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​The search for your next job opportunity should be a fun experience. You will (ideally) be in the prime position of having a job and hand-picking job advertisements that appeal to you. You may be excited by a change of location, bigger responsibilities or the jackpot….more money!

Sometimes however, this ‘fun experience’ can become overwhelmingly and surprisingly confusing, sometimes even an anxiety-ridden experience that can leave you disheartened and making rash decisions.

The job search;

We all know there are a variety of ways to secure a new role;

• Your own networks

• Online job sites

• Agencies

These are all standard and good ideas, but sometimes the wider you cast your net, the more confusing it becomes.

Picture it;

A man is seeking a job through his own networks, he then applies for numerous jobs on job sites and then, lo and behold, he gets a call from four agencies. He suddenly has multiple opportunities. The jobs are progressing at a rapid rate and now he’s in the running for 3 of those opportunities! Sounds like an ideal situation, but he makes a rash decision; the friend from his own network pushes and flatters him into taking the role with him. He had his hopes pinned on one of the other roles, but panicked at the last minute and chose a role because of the wrong reasons- ie ‘my friend needed my help!’.

What the man didn’t realise was his skills were in demand and he actually had the power to make an informed decisions about his career.

The lessons;

• It’s important to know that when you are talking to any entity about a new job, you need to be upfront about what you are looking for in your role. You need to tell them you have multiple opportunities out there and let them know your preferred role

• It’s your decision. Agencies may sometimes sound pushy as it gets to the ‘pointy end’ of a recruitment process; this is because a decision needs to be made. As long as you’ve been honest about your preferences the process should be effortless as you and the other party know exactly what you want. If you’ve neglected to mention pieces of information, it can become an unnecessarily confusing process and what are simple questions can feel like an ambush!

• Stick to your guns! Finding a new role is like buying a house. You need to have a list of what you are looking for (location, skills, salary…etc…). If you know what job you are looking for then you can make informed decisions and only seriously consider roles adhering to your wish list

This touches on a few aspects of the role you play in finding your next job, but the name of the game is be confident, be specific, be ready to make decisions and have honest conversations with your agent/ network/ company you are applying with.

Happy job hunting!