new career ideas

The agony of feeling trapped in the wrong career

May 31, 2015 By // by DigitalJenIPC

So there you are. Feeling trapped. Feeling stuck. The agonising pain of needing a career change.

So, what do you do? Do you take action? Do you do research?

What do you do?

Is it any of these?

•You chew your pencil (there must be a few pencils still left out there in a world of tablets!)
•You bite your nails.
•You have a moan to your partner or a friend.
•You go shopping. Alot.
•You go to an expensive restaurant.
•You go to an pricey hairdresser and have a haircut and your colours done.
•You visit a Spa for a day to pamper yourself and make yourself feel better.
•Your body gets ill, waves you a ‘red flag’ and goes on strike to take you away from the office and give you some time to create the future. You sleep.
•You drink too much.
•You search for free career change resources on the web.
•You do drugs.
•You get depressed.
•You comfort eat. Multi packs are your new ‘best friend’.
•You moan to your partner or friend. Again.
•You plan a weekend away or holiday to distract yourself from how bad you feel.

And then you come back from a break and return to work and your life. Things are exactly the same. Only they aren’t. You have money on your credit card to pay off.

If you convinced yourself that you couldn’t afford to change career before, you definitely can’t now. Your mortgage is too big. Your credit card bill too large. Your tiredness and lack of energy too much to make a change.

So what do you do?

You start planning your next holiday to escape from your life and your job. A temporary refuge from the agony of being stuck in the wrong career. And feeling it is too late to do anything about it. It isn’t.

Can you relate to this? Does it remind you of someone you know; a partner, friend, family member or colleague?

If you are ready to create a virtuous circle and invest in yourself rather than keep recreating a vicious circle, get in touch. If you are not, please don’t.

What next?

Please share this post with someone who you feel needs to read it.

Read our client testimonials:

https://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/energise-client-testimonials/

Download your copy of our free report:

http://careerstrategies.co.uk/changingcareersreport/

Read inspiring client examples:

https://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/client-examples/

Energise Career coaching:

http://careerstrategies.co.uk/careercoaching/services-1/services/

A portfolio career for me!

January 27, 2015 By // by DigitalJenIPC

This is a guest blog by one of our clients, Jenny Brewer. Jenny enjoyed a successful career setting up and running her own law firm and was a pioneer for women in the law. She didn’t want to retire but to enjoy a more varied and stimulating second career, but what? Like many people, Jenny was not sure about her transferable skills, where they were useful or how to market herself as an individual brand. We helped her to think through how to make it happen and she has! The rest of this blog is in her own words:

Careers, in short, have a shelf life; portfolio careers can be timeless

When I chose to step down from my Law Practice 2 years ago I had no idea what opportunities were out there for someone like me. In 1980 I had set up and developed my own Law Firm and after a good 30 years at the helm and an exciting legal career behind me, I was ready to move on. But what was I going to do? After a lot of thought and, I have to admit, quite a lot of anxiety and doubt, I could see that it would be difficult to focus on one thing. I wanted to be free of management, free of staff, free of overwhelming regulation: a Portfolio Career i.e. a variety of jobs or business opportunities rather than one long term job, seemed a very good starting point.

So what exactly is a Portfolio Career?

For many people, instead of working in a traditional full-time job, they have several part-time jobs (including part-time employment, temporary jobs, freelancing and self-employment). When these are combined, they may add up to the equivalent of a full-time job or a working life, which is as full as they want it to be.

Getting Started creating a Portfolio Career

It is not unusual to find it difficult to get started, it feels like taking a leap into the unknown, when in fact you will soon realise that the first step is often the hardest – after that it somehow “grows”. It’s often a good idea to ask a friend to help you or to consult a Career Coach who will make that first step feel quite natural.

I was fortunate enough to be guided by Rachel Brushfield whose help was invaluable. With her advice I was able to work out what I had to offer and the areas I wanted to get into.

So we looked at:
• My skills
• My interests
• Things that I have always wanted to do
• Things I have always wanted to learn/develop – no matter how varied.

The Future of my Portfolio Career

Two years on and I now have my own Business Consultancy, which is well remunerated. In addition, I mentor professionals – including women solicitors, and I teach speaking skills. During the last two years, I have studied for and taken a teaching diploma in speaking skills. I have met so many interesting people from different areas of life who I wouldn’t have come across when I was working as a lawyer. I have also been involved in voluntary work including teaching youngsters in school to express themselves through speaking.

It has been a wonderfully rewarding experience. I have learnt to say “no” to work I don’t want and to develop the additional skills I need to do things that I am now interested in. It has surprised me how many opportunities are out there to acquire work, to learn new skills and to develop new interests.

It is said that we all work and possibly live in silos, where we are seriously focused on our individual narrow paths. We need to be focused because our work demands it. Now, I feel as though I have stepped outside into the fresh air. I’ve become more worldly and more interested in everything around me and I feel I have far more to contribute, far more to look forward to and, perhaps, most importantly, much more to enjoy!

