With our recent research showing jobseekers becoming a bit more proactive, there may be quite a few who start looking to move on after a long period with the same company. Whilst the recent employment climate has not really been conducive to this, and things are still very tough, there may be enough signs to encourage those who feel the need to seek a new challenge.
Looking for a job following a long period of employment brings its own challenges, so we asked career change expert Simon North for his advice…
“Your progression from being happy and settled in a long-term job to wanting to leave tends to be quite binary. Either something happens, a particular event, which makes you fed up with your job or you gradually become more conscious of the need to move. Understanding your motivations for wanting to leave is important because the first big question you have to ask yourself in a job hunt is what you want your next job to be. Understanding your motives is key to answering this question. You don’t want to move to a new role where the same thing that made you leave your old position is lying in wait for you. So when you ask yourself what you want to do, ask yourself what it is about what you do now that makes you not want to do it any more.
Here are some more tips for finding a new job after so long in your old one:
One of the hardest things to do during your working life is to look at a career change. It can be difficult even when the economy is in a strong position, so is particularly hard in the current employment climate.
Yet as the world of work changes, and new technologies create the need for new skills and attitudes, it seems more and more of us are considering undertaking such a change.
We asked career coach Steve Nicholls for his Top Ten Career Change Tips….
“These tips are brought to you as a result of real interactions with career coaching clients of mine. They weave together to form a strategy to help you achieve that career change you’ve been thinking about. Be warned though; it takes commitment, but the rewards are worth it!
When people come to me to discuss a potential new career, they are often at a point of crisis in their current job or career. They may have been experiencing negativity from a line manager or colleagues, or feel stuck in a dead end. So when you’re planning a career change, with or without engaging a career coach, I would urge you to really focus on the task in hand; you need to bring the best version of you to any decisions about career or life. Allow yourself the time and space to focus on this life changing decision you are about to make. How about writing a list of ten things that you like about yourself, as a primer to get into the right frame of mind?
There is a natural urge to steam ahead with the job hunting, but we are talking career change here right? I mean, isn’t it worth taking that step back and really looking at yourself closely to ensure that your next career transition is worthy of your values? If I tell you that in my career change programme, 8 out of 12 sessions are exploration based, you might begin to see the depth that I recommend. A simple personality profile test is often a good starting point.
Think Transferable Skills here; what generic skills (e.g. staff management, sales skills, financial, budgeting, project mgmt.) do you have? Make a list and keep that list visible on a day to day basis, so you can add to it as ideas come to you. Continue reading “Top Ten Career Change Tips” »
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