How many
of you have seen the heading "New Year, New Career" for all those job
advertisements in the first weeks of January?
And
how many of you feel you would like a new career every time January comes
around, but never actually get around to doing something about it? Like
New Year's Resolutions, it's often put on hold because the rest of life gets
in the way.
I've decided
that this is the year I'm not going to get a job! (at least not a real one).
This year I'm going to concentrate on becoming self-employed and will only
do short-term jobs too good to turn down.
What
is your career goal for 2005? Do you want a new and better job or a complete
change of career? Do you want to go to college or set up your own business?
Most
of us spend more time planning our vacation than we do planning our careers.
For some reason, it just isn't considered a priority in schools, at least that's
how it is in the UK. I believe we should start learning about careers as soon
as we start school That way we'd have a lot more information by the time it
came to making decisions. If you have no idea what you want to do, check out
this month's book review below.
However,
no matter how little information we've been given or how much bad advice, it's
always possible to make changes. The key is to decide what you really want
to do and then write a plan, breaking it into manageable steps. And then persist!
If you can get some support,
go for it. This may not come from your immediate family, who may feel threatened
by your decision. But if you have friends who will encourage and motivate you,
get together on a regular basis. You can support them in reaching their goals,
whether career-related or something totally different.
Email
me with your questions and problems and I'll do my best to support you.
Employment
Trends
In the past, our
parents and grandparents trained for a career, got a job - perhaps progressing
up the ladder - and then retired.
Nowadays
there are very few professions in which we can expect to find a job for life.
In fact, it has been estimated that today's young people will retrain and change
careers 7 times during their working lives! And that's not just updating skills
and changing jobs, it's actually moving to a different field.
The
trend away from the job for life has resulted in an increase in fixed-term
contracts, more temporary work. And of course, outsourcing, together with downsizing,
which is just a euphemism for getting rid of staff and contracting the work
to outside companies.
However,
it's not all bad news. Many people who lose their jobs can set up as self-employed
and in some cases sell their services back to their previous employers. Work
is outsourced to people who were once on the payroll.
Less
stability for individuals also means more flexibility - the chance to do more
than one thing to earn money. So, you could have 2 part-time jobs in completely
different areas, or you could have a part-time job and a part-time business
(or 2). People in this situation are known as portfolio workers and it's becoming a
respectable option.
For
those who choose not to follow the portfolio route, it's more acceptable to
move around and have experience in different areas than it was 50 years ago.
Staying in a job for a year or two is no longer frowned upon and shows you
have adaptability and a wide range of experience and skills, all of which are
important on the CV.
What
are your experiences of short-term contracts or portfolio working? Do you think
it's a positive development or should employment be for life? Send us your
comments by clicking below:
Coming
soon
Look out for my
new ebook "9 Steps to CV Success," including a chapter on filling in
application forms, CV templates and a special report on transferable skills.
In
the meantime, why not sign up for a free email course on CV Tips:
Sign
up for your free course now!
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Comments
Book
Review
One of my favourite
career-related books is "I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What it Was"
by Barbara Sher with Barbara Smith. It's full of down to earth, practical advise
and very refreshing, for instance, "You don't have to become a beter person
or develop a different attitude to have a life you love. . . . Getting your
life on track will do wonders for your "bad" attitude."
There's
a great exercise on resistance - describe the perfect job and then give yourself
an hour to take the first steps towards it. Behaving as if you are committed
to this goal is designed to bring out all your resistance. I did it myself,
when I was considering going back to university to train as a careers advisor.
My fear turned out to be - "What will people think if I tell them I'm
doing another course?"
I
decided I there was no way I was going to base my life on what other people
thought and I went ahead - one of the best career decisions I've ever made.
(and I haven't stopped taking courses ! I've just finished a teacher training
course and am working towards the last 2 exams for a diploma in French this
year) You've guessed, I love learning!
"I
Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What it Was" is a book for dipping in
to and choosing the information relevant to your own situation. With chapter
headings such as "I want too many things", "I want something
I shouldn't want" and "A rage against the ordinary", it deals
head on with the problems so many of us face but are embarrassed to talk about.
After all, we're grown ups, we should know what we want, shouldn't we?