Jennifer Brewer
www.achievingsuccess.co.uk

10 pros of a career portfolio

October 24, 2014 By // by DigitalJenIPC

Portfolio careers are growing fast – because of need and want. More information below if this is a new concept for you.

http://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/2014/05/25/could-a-portfolio-career-make-you-dance/

A career portfolio or portfolio career has many pros. I have thought of over 70. Here are 10 of mine for now:

1. Doing what I want
2. No week ever the same
3. Always learning
4. Planning my own tasks around the sunny weather
5. The ability to be spontaneous
6. Taking a day off if I feel like it
7. Avoiding rush hour
8. Avoiding queues and busy times in shops
9. The variety and stimulation of varied work
10. Getting better value train fares from travelling off peak

What would be your biggest pro?

For more insights and tips, follow us on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/talentliberator

Below are two analogies for managing your career portfolio:

Comparing a portfolio career to Doctor Who:

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/comment/columnists/doctor-who-and-the-portfolio-career/2016469.article

Managing a portfolio career like investments

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/manage-your-career-just-like-an-investment-portfolio/articleshow/44913756.cms

Are you plural or singular?
http://www.harveynash.com/uk/news-and-media/publications/portfolio_careers_the_business_of_pluralism.asp

Copywriter to rocket scientist?

July 18, 2012 By // by DigitalJenIPC

A change in career can be a step or a leap. I was pondering how dramatic the career changes of my clients have been. They have been really varied – here are 3.

From design management to explore cheese holidays in France:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1106787631322.html

From advertising to charity:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1106786590378.html

From market research to face workouts:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1108092201346.html

What is the most radical change in career you have heard about? Do share it.

If you are pondering a change in career, our bulletins are full of insights and tips:

Previous bulletins:

http://www.liberateyourtalent.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=106

Opt in to receive future bulletins:

http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1102862873131&p=oi

We especially LOVE helping people change career who do not fit in a box, who need to reposition themselves and who know they want something different but don’t know what.

KISS

October 7, 2011 By // by DigitalJenIPC

How simple are you? The mnemonic ‘Keep It Simple Stupid’, always makes me smile, I’m not sure why. This week 2 things have got me pondering simplicity. 1) I have been reading about simplicity and how business has got far too bureaucratic and is tying itself in knots by overcomplicated things. 2) My parents bought a kettle because they found their automatic boiling water device was too complicated to meet their requirements. As someone who wakes up early at 5 a.m. and was unable to make a coffee until the device switched itself on at 7a.m., it was also unable to meet my ‘I need an injection of caffeine first thing’ requirement, I am very very glad!

I am simple and I like simplicity, in fact it is one of my values. One of the reasons I choose not to have any employees is so I can have short Board meetings with myself, enjoy fast decision-making and have a duvet day or five if I want one.

Career change can feel the opposite of simple. In fact it can feel so huge, complicated and overwhelming that many people never even start. But you know what? A big change does not have to be complicated. It can be just as simple as a small change. It is a question of breaking it down into smaller bits and tackling them one at a time. If you were to create a change in your career, what would be your first small step?

Being simple, one of the concepts I read this week that I really liked was the principle of having all key information for a business; vision, goals and actions on one piece of paper. Love it. One of the tools I use in career change is all the insights for the ingredients of your career change on one piece of A4 paper including fears, values, skills, and ‘no no’s’ i.e. things you never ever want to have again at work e.g. bullying bosses or someone else giving you a last minute task as a result of their PPP. You work out that mnemonic for that one, but it has nothing to do with an insurance company.

Here is another simple concept, the later you start your career change, the longer you wait to enjoy the benefits and the more delayed your escape is. With companies taking longer to find the right candidate and being less compromising, looking for an ‘exact fit’, that wait could feel like a prison sentence with no parole.

If you are pondering a career change, but you find yourself procrastinating and simply not starting, why not take the first step small and do one of these 3 things:

1) Download a free report to better understand your skills and where else they are useful. Click on this link:

http://careerstrategies.co.uk/changingcareersreport/

2) Read our bulletins with free tips to help you in your career – click on this link.

http://www.liberateyourtalent.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=106

3) Read about the career changes of people who, like you, felt the fear and did it anyway. Click on this link:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1106786138562.html

My clients inspire me so much, it really is just the best job ever!

Itchy Feet? Need New Career Ideas?

July 5, 2011 By // by DigitalJenIPC

I adore those moments of blinding insight. An oxymoron if ever I heard one. Moments of utter clarity about what someone REALLY wants to do. Most people fall into their career by accident and plod along, leading a half empty working life. Shame.

A client came to me looking for new career ideas. They knew they wanted a career change, they just weren’t sure what. My favourite challenge! I asked what she really loved doing. She replied: “I don’t know if it is significant but, when I was a teenager I used to babysit and I would clear out and tidy the cupboards. I absolutely loved it.” As she talked about it, she glowed with enthusiasm and her energy completely changed from 60 to 240 watts. The seed of a new business was sown.

Bingo, or Bob’s your Uncle. Whoever Bob is. That wonderful moment that informs a new career. Utterly exciting. Hugely rewarding. New career ideas are hard to come up with on your own. You are too close to yourself. A career that fits you is like finding a partner with whom you are compatible. It has an unquantifiable large impact on your happiness and fulfilment.

Here is an example of a career change http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1106375841019.html

Do you like something for free? Thought so. If you have got itchy feet and could do with some new career ideas, why not download our free report, “Pain free career change“? Click on the link: http://www.careerstrategies.co.uk/