According to the results of recent surveys in the UK, US and Ireland more than 50% of the workforce is unhappy with their career or job.
Most of these people are unhappy with the actual tasks they are doing in their job. The only way they will be happier is if they do something totally different – i.e., take a different career direction. The same goes for a lot of people who are made redundant.
These people have a choice, stay with the career they are or were in, or change it. The biggest thing preventing you from getting a career you love… believe it or not… is YOU!
Many people are simply not prepared to put in the effort needed, preferring to take the easy way out and accept second best… or maybe even whatever seemed like a good idea at the time. They do what they had the points for in their leaving cert or what their parents did/told them to do. Or they come up with excuses such as financial restraints.
It’s important to realise that choosing a career (or changing careers) is right up there with getting married, having kids, and buying a house. It is one of the most important decisions you will ever make in your life! For a few decades you will spend 60 odd hours out of 168 each week working and travelling to and from work.
And what happens at work, whether it’s good or bad, affects ALL the other aspects of your life – your health, family, finances, relationships, self-esteem and so on.
Choosing a career is NOT something that can be done in less than five minutes, but unfortunately, that’s how much thought some people put into it. Then 5 years later they are still on the factory floor, or answering phones at a call centre, selling door to door or in the same office doing the same every day.
Choosing a career involves much more:
1. Looking closely at yourself
2. Researching jobs which might be suitable
3. Being able to make a decision, and
4. Acting on, and being happy with, that decision.
The first of these steps in finding a career you love is “self-discovery”. It looks at such things as:
* The things you like and dislike doing
* The things you are good and bad at doing
* The skills you have or need to get
* Your achievements to date, and what you want to achieve in the future
* Your attitudes, values and personal style.
A thorough, honest and realistic self-assessment is vital if you are to gather the necessary information to make a good career decision… if you are to find a career you might love to do! If you want to find a job that is not work anymore!
That’s where my I come in with my career coaching package. While people can just opt for a new CV or interview technique sessions, I encourage a broader view on how to choose a career or change to the career you always wanted.
First the client and myself look at what makes them tick, what their core values are, what needs to be in place for them to be happy. This can range from family to faith to competitiveness to control to joy. We then use these values as a benchmark for career identification.
Then we look at the clients existing skills, strengths and character traits. They might be skilled at talking or problem solving, their strength might be a natural sense of humour and their character may be Loyal and Supportive.
We then explore the client’s interests, hobbies and favourite things. What is their favourite pastime? What do you read books on? How do you like spending a Sunday afternoon, if you won the Lottery how would you spend it etc…
When we have the results of all the exercises and work done, we match all of these with the ideal role in the ideal industry for the client.
Once this work is completed we start the actual practical work of skills gap analysis, CV and cover letter writing, interview preparation and job searching. Another USP is that I always personally follow through until the client secured a job or is satisfied with the progress made. This is done on a 1 to 1, confidential basis with the client’s agenda as the only one in town.
So ask yourselves and those around you the question if they want to get what they really want from the rest of their career or if they want to settle for second best? If you or them want to stop dreading Mondays, please get me their number so I can call them for a no charge consultation.
Patrick Mercie, 4ward 2 Success, your career coached 1 VIP at a time.
Tags: action plan, career, change, Coaching, CV, goals, Interview, life, outcome, Quality of Life, resolution, Success, unemployed, void
Hi all,
Every week I professionally help prepare people for interviews so I thought I would share some basic tips on how to prepare for them with you. For a sevenfold increase of chance of success I would still recommend going to a professional career coach like myself. In the mean time enjoy the article below.
Interview preparation
Understand the employer – This is the key to interview preparation. You need to know the employer and what they want. Only then can you focus your interview preparation. Also who is going to interview you? It is OK to ask or find out.
Identify how you meet the job requirements and how to use your exprience as an example– Listen this what the employer will want to know from the interview. You should also prepare examples and achievement to back this up. Your answer is example – benefit based.
Know your CV – What if the first question you are asked is when did you do your Leaving Cert and you fumble to get an answer. This is just to prove a point. If you do not know yourself how do you expect the employer to know you.
Research the company – Expect to be asked the question – “what do you know about us?” Research the company shows you are prepared BUT also interested.
Interview questions – There are a number of questions that you can be certain that you will be asked. Having said this if you get the above points right you will be fine.
How to get information on a potential employer.
Internet – This is the obvious port of call. Most organisations have a website which will provide most of what you need.
Employees – do you know anyone working in the company? This can be a great resource. If you don’t know anyone directly can your network of friends, work colleagues or family help you?
Marketing Material – The company may have brochures or other marketing material that you can request. To be honest this has been replaced by the internet but still can add value.
Competitors – What information can you get from the competition about the employer or as importantly about the competitor as this again can help you differentiate from other interviewees.
Patrick Mercie – 4ward 2 Success – 12th of June 2010
00 353 83 3008963 – patrickmercie66@hotmail.com
Tags: company, CV, employer, Interview, job, marketing, preparation, questions, requirements, Success, unemployed
4ward 2 Success are delighted to announce that Patrick Mercie is delivering a series of open workshops designed specifically with enhancing your quality of life in mind! Patrick mentions that the idea behind these workshops “is for people to stop the blame game and start taking responsibility for their own future”.
The next of these interactive modules is a ‘Career Guidance’ workshop which will now take place on Thursday the 29th of April, from 1900 to 2130 PM, venue Absolute Hotel, Limerick.
The workshop is ideal for unemployed people, people who were recently made redundant or people who would like to change career.
This workshop covers and delivers the following for all participants:
1) Assessing your current position and using it as a start for your future career. At the end of this section all participants will know what is essential for their future career and what skills they have to offer.
2) Career Identification. How do you go about finding that career for you? Goal Setting for your career. All Participants will be able to establish in what field where their ideal career lies.
3) How to increase your chance of landing that job you always wanted. The bulk of the workshop will be spent on this. Here the participant will be shown the do’s and don’ts on how to write company specific CV’s and cover letters; as well as how to perform at interviews.
4) Patrick will share what resources the participants can use in their search for the next step in their career. From people to online resources, he will show you what is out there for you.
Profile: Patrick graduated and qualified as a Personal & Business Coach with the Irish Lifecoach Institute (ILI) in 2007 and has this Diploma accredited by the Life & Business Coaching Association of Ireland (LBCAI). Patrick has been successfully coaching people from all walks of life towards taking responsibility of their future by acting on it today. Patrick’s style of working is interactive, motivational, energetic and above all positive minded. Patrick has been described by his clients as ‘infectious’ in positive thinking and attitude.
Your investment in this workshop is €35.
To book one of the limited places on this workshop you need to contact Patrick Mercie by emailing him on patrickmercie66@hotmail.com or calling him on 083-3008963. Deposits will be asked for to guarantee your place.