How to Start Preparing for a Job Transition Before You Have To

Here are some thoughts from Yahoo on how to start preparing for a job transition before you have to. They list some tactics for planting seeds now (when you have a job) for a transition later (when you'll need to look for a job) as follows:

Join a corporate, not-for-profit, school, or community organization board of directors to expand your professional network and provide the opportunity to demonstrate how you think, communicate, and interact with people.

Become active in your industry association to develop valuable relationships outside of your company while still being loyal to your current employer.

Speak at conferences; write articles in your industry's trade press; find creative ways to become known as a thought leader in your sector.

Help others in transition by giving courtesy interviews and providing good advice, recognizing that what goes around comes around.

This is excellent advice in my opinion. My thoughts on each of these:

• Volunteering -- You never know what could happen when you volunteer, but many times it's good. At the very least, you've helped out a good cause and improved your work skills, but at the best you may even find a new, better job (that's what happened to me when I volunteered.)

• Industry Association -- I was very active in an industry association at one point in my career. It helped me in several ways: 1. I developed many, influential contacts, 2. I was given an industry award that helped me secure a much better job later on, and 3. I was visible in the entire industry which also helped me get a better job a few years later.

• Speaking -- Becoming an expert in your field is a great way to advance your career. I did this by both writing for industry publications as well as speaking at industry events. And, as noted above, it helped me secure future positions that were much better paying than the job that I held at the time.

• Help others -- I always try to help others in their career pursuits whenever I can. The investment of my time is usually not that big of a deal to me and yet it means a great deal to them. And I never know when I'll need help myself, so I consider helping others to be an investment in the future of my career.

Comments

[jerome brown]

Another good way to start preparing for a job transition, is to start thinking in terms of what you enjoy doing. I got interested in Forex (foreign exchange). It's a fascinating world, and there are a lot of great resources on the Internet to get you started. It's not just for Wall Street Traders.

[Laura]

I just gave my resignation to my job. I'm now planning on some volunteer work.

[Richard]

Don't forget to update your resume. A resume is like a business plan. It needs to be updated on an annual basis.