Why You Should Job Hunt Even If You’re Employed, According to Ramit Sethi
Written by
Brooke Barley
Edited by
Rebekah Evans
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Finding a job that pays decent money can be difficult and exhausting. Once a person has landed one, it would probably seem unappealing to start browsing LinkedIn again. However, entrepreneur and author of “I Will Teach You to Be Rich” Ramit Sethi suggested that actively working people should be on the hunt for a job. Here’s why Sethi thinks workers should be interviewing for jobs even if they’re not necessarily looking to leave their current positions.
Get Paid More
One reason why Sethi suggested workers start job hunting is to determine if they’re underpaid. He wrote in his newsletter “Rich Life Insiders” that if employees haven’t received a cost-of-living raise in the past three years or negotiated for a higher salary recently, there’s a good shot they’re not making what they’re worth.
He said employees should search sites like Glassdoor, Payscale or Salary.com to get a feel for what their market salary should be. “Most people are shocked when they do this,” He wrote in his newsletter. “I’ve seen people discover they’re underpaid by $15,000, $25,000, even $50,000 a year.” Then, they can start applying for their role elsewhere. Once they get an offer, they can use that as leverage at their current job to be paid more. “If you walk into your next compensation conversation knowing you’ve got a $20,000 offer from a competitor, the dynamic completely changes,” Sethi wrote.
Determine Job Relevancy
Sethi also shared that it’s a good idea for employees to look for what’s open in their field to find out how relevant their skills are. Some workers might be shocked to find that there aren’t many openings in their industry. This can mean that their skillset is extremely rare, which makes them valuable. It can also mean that their job is being phased out. It’s important to know the difference and decide if it’s time to make a career pivot.
Become a Better Interviewer
It might have been five or 10 years since an employee seriously interviewed with a company. That means they’re a little out of practice. Setting up interviews — even for jobs that might not be the right fit — can help employees feel more confident about their value. This will pay off when it does become time to switch jobs. “When you interview, you’re practicing telling your story so you don’t freeze up when it counts,” Sethi wrote.
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