Benefits July 2, 2003

Most Employees Ready For Immediate Job Hunt

July 2, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Eight out of 10 employees have some level of preparedness for searching for a new job should they suddenly lose their current position.
Reported by

In fact, if the employment rug were to be pulled out from under them tomorrow, 39% of those polled said they are very prepared to conduct a job search, with another 41% responded to being somewhat ready. This compares to just 9% that said they were somewhat unprepared and 11% that were not prepared at all, according to a survey conducted by staffing service OfficeTeam.

“Many workers have learned first hand that layoffs can come suddenly and without warning,” Liz Hughes, vice president of OfficeTeam, said in a statement. “While employees cannot control the job market, they can take proactive steps to get organized for their next search.”

To be better prepared, OfficeTeam suggests advanced planning in case of an unexpected loss of employment. “People who are prepared put time on their side; they can focus their efforts on establishing solid first contact with an employer, versus rushing to update resumes and reference lists,” Hughes added. Further, the report offered four areas employees should concentrate on to be more prepared:

  • resume – continually update content and share the document with trusted friends to ask for feedback.
  • references – prepare a list of reference with updated contact information
  • network – maintain contact with a network group that can be tapped into for possible employment leads
  • skills – make sure the current skill set is still in demand, and check to see if additional training in a certain area would boost marketability.

The survey was developed by OfficeTeam, was conducted by an independent research firm, and includes responses from 613 men and women, 18 years of age or older and employed.

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