Looking Quietly? JOB SEARCHING AROUND A 9-5
Most job search advice quietly assumes you have time. That your calendar is your own, and that you can take a call at two in the afternoon without inventing a dentist appointment.
A lot of you are not in that position. You have a job. You like parts of it. You’re just ready for what comes next, and are trying to figure out how to look without blowing up the thing that currently pays you.
Here is where I would start: give yourself a horizon line.
You don’t have to tell anyone you are leaving in January. But you can say something like, “By the time the next president is inaugurated, I want to be somewhere new.”
It’s both vague enough to be safe and specific enough to give you permission to start talking to people. And if somebody scoops you up earlier than that, even better.
I know the instinct is to keep this entirely to yourself. I would push back on that a little. People can keep a secret. Saying “totally confidentially, I am starting to think about what is next” to a few people you trust is usually how this starts moving at all.
A few do’s and dont’s
Do get the narrative out there, even softly. See above.
Do not complain about your current job. Not to your network, not in an interview, not anywhere.
Do tailor your resume to the track. If you are looking at executive director roles and development roles, that is two resumes, not one. A resume built for everything reads like a resume built for everything.
Do make your LinkedIn match your resume. Then stop polishing it. Over-fixating on a headline isn’t what gets people on the phone.
Do not just apply. Applications are the least efficient part of a search and the most emotionally expensive part of it. Every hour in a portal is an hour not spent on the thing that actually moves searches forward.
Do not wait until you feel ready. This takes longer than you think.
There is an old rule of thumb that a search runs about a month for every $10k you want to make over your current salary. I would not bet money on math, but the spirit of it is right. Start before you are ready. If you want structure for the first few weeks, Launch Your Search is built for exactly this.
How this actually fits around a 9-5
It doesn’t exactly. You have to carve it out.
When I talk about networking I usually say five to eight meetings a week. I am going to say something different here; if you’re working, aim for two to three. The goal isn't the number, it's getting out there and starting to talk to people.
These happen in the margins. Early mornings before your day starts, lunch breaks, evenings. If you are hybrid, stack them on the days you are home. When I was employed and job searching, I found a closet I could take those calls in. What works might not always be what's comfortable.
What this looks like depends a lot on the job you are in right now. If you are on a schedule somebody else controls, the shape of it changes. But I have yet to meet someone whose job made this impossible. Inconvenient, constantly. Impossible, no.
And the meeting is not the goal. Expanding your network is the goal.
The people in my network who do this well do not just meet with me once. They are back in my inbox six weeks later with an update, and again at twelve weeks.
That’s the part almost everyone skips, and it’s the part that works. Our Networking Toolkit has a tracker that keeps that cadence for you so you are not holding it in your head.
What to say, and who to say it to
At work, keep your cards close. Some managers, the moment they know you're looking, start planning your replacement. That happens more often the earlier you are in your career. "I might be looking in a while" is plenty.
There is one exception worth thinking about. Sometimes you want to tell a specific person, not only because you trust them, but because they will understand what you are actually asking for. As a working parent, your next goal may be "I want to report to other working parents." That's not only about the next job. Saying it out loud is often the easiest way to ask for a little more of that in the moment.
One more filter as you build your list: is this someone you'd ask to be a reference someday? If yes, keep them close. We wrote a whole issue on how to have stellar references if you want the details.
Happy job searching!
Naomi
Director, Research & Learning @ America Is All In | Remote (U.S.) | $129,500–$165,896
Executive Director @ Jobs with Justice San Francisco | Bay Area, CA | $120,000–$145,000
Senior Organizer @ Guardrails Action | Remote | $140,000–$150,000
VP of Finance and Administration @ Active Minds | Remote (Washington, D.C.) | $130,200–$151,900
Development Director @ More Perfect Union | Remote | $150,000
Director, Operations and Special Projects @ Active Minds | Hybrid (Washington, D.C.) | $105,000–$119,700
Sr. Director of Powerbuilding @ Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition | Nashville, TN | $90,000–$118,000
Program Director @ Treehouse Foundation | Easthampton, MA | $90,000–$100,000
That's not all! We're hiring for additional jobs and you can see all of them on the NRG website.
Launch Your Search Cohorts
Over four weeks, starting September 16, you'll have an opportunity to join a small group led by NRG's career coach to work through every stage of the job search: organizing your strategy, refining your materials, building your network, and telling your story with confidence.
→ Great for anyone starting fresh or looking for a reset.
→ Small groups of six peers or fewer.
→ Includes email support between sessions.
→ $600 for the full 4-week cohort.
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Let’s move,
Naomi
P.S. If you’d like a partner to help you with your job search strategy, learn how NRG’s coaching programs can help you.