Amanda Rose: What you must do even when not job hunting

Making yourself look employable isn’t something you should do only when you’re looking for work, writes Amanda Rose. Here’s what to do each week.

Opinion: Everyone needs a career plan and a career tool kit.

A lot of people do not look at their career holistically but they need to ask themselves what role they want 10 years or five years from now then work backwards and find out what they need to work on to achieve that.

It could be joining an association or doing a degree and that takes time, which is why you need a career plan.

Your career toolkit then includes things such as whether you are going to the right events and mixing with the right people and have the right mentors.

If you are looking for a job in a particular industry, go to industry association events.

Are you mixing with the CEOs and HR people – the people who make the decisions?

You need to be known in the industry.

Everyone needs a career plan and a career tool kit. Picture: iStock

LinkedIn can be handy for that because if you want to transition, people will see that you understand the industry.

You should be engaging on LinkedIn once a week even if you are not looking for a job.

If you just engage while you are looking for work, people will notice.

Like posts relevant to the industry you want to work in, make comments or ask questions or post your own stuff to show you have an interest in the area.

As part of your toolkit, do you have the right information on LinkedIn?

Your LinkedIn needs to be updated and have a photo and show you are putting in effort.

In fact, you need to make sure all your social media is under control.

Don’t be under the illusion it is all private – it’s not.

Think, if you were a boss and you saw someone post what you are about to post, would you hire them?

Get your social media under control, Amanda Rose says. Picture: iStock

It’s a respect thing. It’s a brand thing.

A potential employer will consider that you are an extension of the company’s brand and they want people that have the same ethos as they do.

As part of your tool kit, are you tracking what you are doing in your role so you are ready for your next promotion?

You don’t just get a job then stop.

Keep a log and write down key achievements you and your team have made and put a monetary value on that.

If you saved time because of a process or made money for the company, track that.

Otherwise, a year will pass and you might achieve eight standout things but you haven’t made a note of it.

Always update your CV even if you are not applying for jobs.

Amanda Rose is a business consultant, workplace trainer, LinkedIn influencer and founder of six organisations – and now she is tackling your career questions for SMART Daily every Monday.

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Originally published as Amanda Rose: What you must do even when not job hunting