In my LinkedIn profile, I keep checked the option that I am always looking for work. It stays checked, even if I have a job. Here’s why it’s a good idea you do the same, too. Before we delve into details, remember that saying: Always be looking for a new job.
By saying I’m always looking for a new job, my current coworkers, including my manager, cannot tell my true intentions. If I suddenly check this box one day, then they will know I’m up to something. This gives my manager a chance to look for a replacement and then get rid of me.
A great reason why you’re always looking for a new job is to keep an eye out for better opportunities. A job with better responsibilities, more interesting work, and higher pay may be waiting for you. If you are not always looking, then you miss 100% of the opportunities.
Companies Do not Care About You
Private companies do not care one wit about you. As soon as they get a whiff of a bad revenue forecast, they start finding ways to cut costs. For example, Cruise has recently announced that they will be cutting hundreds of millions of dollars. This means they will lay off a significant portion of their workforce. Another way to put this is “reorg”.
When you’re always looking for a new job, you’re in constant practice. You’re finding out the recent trend in jobs. The tech industry has gone through several major transformations in the twenty years. First, it was the PC revolution. Then it was cell phones. Cell phones gave way to smartphones. Solar power, LEDs, lidars, self-driving cars, and now AI. By always looking for new jobs, you know what to brush up on and study. You’re taking every opportunity to practice interviewing in a real-life setting. It’s easy to fall out of practice and find yourself playing catch-up in the least opportune of times, like after getting laid off!
The Dreaded Coding Interviews in Tech
Because I’m in tech, I have the added headache of having to prove myself through the coding interview. I have to write code in front of the interviewer, either on the white board or in a notepad-like environment. I’m used to writing code with an interactive development environment. The tool helps me remember all the little calls and to debug issues. Outside of this environment, I’m a wreck. My mind goes empty and I fail like a train wreck that people have a hard time keeping their eyes off of. During the coding interview, I do not get to use the actual tools of the trade, which is 100% stupid. We are that which we do everyday, and I fail to find the value in the way employers insist on doing coding interviews. Yet, the sad reality is it’s their world and their game…
In always looking for a new job, I keep in constant practice with the dreaded coding interviews. It’s just like exercising. The more you do it, the easier it gets. The more refined your muscles get and the shorter time it takes to get back into the swing of things.
Companies Don’t Care About You So You Should Always Be Looking for a New Job
You may be thinking that it’s disloyal to look for a new job. You owe an allegiance to your current employer, right?
The sad reality is companies don’t care about you. At the first sign of a downturn in the economy or a low revenue forecast, they get edgy about their bottom dollar. They lay off employees with zero notice. You’re sitting at work, thinking everything is fine. Then your manager stops by your desk and asks if you have a minute. You walk into a room with HR waiting…
There’s No Such Thing as Job Security
The only “job security” you have is
- Emergency fund
- Your network
- Upping your marketability through constant study
Sure, there are things you can do, such as creating passive sources of revenue. Yet, few are the people who want to put in this level of effort. That’s why most of us staying working for someone else for most of our lives. If we’re lucky enough to have a 401K during this time, then we have a passive revenue source in retirement. Half of Americans have no retirements savings. Most people rely on social security benefits, which are minuscule at best.
This is another reason why it’s important to transcend your limiting beliefs around money. For example, having a job is not the only way to make money. Yet, most of us fall into this trap because the education system revolves around training us for almost two decades on how to be good employees for the remainder of our lives! In a sense, the educational system is an abysmal failure. Where else can you throw a ton of money into a system and be guaranteed of nothing in return? Colleges are under no obligation to help you find a job. This is after you’ve put in tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars into their system.
Accept New Opportunities
Even Ones That Partially Interest You. You’re Always Looking for a Job!
You don’t have to take the job. This just affords you opportunities to practice. In accepting opportunities, I have gone to a number of interviews. When I didn’t get the job for the ones in which I thought I was a shoe-in, an analysis happens. For example, I realized that I had been interviewing incorrectly for the past 20 years! When I was asked why my resume did not exhibit leadership skills and if I would be interested in becoming a leader, I had not realized this was a trick question.
Instead of coming up with examples of how I’ve been a leader, even if my job title and responsibilities did not reflect this, I said that I had no leadership experience. I said that I welcome the training if they provided it to become a leader. This was the wrong answer to give!
I would have never known this had I not done the retrospection that comes with failing and wondering why I’ve failed. This only happens by taking new opportunities and interviewing for them. This is why it’s a great idea to always be looking for a new job.
Likewise, another trap question interviewers like to ask is this: “Tell me about a weakness.” Or, “what about your job irritates you that you wish you could change?
It’s okay for the hiring team to be truthful here if you ask them the question. In fact, I almost always do to make sure this is a place where I want to work. It, however, harms you to be truthful when you are asked the question. Instead, you have to find a weakness or an irritation that you’ve already solved! It cannot be something that exists in the current moment. This is why this is a trick question.
Conclusion: Always Be Looking for a Job.
This is why it’s important to always be looking for a new job. Only through practice and making a ton of mistakes can you make corrections and improve yourself. Fail forward!