your career.
It’s no longer about outsourcing or leaving your career success to someone else. If you really want to be successful you have to make it happen.