Thinking of a Career Change?

 

Written by Jenny Catton

 

Once upon a time, a job was for life and people tended to work in the same industry or even for the same company throughout their entire career. But these days, it’s more common for people to change direction mid-way through their career. And with proper planning, there’s no reason why you can’t change career at any age.

 

Is a career change right for you?
The first step is to think about why you want to change. It may be that you don’t need to change career completely to find new challenges or better prospects. A new role in your existing company or a position at a new firm might be what you need instead.

 

 

What next?

If you have decided that you want a complete change of career, you need to think about what you’d like to do next. Think about the things you still enjoy in your current career – are there skills you could transfer to a different industry or role? Alternatively, do you have hobbies outside of work that you could build into a new career? Take time to research your options and find out what training or qualifications you might need to kick-start your new career.

 

Practical considerations

Think about the financial and practical implications of a career change. For example, changing career may mean taking a drastic pay cut whilst you establish yourself in your new job. Make sure you have adequate savings whilst you make the transition.

 

For more information about changing career, visit: www.acareerchange.co.uk

 

Categories: Career, career change, catton, change, change career, changing career, company, industry, jenny, nbsp, written

Why Building Relationships at Work is Important to Your Career

 

It has been said that this business decade is all about technology – but the next one will be all about relationships. This is how important building of relationships is considered to be.

As an employee, you can make your relationship and rapport building ability your best asset. It is going to be your best job skill and highly useful, no matter where you will be working. If you are going to change jobs several times during the span of your career, then building relationships is going to be the best thing that you learn how to do.

Every day you meet someone new and you connect with someone new. It is best to network with this person, as you do not know how that person can help you in your career. This is especially true at work; always build a good relationship and rapport with your colleagues, because you never know when you may need a professional favor from them.

The Bossy Way

Your growth at work could and most likely will depend on the way you behave with your boss. You have to remember that the reason your boss is your boss is because he is respected by top management. You will do really well for yourself if you build a good working relationship with your boss. They are the one who will let you handle major clientele or accounts, and who is also responsible for your appraisals and performance reviews.

Your boss can be your best mentor. Your boss is the best person to give guidance and direction about your job. You not only have to build a professional relationship with your boss, but it would also benefit you to build a personal relationship with them. This doesn’t mean you are sucking up to them, it just means that you respect them as a person. So get to know him on a more personal level. You could call their family for lunch or dinner or you could go golfing with them; do whatever it takes to get to know them better.

Cooperating with Coworkers

Your coworkers and colleagues are important to your career. The way you work and deal with them reflects on your people skills. The relationships that you build with them can be very valuable. Do whatever it takes to build a bond with them. Help a colleague who is lagging in his work. Compliment them on an accomplishment or job well done. Go to the bar around the corner and socialize with them after work. Have a drink or two together. Get to know your co-workers on a more personal level. It will help you to build your network.

The Client, The King

Your client is the king. Today when the market is so competitive and so similar, where every product is the same, where is the edge? The edge lies in customer service. Customers are likely to be drawn to a company that is better at customer service than its competitors. You as an employee have to build that relationship with your customer to ensure that your customer comes back to you and appreciates your work well enough to put in a good word to your boss.

In an increasingly competitive business world, building relationships can make or break your career – so don’t underestimate the importance of it.

Categories: boss, build, Building Relationships, Career, customer service, personal level, relationship, Relationships, work

Looking for a challenge? Volunteer!

 

Written by Jenny Catton

 

Stuck in a rut at work? Want to build your confidence and learn new skills? Interested in new career opportunities? If so, volunteering could be just what you are looking for.

 

Volunteering can be a great way to boost your career prospects. Whether you want to learn new skills to help you bag your next promotion or would like to find out about different careers without leaving your current job, volunteering provides a whole host of opportunities.

 

From helping on an archaeological dig to working back stage at your local theatre, there are hundreds of volunteering options within a wide range of different industries.

 

Think about the sort of thing you would like to learn. For example, if you’ve always wanted to work with animals but aren’t sure if it’s the career for you, find out if any local animal sanctuaries are looking for volunteers. It’s a great way to find out what you really enjoy and what is involved without going through the upheaval of a complete career change.

 

Volunteering is also a great way to boost your CV. For instance, if you are applying for management roles but don’t have any management career experience, you might find it hard to progress. But if you can find relevant volunteering opportunities, you might be able to refine your management skills in other ways and can then include this experience on your CV.

 

To find out more about volunteering opportunities in your area, search online or visit: www.do-it.org.uk

 

Categories: Career, management, nbsp, nbsp volunteering, opportunities, skills, Volunteering, volunteering opportunities

Career Climbers: How to Tell if You’re Ready to Move Up

In order to progress in your career, you need to be ready. According to strategic planning consultant Allison Rimm, author of The Joy of Strategy: A Business Plan for Life, ‘It is important to identify your blind spots and shine a spotlight on areas in which you need to improve. A fresh perspective can provide you with an accurate diagnosis of any issues that need to be addressed along with a prescription for doing so.’ There’s no test that can prove to you that you’re ready for the next step up the ladder, but you can ask yourself the following questions to somewhat determine your readiness:

 

1. Do you seek out the “real story”? You need to gain a full picture of yourself and what’s getting in your way. You may want to progress but writing that CV is always something you’ll “get around to,” or maybe you have a shining career background but you suck at interviews. Before you can get to the happy ending of your story, you need to read all the chapters.

