4 Ways to Add Passive Job Hunting to Your Day (Because You Should Always Be on the Market)

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Even if you adore your job, we all know the workplace can be unpredictable. Unfortunately, a reorganization, bankruptcy or management shakeup can leave you without a job, no matter how high of a performer you are. Life's unpredictable, too. You never know when something could come up and completely change your priorities or schedule. 
While being forced to leave a job situation is never the end of the world — in fact, it can be a good thing — you can mitigate some of the negative impacts by always keeping your eyes on new opportunities. I know what you're saying: wait, wait, wait. Isn't it a huge waste to be pouring 100% of your free time (or free energy) into job searching when you could be, I don't know, engaging in self-care or nailing your current job? That's when passive job searching comes in. Here are five ways you can job hunt without spending tons of time investing in the not-so-present.

1. Set up job alerts. Then, actually open the emails. 

Job alerts are all the opportunistic fun of job boards without the time sink. Rather than having to sift through websites to find the roles that are interesting enough to apply to, you can receive curated emails right to your inbox that are full of dream jobs. Open them everyday to see if a star role catches your eye and apply when you get inspired. Don't see anything interesting? No worries, because you didn't spend an hour surfing instead of working on your projects or watching Netflix. You can set up job alerts on Fairygodboss by setting up your profile. 

2. Spend a few minutes a day networking on Fairygodboss and your social media accounts. 

Most people get jobs through people. Make sure you're always growing your online network by investing just a few minutes a day on your social media accounts. On Fairygodboss, join groups of like-minded professionals to join the conversation and grow your network. On LinkedIn, posting consistent statuses or articles and commenting on content written by others are great ways to get new connections and build rapport within your industry. Challenge yourself to post and comment at least once a day. If you're really feeling up to networking, shoot a message to someone whose article interested you. 

3. Make a point to keep your network updated on what you're doing. 

It's important to take your networking efforts offline, too. While it can be easy to take a step back from your industry happy hours or conferences when you're not on the job hunt, it's important to keep putting yourself out there so people remember your face and get to know what's going on in your (satisfying) career. 
If you're lacking a consistent networking spot, keep up with all the people you've met in real life by sending out a monthly or quarterly newsletter via email. Put all those business cards to good use by adding them to the BCC. Then, write a quick update on your recent work, brand updates, or other relevant professional (or personal!) goings on. This is slightly more personal than writing a status and way less time consuming than starting email chains one-by-one. 

4. Keep your resume, skills and certifications updated. Then, see how they stack up, so you can scale up. 

To get a job, you've got to have the skills. Even if you're comfortable where you are now, make sure you are keeping your application updated to accommodate a sudden change in employment status (or to apply to one of those dream jobs we were talking about earlier!). Every once in a while, update your resume with major projects and accomplishments. Keep any relevant certifications or licensing updated, and see how others in your field are continuing their education. It may be worth it to get new skills before you go back on the market full-time, and it's much less stressful (and, often, less of an economic crunch) to finish those courses or do that training while you're employed. 

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