Are you looking for a career or a job?

In that process, recruitment and selection functions are being carried out with extra caution to ensure effectiveness and consistency in business operations.

On the other hand, there's a lot of uncertainty for employees. With the tightened economy, often resulting in restructuring; more and more employees are peeking into the job market to see what's out there in pursuit of stability. The challenge for both employers and employees is finding the balance between stability and career development, where one is not above the other.

In my interactions with candidates, I have often found the answer to the question as to why you want to leave your current employer quite interesting. Obviously the reasons vary from career development, inadequate remuneration or even a culture misfit. How this question is answered tells whether they are looking for a job or a career.

The difference between these two is that; a job-seeker is most probably someone who is looking to make a move as they are unhappy with where they are due to management issues, or even remuneration-related concerns. They are characterized by a CV that reflects a lot of job-hopping and high-pay demands amongst other things. Whereas the career-seekers are usually driven by the challenge the job offers.

The unfortunate thing is that most of the candidates are not aware or sometimes choose to turn a blind eye to this fact, as it forms part of the decision-making process in extending an offer. When you present yourself as a job-seeker, the client sees someone who is either too ambitious (based on the remuneration demands) or is probably going to use them as a stepping ladder to success. So, even in theses tough times, as difficult as it is, be very careful about why you're moving and where you're moving to.

Perhaps when you ponder on why you didn't get that job you so much wanted and literally saw your name printed next to it; the question you need to ask is: Am I a job-seeker or a career-seeker?