 

2. Do you hold the keys to success? It’s not about having opportunities handed to you; you have to feel in control of your own corporate wellness, so that others will see this in you. Believe you can impact your own work life for the better, and you will.

 

3. Who are your role models? Unless you’re in show business, identifying major role models to whom you should aspire can be difficult. However, even if you don’t pick someone in your field, it’s important to find someone whom you wish to emulate. What is it about that person that is so appealing? Identify the key qualities you admire – be it communication skills, excellence in negotiating or likeability around the office – and work out how you might evolve into something similar.

 

4. Can you take the tough stuff? Whether it’s about your work, your behaviour or you as a person, no one likes to hear negative criticism. However, while it may be a knock to your emotional wellbeing, criticism and feedback is a necessary step for growth in the workplace, as well as in life. You may be tempted to avoid discussing your potential downfalls, but processing this type of information can prove pivotal in the long run.

 

5. Do you ever think about your failures? This can’t be right; surely you need to think about your past successes – not failures – to become more successful. Though it seems counter-intuitive to dwell on your mistakes, you need to focus on your failures in order to grow in a professional capacity. Look beyond the mistake, and try to see where it originated and how you could have prevented it. Maybe you resisted an offer to collaborate and buckled under the pressure of doing it all on your own or perhaps you didn’t plan out your time effectively and ended up missing a deadline. This isn’t about beating yourself up; everyone makes mistakes. However, you don’t have to make them twice.

 

6. Have you started a plan for your development? You don’t need to wait for permission before you move forward in your career, so why wait? Start your evolution by identifying the five skills or traits that you’ll need to succeed at a higher level in your industry. It may help to imagine that you’re talking to a student or intern who’s entering your profession. What advice would you give them, and what are you doing to follow your own advice?

 

7. Do you approach your career with a degree of humour? Getting ahead at work is serious business, but if you can’t laugh at the setbacks then you’re going to drown in them. Chances are, you won’t get it right on your first try, but attempting to disarm negative emotions with humour can be the start of a “growth spurt,” giving you the positive outlook you need to get back on that horse and try again.

 

8. Are you willing to invest the energy that you need to? Most of the time, just keeping up with the bare minimum requirements for the job you have can be trying, but this magnifies when you start looking to get ahead. You might need to take on more responsibility, put in more hours, or even dedicate some of your free time to learning more about the industry. All of this takes time and energy, so be sure that you enter the process with a store of patience.

Categories: Career, energy, Humour, life, nbsp, Role Models, time, work

Keep Your Emotions in Check if You Want to be a Professional

Author, founder of life-choice psychology and life coach, Ken Lindner, once famously said, ‘Successful individuals control their emotions; they don’t let their emotions control and sabotage them’.

The problem is, whilst this is a very easy thing to say, it is far from an easy thing to do. It is not impossible, however, and many argue that in order to look after your own wellbeing as well as to keep your corporate wellness in good shape, you must learn this skill.

Ken’s career as a life coach has enhanced the lives of everyone that he has worked with, including high profile clients Matt Lauer and Mario Lopez, and he is also author of a new book called Your Killer Emotions which details why letting your emotions run away with you is such a bad thing for your wellness, and how you can keep it together.

Ken recommends being strategic, especially in your corporate life, and keeping a clear and organised vision for your career path. If you are clear about what you believe, where you are going and what you would like to achieve, it makes it harder to make poor decisions along the way, when your emotions try to take over.

Harmful emotions in a corporate situation can include jealousy, resentment and anger, and these can lead to you making damaging life choices, because you are acting on your emotions, not on your knowledge.

Animosity can also be a huge deciding factor in your workplace emotions, as many people find it hard to get on with their boss or with difficult coworkers. This can lead them, for example, to leave a job that is actually good for their career, because it is the easier option, but this can close many doors.

It’s always best to avoid the ‘quick fix’ of reacting to a situation, but instead try to distance yourself from the problem and instead of thinking about how it makes you feel, think about where you would like to be and how your current situation can help you achieve that, and it will make difficult emotions more bearable.

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Keep Your Emotions in Check if You Want to be a Professional

Categories: Career, Corporate, emotions, life, life coach, situation

Are British People Optimistic Or Pessimistic?

Is your cup half empty or half full? In Britain, we are often described as being cynical. So it might come as a bit of a surprise that new research has suggested Britain is generally more of an optimistic country than we might expect; our glass is more likely to be half full in everyone’s favourite gastronomic optimism analogy.

A study, released by leading health and wellbeing mutual Benenden Health, found that despite the lingering economic problems, rising cost of living and a rather depressing housing market, the majority of us still have a positive outlook on life. The trend was examined in a large study that initially asked people to respond to the ‘glass half empty’ or ‘glass half full’ question, and then examined the reasons behind it.

In the survey, six out of ten claimed they felt that the term ‘glass half full’ suited their outlook on life the best. The research then looked at satisfaction levels across a number of aspects of modern life, with the average person rating themselves at 64 percent happy.

Men were actually more likely to adopt an optimistic perspective than women. They cited salary, career prospects and finances as primary reasons to be cheerful. Nevertheless, women were generally happy in regards to family life, overall health and the place that they live.

The results come as quite a surprise, as the less-than-inspiring economic outlook had been thought to have been a depressing factor for Britons’ overall optimism. What they seem to suggest is that despite the troubles that everyone is currently facing, British people still have their ‘stiff upper lip’ and the right kind of attitude to make it through difficult times. Let’s hope that we can hold onto this positivity and maybe even increase it.

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Are British People Optimistic Or Pessimistic?

Categories: Career, Mental Health, optimist