Why Moonlight?

In response to yesterday’s post, a friend of mine asked me why do I suggest moonlighting before leaving your job permanently.  First, let me redefine moonlighting.  Moonlighting is when you continue working at a job you plan on leaving until you find a different position or in the world of freelancing and entrepreneurialship, your new salary is larger than your current one.

Why Woonlight?

For most peope, the answer may be obvious such as “A bird in the hand beats two in the bush”.  Not reacting impulsively prevents people from spending six months looking for a job without any source of income. The key is to search, while you still have a sure thing on hand.

This rule even applies when you are laid off. Be realistic. While you are searching, if you get a job that is not in your desired field, position, or income level and have not been receiving very many calls from employers at your proper range, then take the job until something more appropriate comes along.

Moonlighting makes all transitions easier.

As always, good luck with your job search.

Ayesha Long
www.AyeshaWrites4u.com

Transition Made Easy

Whether you are leaving your job to start another career, move on to a higher position, or start your own business, everyone should start out the same. Here are four steps to help guide you through the process.

* Moonlight. Continue working your full-time job, but spend a set limit of time a day working on fulfilling your dream. Even if all you can afford is 1 hour, that’s okay! Take that one hour and use it to conduct job searches, work on a business plan, or send out queries. Either way, that’s forty hours a month spent making sure you can have the life you want.

* Find out your monthly budget. Calculate how much money you allocate toward fixed expenses (i.e. rent, insurance) and flexible expenses (e.g. gas, lights, water) and multiply that number by 6 or 24. If you are changing to a job with a lower pay, it is safe to assume that you will have limited your spending to match your pay within 6 months. If, however, you are moving on to a career based on your own efforts such as sales, freelancing or any other entrepreneurial work, you should multiply your monthly budget by 24. This is the amount you will need to cover you for the next 2 years. Do not leave your job until you have at least 2 years worth of savings.

* Don’t gossip. Keep your side occupation quiet until it is time to go. Do NOT tell your office friends or your boss. You’ll be amazed to see how many employees and bosses will get jealous of the fact that you are willing to live out your dream. I’ve heard several horror stories of bosses sabotaging an employee’s career just to keep the employee from quitting their  job. Even the nicest of bosses can turn into crabs if they think you are inconveniencing them by leaving – so don’t test them.

* Have a Plan B. If the career you’ve dreamed up doesn’t pan out, what can you do to get yourself back on the right footing? Have this plan in the back of your mind. No matter how determined you are, sometimes the market and timing isn’t right. So have a contingency plan in effect.

As always, if you need any more advice or need assistance preparing your Career Search documents, do not hesitate to contact Ayesha Writes 4 You.

Sincerely,
Ayesha Long
www.AyeshaWrites4u.com

Layoffs

A former client of mine called about layoffs happening at one of the major retail chains she’s  been working at for about 3 years.   Rumors are spreading all across the store.  Employees are calling each other outside of work to find out what are the next steps they should be taking.  Can you believe that with the exception of my former client,  no one has thought to start looking for a new job yet?

So let me make this as clear as possible.  If there are rumors of layoffs and if you see your company’s name appearing in the news stating that layoffs are imminent, do not wait until the market is saturated with laid off workers all coming from the same company.  Be proactive!  Start looking around immediately after hearing the news.  Even if you happen to be able to salvage your job, there’s no guarantee that your company’s financial state will improve.  So it’s better to know your options and be safe.

As always, when you’re ready to step up to the next level of your career, don’t hesitate to visit  www.AyeshaWrites4u.com for help on all your career documents and job search needs.