Looking at the latest vacancies doesn’t only help you when you are looking for work. There are a number of great benefits and advantages gained from keeping an eye on the latest vacancies while you are happily employed. Heres how keeping your eye on the latest job openings helps you and your career.
1. Looking back at your own job description helps quantify growth
Take a moment to look at the job description that you currently have now. How many of your and qualities have now grown from the levels detailed on the job spec? What additional responsibilities do you now have that weren’t part of your original job? Looking at your job description helps compare your past and present self. Hopefully, your skills will have grown since you applied for your position. This helps remind you when you are ready to move onto the next challenge and the next step on your career ladder. Just as importantly, it reminds you to shout up for a pay rise to reflect the additional responsibilities that you take on over time. Failure to keep track of your role all too easily allows employers to underpay you. Be sure to keep your eye on the job market and get paid what you deserve.
2. Look at jobs from other employers to see how yours compares
Assess job vacancies by other employers recruiting for your job. How do the facilities, responsibilities and required qualifications stack up against your own? If you get approached by a headhunter offering you a job elsewhere, then how does the salary offered compare to your own? Keeping your eye on competing positions keeps you up to date with the latest salary range. Commonly for many positions, the salary will increase year on year. However it is highly unlikely your employer will keep your salary maintained up to the market rate. A survey by PayScale found that only 8.2% of employers planned on using pay hikes to hold onto key talent.
3. Look at jobs you aspire to in the future to stay on track
Keeping our eye on the ball helps us stay on target for our dreams and aspirations. If you have a dream job that you are aspiring in the mid to long term then you should check out the job requirements to see how you are shaping up for your future position. Look at the responsibilities and duties. For example, if you want to be the COO of a digital marketing firm, what does this job require? For example, if the position requires managing 100 people, how many do you currently manage? Have you built on the skills needed for this? If not, how can you go forward and build these skills? Getting sky high positions isn’t just luck of the draw but requires planning, discipline and commitment. If you know where you are and what you want, then reading the job spec will show you how to get there.