Are You Immediately Available?

Brenda Griffin Get A Job Expert

     After the sting of a lay off, it can be a surprise to realize you have an advantage. You are immediately available!  To an employer, that may be more important than you realize.

     Delays of any kind create a sense of urgency. The end result can be a lot of hurry up and wait, frustrating both job seekers and employers. It's this urgency that gives the unemployed an edge! Most working candidates will give two weeks notice, while others may have contractual agreements requiring even more notice.

     Delays in the hiring process come in many forms. First, employers are busy people!  They are caught up in their day-to-day activities.  Many are working with reduced staff and are simply overloaded. Their busy schedules impact the overall timing of hiring.  When the time comes, BINGO, a sense of urgency appears.  Being immediately available can give you the edge.

     Another issue is funding. It's one thing to have a need for new people and another to be able to pay for them!   If there is a hiring freeze, it's not forever, just not now.  In the meantime, employers hang on waiting for the day they can hire help.

     Anticipating that day, employers start the search process.  Posting job ads, reviewing resumes, and conducting interviews takes place even with their hectic schedules. When the time is right and the funds appear, employers want to get moving!  Again, being immediately available gives you the edge.

     It is important to realize that there is no shame in being "immediately available" or "laid off." So, don't hesitate to tell employers you contact of your availability. But do so after you have sold them on that fact that you meet their need, keeping the focus on what they need! If you're the right person for the job, have the perfect credentials and meet their need, being immediately available could be the deciding factor.

     Your availability gives employers a sense of closure to their need. They can now move on to other things.  Employers know immediately available candidates are more likely to accept the offer.  They're not trying to exploit you! They just want the position filled with the right candidate. It could be you!

     Working candidates have a different kind of decision to make.  They're already working!  Yes, they would have to give notice, which causes delay.  Who knows, maybe they are seeking offers to leverage their current employer and aren't truly interested in making a move.  This is something employers wonder about and if influences who they decide to bring to their team.

     A busy employer with an urgent need just wants the best person for the job, ASAP. Take advantage of their urgency. If you have the right credentials for the job, and have demonstrated you are the right person to meet what they need, remember being immediately available is your edge.