The decline in availability of job opportunities as your career progresses can be somewhat frustrating. It is perhaps the only negative element of being successful. As you go further up the food chain, competition increases and the number of relevant vacancies reduces. However, regardless of where you are in your career, it is not uncommon to need a new challenge and often too long in the same position can have a negative effect on your performance and general state of mind. So, as you seek to freshen things up, we wanted to share with you some key initiatives to adopt that will help you market yourself effectively as a candidate, making you more visible when opportunity arrives and helping you to stand out from the competition.
Networking
As a senior candidate you will have built up a sizable network over time which will include work colleagues, recruiters, law firm partners, general industry peers and even friends, all of whom can be helpful in making you aware of, and promoting you for, interesting opportunities. Building and engaging with your network over time can be invaluable as some roles never progress to a formal search as a well-regarded recommendation or connection can sometimes short-cut the usual process.
Recruiters
As part of your network, trusted recruiters can be invaluable in helping you to take your next career move. Having open communication with them, even in times when you may not be seeking a new role, can be useful to help keep you in the forefront of their thoughts for when that perfect role does arise. Taking the time to meet with recruiters can also be beneficial as you can build a relationship and enable the recruiter to represent you better when working with their clients.
Blogs and Publications
It is very hard to demonstrate all of your expertise and knowledge in a CV. By featuring in or writing publications or blogs, you are sharing your expertise and opinions on relevant matters. This will enhance your reputation and ultimately, your prospects. Raising your profile is always helpful but can be particularly valuable for requisitions that don’t come to the market.
Events
Events can be highly effective for senior candidates from two perspectives. First, given your standing in the profession, the opportunity to share your thoughts as a speaker may arise. Again, this is a highly effective way of raising your profile as not only do you have the opportunity to capture the attention of other senior delegates but with today’s communication channels, you will be associated with the event and your name will be featured on social media. Second, simply attending relevant events gives you an opportunity to network with peers and hiring managers in your industry. Accordingly, opportunity could arise through immediate interaction or via leads generated as a result of increasing your network.
Love it or hate it, LinkedIn, with 600 million+ members, is a prominent platform for sourcing opportunities. Recruiters, both external and in-house, spend significant amounts of time using the platform to identify potential candidates for their requirements. In order to raise your profile on the platform, we recommend the following steps:
• Build your network – connect to hiring managers, peers and relevant recruiters making yourself more accessible when relevant jobs arise;
• Engage – have an opinion on posts of interest and engage with your network – after all, there is no point being on LinkedIn if you are not active;
• Utilise talent attraction features – switch on job alerts and change your status to ‘open to opportunities’.
Testimonials
When information was less accessible and movement between jobs less frequent, references / testimonials were less prominent and typically used more as a final stage in the recruitment process. However, in a similar fashion to blogs or publications, testimonials can now provide additional corroboration, adding to your profile and helping to create a more rounded, positive impression. Obtaining testimonials requires a certain amount of pro-activity but if published in the right places, they can not only enhance applications but persuade prospective hirers to reach out in the first place.
As always, Baron Crawford is on hand to provide advice and guidance in relation to all legal, compliance and data privacy related recruitment so please do get in contact.
