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The Art of the Passive Job Search

(By Don Hunter)

How many times have you heard of somebody finding the perfect job—when they weren’t really even looking for a job—while you were stuck in a dead-end position?

Maybe that person was a friend or colleague.  Maybe it was your brother or sister, or even your spouse.  Whatever the case, these people know just how important a passive job search can be to the advancement of their career.  And it’s something you should know, too.  Even if you consider yourself to be pleased with your current position, it would be in your best interests to conduct a passive job search in what is a growing economy with rapidly expanding opportunities.

It’s when somebody isn’t looking for a new job at all that they inadvertently miss what might be the biggest opportunity of their career.  No matter how happy you currently are, there are some opportunities that you just don’t want to pass up.  In addition, you have the flexibility to be more selective in a passive job search.  If an open position doesn’t have exactly everything you want, then you can simply disregard it.  (In contrast, when you’re actively seeking a new job due to unemployment or dissatisfaction, you’re often forced to make concessions that you wouldn’t normally agree to.)

So—perhaps you’ve never conducted a passive job search.  What should you be doing?  There’s a definite strategy you can employ in order to conduct such a search, and hopefully find the perfect job, one that will take your career to the next level.  The specific steps of that strategy are outlined below.

• Set up job alerts on industry job boards and also on our newsletter, the Animal Science Monitor.  I never recommend candidates submitting their resume to a job board resume bank, unless you want the world to know you are looking for a new position.  You’ll lose control of where it goes and who it goes to.  You would hate for your boss to learn of your job search before you complete it!

• Engage in networking activities with colleagues, agriculture professors, extension agents, etc.  Let them know that you want to stay plugged into what’s out there in the industry.  Maintain a regular but light contact with these people.  Let them know that you would be interested in any new opportunities that might arise.

• Write articles for industry periodicals and associations.  For instance, we’re always looking for people to contribute industry-related articles for our 13,000 subscribers in the Animal Science Monitor newsletter.  This enables you to achieve a high profile and also establish a degree of name recognition.

• Make contact with a recruiter who can be your eyes and ears for new opportunities.  It’s important to develop a relationship with a professional recruiter who has the connections in your industry or niche.  Your recruiter is a highly skilled net worker within your industry.  Nobody knows the employment marketplace better than your recruiter because they work that marketplace day in and day out.  This enables them to access the “hidden job market,” or in other words, those positions that are not listed in the newspaper or professional journals.  The best positions are filled long before they’re released to the general public. 

• Keep your resume updated with any new skills, degrees, or accomplishments.  This is something that is often neglected, but is very important.  If you’re able to update this part of your resume on an ongoing basis, you’ll be prepared to spring into action when a new opportunity presents itself, rather than having to scramble and throw things together in a hasty fashion at the last moment.

I always tell candidates that the best time to look for a new job is when they feel they need one like they need a hole in the head.  Why?  Because that’s when you’re in the best frame of mind to make good decisions about the direction of your career.  In other words, you have options.  It’s when a person has no options (or limited options) that they make decisions born more out of desperation than out of sound judgement.

So now that you have a job you actually enjoy, launch a passive job search that might just help you land that dream position you’ve always sought.  And when it happens, it will be your story of casual career advancement that will be the subject of envy among your friends and peers, instead of the other way around.

Making hay with horse industry jobs

The Animal Science Monitor strives to provide pertinent and timely information regarding the Animal Science industry and related job markets.  We come across this information in a number of different ways, including through reader submissions.  If you have something that you believe would be of interest to our readership, please email it to matt@mattdeutsch.com.  This can include market trends, statistics, forecasts, etc., but it must be related to the Animal Science industry.  Also keep in mind that we will ultimately decide if a submission is appropriate for publication.  We’re very appreciative of all submissions made by our readers; you help to make this newsletter the best that it can be.

This month’s information involves an online survey conducted by equinestaff.com concerning horse industry job salaries.  The survey can be accessed at the following Web site address:

http://www.equinestaff.com/salarysurvey_results.asp

We hope that you find the information of value, and we look forward to seeing your submissions in the future.

ASM Requesting Submissions, Articles

We at the Animal Science Monitor are always looking for the best possible content for our newsletter.  With that in mind, we’d like to ask you, our readers, to help us accomplish that goal.  We are now accepting 300-500 word submissions from industry-related associations, schools, non-profit companies, etc., describing their organization and/or upcoming events.  There is no charge for these submissions, which might be seen by over 13,000 ASM readers.  In addition, we are also accepting industry-related articles for possible inclusion in future editions of our newsletter.  Please remember that ASM reserves the right to decide whether or not an article is appropriate for publication.  You can send your articles and submissions to matt@mattdeutsch.com.

