Yet I thought it was entirely appropriate as I talk with candidates all the time that claim to be happy in their current job, and they are still searching for the next big thing in their career. Today I would like to explore the idea of what NOT to do in a job search if you are indeed happy in your job.
1) Do NOT enter into a job search with money as your main motivation. If that is your goal, you could get exactly what you hoped for monetarily and absolutely hate your job. You will look back at your former employer and wish you had never left. It also creates a new threshold for the next job's salary range. You will chase even more dollars to validate your decision to move yet again. You will find yourself making even more money and possibly become even more unhappy with your daily existence. Eventually you will fall back down to earth, take less money to re-gain some happiness, and wonder why you ever left the first job.
2) Do NOT focus only on the negative aspects of your current job during an interview. I hear feedback from my clients sometimes that blows my mind. They ask the candidate what their motivation is for looking for a new job and they word vomit all kinds of issues at their current workplace. Of which they have told me nothing about. It is fear that a new employer would not understand why they would leave an employer where they are actually happy for the most part. Instead they believe that it is better to disparage their current employer so that a new employer would have compassion and want to help "get them out" of their bad situation. What really happens is that an employer hears that you are running away from a bad situation instead of running toward something better. It is usually a huge turn-off.
3) Do NOT be afraid to admit that the conclusion of a search could end with you staying put. I tell candidates all the time that I am happy to assist in a job search, set up several interviews, and at the end of the day congratulate them that they found out their current job is the best one on the market for them. The grass is NOT always greener on the other side of the fence. You may need to jump the fence and take a peek sometimes to be convinced of it. There is nothing wrong with recognizing this before you take another job and become miserable for a few months.
Bottom line is that if you are happy and you know it, don't just clap your hands. Sit on them, don't go looking for another job for a while, and live in the moment. If every candidate who had a bad day threw their resume on CareerBuilder and ran for the door, the employee retention rates at most major companies would be awful.
What have you done in the past when frustrated with an employer or boss, but you ended up feeling fine after a day or two to reflect? How did you get through that situation?
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