Where to start

taken from the "Career Repair Kit" by David Royston-Lee

This is the most difficult starting point as you can spend so much time going through the process of ‘checking out’ different jobs… and getting confused as you go as to what jobs are right for you… the confusion that arises from this approach is quite simply because no job is ever perfect… and if you are desperate to run away from the job you are doing what you will find in any new job is elements of what you don’t want… so you can get caught up in a negative spiral of running from what you don’t want (and how often do we hear the phrase “I know what I don’t want… I just have a problem identifying what I do want”) and if you run away from something you will always find it.
The trick here is to identify ‘areas’ of interest…not jobs.

But first things first… we need to find out what are our talents… and how they can be used in a multitude of settings… Identify the things you enjoy doing… what talents are you using so you don’t have the attitude of the following people:

"I am trying to shift from IT to Retails Management or Marketing. I love the industry and I believe have the passion and confidence to succeed.
I mean out there they all want people with experience, and how can you stand a chance. I do not what to do now?"
Premi, London

"I'm trying to make the move from a call centre environment into communications- I took a masters to help facilitate that move and have gained some related experience but not in a communications role- but time again am being rebuffed in my attempts to get in...what extra is needed any ideas?"
Duane , Stoke on Trent,

In the first case it sounds like there has been little in the way of action… both in terms of identifying transferable skills, and identifying what is needed to move into the area they supposedly want… my view would be to see what they could do in their present job that might involve some ‘selling’ or ‘marketing’ skills and experience….surely they could find something that exposes them to the area they think they want to be in? In the second case the person has made the dreadful mistake of thinking that gaining a qualification automatically opens up lots more opportunities… wrong!

In this case I would have set my sights on doing a project in communications for my dissertation and refusing to budge on it so at least there was some link with what I wanted! Again it is also true to say there must be a clear link between a call centre environment and a communications role… well you would have thought so!...so why can’t the individual think of ways of extending their reach into the communications world within the call centre (See Brand You  for more on extending your brand)

What could they do, even if it was pro bono, that would enable them to flex that communications muscle?

Presentation Statements

Taken from the Career Repair Kit 'Presentation Statements' is an exercise that helps you prepare, so you can present yourself in an effective manner to new people.
Exercise: 'Presentation Statements'