In Focus: The National Institute for Animal Agriculture

(From time to time, The Animal Science Monitor will profile an organization related to the Animal Science industry.  The purpose of the profiles is to not only give these organizations the kind of exposure they deserve, but also to provide our readers with as much information as possible about the many resources that are available within the industry.  This month’s profile piece is about The National Institute of Animal Agriculture, which is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky.)

Although the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) is approaching its sixth anniversary—which it will celebrate in two months—the organization has even deeper roots in the industry.  In 1996, the Livestock Conservation Institute commissioned a long-range planning team to create an organization that would best serve animal agriculture in the 21st century.  That organization, NIAA, began operations in January of 2000.  The mission of the National Institute for Animal Agriculture is to provide a forum for building consensus and advancing solutions for animal agriculture and to provide continuing education and communication linkages to animal agriculture professionals.

NIAA strives to carry out its mission statement through programs that accomplish the following three objectives:

• Work towards the eradication of diseases that pose a risk to the health of animals, wildlife, and humans
• Promote a safe and wholesome food supply for our nation and abroad
• Promote the best practices in environmental stewardship and in animal health and well-being.

“Our primary focus is animal health-related issues,” said Ben Richey, the Director of Communications for NIAA   “Animal identification has been a major focus for our organization over the years.  However, we are also engaged in disease eradication and control programs.”

NIAA provides valuable information and educational resources for individuals and organizations within the animal agriculture industry.  In order to do this, it coordinates industry programs and offers materials designed to assist professionals in addressing emerging and current issues and problems.  A crucial component of NIAA programs is the exchange of technical and other information.

The exchange of this information is valuable in two ways.  First, members are better informed and therefore better able to do their jobs, and second, it is through discussions sparked by this exchange that positions and stances are taken, voted on, and eventually become industry policy.  In this fashion, NIAA is able to facilitate the creation of solutions in the animal agriculture industry, pulling decision-makers together in workshops and helping them to identify problems.  Members who participate in these workshops include professionals engaged in many aspects of animal agriculture: producers, veterinarians, scientists, government representatives, and allied industries.

“We’re fortunate to have the kind of members that we have,” said Richey.  “We operate under a 15-member board that we feel is a pretty good representation of the industry.  From producers to veterinarians, researchers to regulators, as well as allied industries, we cover numerous sectors of the industry, focused through our 14 specie and issue-based committees.  It’s a pretty broad field, and it allows us to have our finger on the pulse of what’s going on in various parts of the country.”

NIAA also provides continuing education opportunities for animal agriculture professionals.  Through the organization’s annual meeting, attendees are able to receive credits for the timely educational sessions offered.  NIAA also hosts issue-specific meetings around the country.  For example, ID/INFO EXPO, which is a unique conference and trade show devoted to animal identification and information systems, allows professionals in animal agriculture to hear and see the latest information on animal identification.  In addition, the organization is now offering educational opportunities through a series of videos, including videos concerning animal handling, dairy handling, and swine handling and transportation.

NIAA also encompasses emerging issues, such as those surrounding international trade and biotechnology.  Specifically in the area of animal health, NIAA addresses issues such as preventive herd/flock health strategies, disease eradication, animal health emergency management, animal health and trade, and emerging diseases.  NIAA is currently involved in initiatives on scrapie eradication in sheep and goats, as well as education for producers on Johne’s Disease.

NIAA focuses on multiple species, such as pork, beef and dairy cattle, sheep and goats, equine and poultry.  According to Richey, the organization offers quarterly newsletters to its members devoted to specific species.  There’s one for cattle and poultry, one for sheep and goat, one for equine, and one for swine.  In addition, NIAA has also just started a food safety digest.  All of these publications are geared toward keeping the industry as informed and as up-to-date on current events as possible.

“We try to give our readers a quick look at the health issues going on around the world,” said Richey.  “We cover research to policy changes and give readers an opportunity to pursue more information on topics of their interest.”

NIAA can be found on the Internet at www.animalagriculture.org or by calling (270) 782-9798.  Membership is open to all with a vested interest in advancing solutions for animal agriculture at any level.