Credit: Cathy Brown
- Know yourself
Understand who you are, and what you want next from life. Assess your strengths using https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/account/register or https://www.strengthsprofile.com/en-gb/products/profiles
What are your values? Have a look at this list, and pick the five that resonate most with you.
By understanding yourself, you can craft a CV in line with your strengths and values which will better communicate who you are.
2. Research
Use what you learn about yourself to identify organisations which will benefit from your strengths, and align with your values. Research by Investors in People this year found that one in four people were actively looking for a new job. Three out of four people felt stressed about work, with 64 per cent reporting that their job had negatively affected their sleep patterns.
Now is the time to find the job that’s right for you – that’s in line with your goals and beliefs.
Look at company websites:
What makes them different?
What products/services do they offer?
Who are their clients?
Where are they based and where do they do business?
What are their values and ethos and do they fit with yours?
You can search www.glassdoor.co.uk for ratings by employees, giving an idea of what it’s like to work in specific companies.
Decide whether if you are really passionate about something you’d take a pay cut to break into it. The conflict between freedom and security is a common one, so it’s up to you whether you want to do something you really love, starting at the bottom, with the very good chance that you’ll progress at speed because you love it!
3. Find a mentor
Identify someone in your field who you admire, and see whether they would support you if you have questions, or get a coach/mentor to help you stick to your goals.
It can be easy to get caught up in a scattergun approach and feel desperate to find any job. This leads to hours spent on application forms and interviews for jobs you really don’t want.
It’s important to be focused and set yourself achievable goals to get what you want. Having someone to give you that helping hand may feel like an investment you can’t afford, but will save you pain in the long run.
4. Be bold
Don’t be afraid to approach people and ask for advice and support. Millions of people have been in your situation, and even the most successful people have suffered setbacks. The worst that can happen is that they say no.
In my first job, I decided that I wanted to shift into PR. I was reading a book about PR and wrote to the author asking his advice on how to get into the industry. He replied saying his nephew was setting up a PR agency and would need help. I wrote to him, started working as the office assistant, and gradually learned the ropes and progressed to client work.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained!
5. Stay positive
This has happened due to circumstances beyond your control. It has nothing to do with you. I know it can lead to a sense of not being good enough, but I refer you back to tip 1. Look at your strengths. Remind yourself of your achievements. Accept compliments and praise, and see this as the start of a new chapter.
As I have said, millions of us have been through it, and I suspect most of us would say that despite the sense of loss and anxiety, it has been for the best and the start of something exciting and new.
Cathy Brown - Coach 