5 Subtle Ways To Find A New Job

Looking for a job can be discouraging and embarrassing, if not downright humiliating. You can be rejected without reason, asked questions you’d rather not answer, or be judged based on criteria you don’t understand. Not to mention you’re putting your career – and even your sense of self – on the line.

- Priscilla Claman

That may be why so many people delay putting themselves on the job market even when they know they should act. For example, I once mentored a customer service representative who knew he should leave his job. After two raise-less, promotion-less years, he found himself feeling undervalued and bored. He had plenty of excuses for delaying action: Why look for a new job when his last job-search experience was a nightmare? Why look for a new job when everybody knows that jobs are scarce in this economy? So, he remained at the company – and the next time there was a restructuring, he was laid off.

Of course, I’m not suggesting you jump ship every time you are bored at work. But it’s often a good idea to analyse your current situation for signs that there could be something better. If you’re stuck in a bad job, your symptoms might be: boredom, complaining, blaming, feelings of frustration and anger, or even a sick feeling on Sunday evenings because you dread going to work on Monday. Your organisation’s symptoms might include: layoff after layoff, repeated outsourcing, or multiple management changes. In either case, it’s time to take action.