There is an old piece of conventional wisdom, that the best time to look for a job is when you already have a job. A recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York provides solid evidence that that is the case:
Do the Employed Get Better Job Offers? (Federal Reserve Bank of New York)
. . . We want to compare how job offers received by the nonemployed compare to those received by the employed . . . The most striking result is that there are very large wage differences associated with these offers: on average, employed job seekers receive hourly wage offers that are 39 log points (48 percent) higher than those received by the nonemployed. Even after controlling for the observable characteristics of the job seeker and the employer offering the job, the employed receive wage offers that are still 22 log points (23 percent) higher, on average.
That's a big difference - a very big difference. There follows some discussion on why exactly the difference is so big. (My own experience suggests that people who are already employed only look for jobs that are strict upgrades from their current position, so are more selective in what they apply for in the first place.)
That obviously is not good news for those who are unemployed. But it suggests a few general ideas to guide the job search.
Don't quit a job until you have an offer for another in hand. (As stated in the PF wiki.) It's not just that being unemployed is really expensive - although it is - it's also that your prospects for finding another job are worse than if you stuck with the last one.
Consider starting early in looking for the next job if it looks like layoffs or an unlivable work situation are headed your way. Waiting until you get the pink slip is a really bad idea. Even if the layoffs never materialize, you'll have expanded your business network by meeting with other potential employers.
Consider taking interim or temporary work while engaged in a long-term job search. "What are you doing right now" is a terrible question if the answer is "nothing". Being full-time looking for new work looks good on paper, but see the statistics cited above - it's bad for job offers. Taking a temporary position, even something like an unpaid internship (you don't have to tell them how much you're currently making - or not making), can improve your position in negotiating a new position.
Submitted April 05, 2018 at 02:58PM by Gorm_the_Old https://ift.tt/2q8uQKQ
