A recent enquiry asked me if two years out of his desired career path will mean that he will never get back to doing the job he wants.
It depends.
Like many, this person had been made redundant and after a few months of not getting as job in his desired field took on a different job, it took him time to get to grips with the job and a year had gone by before he started looking for a job back in his specific branch of HR. Since then he has applied for many jobs and has yet to get shortlisted.
He is now concerned.
So I asked him what he has been doing to get a job in his desired field.
· He is registered with agencies
· He is making applications online
And that’s it.
He is not doing anything about building contacts and finding out more.
Asking him to be honest he said that some weeks he is spending about 5 hours a week on job search, but some weeks he doesn’t do anything.
Some of this is down to motivation, and it can be hard to keep ourselves motivated without support. It’s similar to losing weight or getting fit, you could do it on your own, or you could go to a weight loss club or see a personal trainer, both would help. And so working with a career and job search coach can help.
I’m not sure if we will work together, but what I’ve suggested to him is that
- He gets his CV/ application approach reviewed and improved. I can see some significant enhancements to his CV and he could implement some of these himself using the advice in my book – How to get a job in a recession.
- He looks to enhance his CV by demonstrating that he is keeping up to date on his professional area, such as getting qualified, doing short courses, attending professional meetings, reading journals and writing reviews on Amazon of business books. The later will also enhance his online profile.
- He gets an online presence, starting with LinkedIn and my eBook How to use LinkedIn to find a new job will help.
- He increases the amount of time he spends on job hunting, and he could do this by getting up an hour earlier and doing an hour each evening, this would double the amount of time he is spending on job search.
- Finally he decides if he actually wants to return to his desired field. If he is comfortable where he is then he won’t have the impetus to really give as much as it takes to get a new job. He really has to want the new job. It would be easier (I don’t mean easy) if he really disliked the job he was doing or didn’t have a job. Then he has the pain to escape from, so now he has to concentrate on the pleasure he will get from being successful and to make sure that every day he is doing something that moves him slightly towards his goal.
Any thoughts, comments, questions? Do leave them below.
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Denise Taylor is a chartered psychologist, registered guidance practitioner, author and award winning career coach. I love my job, and love helping other people get their ideal job both helping them get clarity on what this is and also ensuring they are successful in job search. I haven’t always loved my job and like many people climbed a ladder and when I got close to the top realised it was the wrong one. Read more on my web site www.amazingpeople.co.uk . Any questions? email me Denise@amazingpeople.co.uk.
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