To change or not to change?

It is very easy after you have been unemployed for a while to start exploring new areas for employment. If you have reached this stage then I would ask you to stop and have a think.

Do you really want to change your area of work? Seriously, think about it. If you are completely sure that you do and this is not a decision taken from desperation then please go ahead. If not then you should continue to apply for positions that play to your strengths and capitalise on the work you have been doing.

Changing direction even in the good times is difficult. You need to be resilient to rejection and show great determination and of course have total conviction that you are doing the right thing.

 

How do you do this?

As with everything, you need to take the time to do the research.

 

Think about:

• What you enjoy doing
• What you are trained to do
• What you can afford in terms of retraining

Read as much as you can about the careers you are interested in and talk to people who are already doing these jobs.

  

Preparation and determination will be the keys to your success.

 

 

 

Gird your loins for 2010

Although in Switzerland the economy has not suffered as much as many developed nations, the economy has still experienced a recession.

Things are picking up, the economy came out of recession in Q3 2009 and things are set for modest if sluggish growth during 2010.
However, job seekers should gird their loins; Seco forecast that the labour market will not see serious growth before 2011.

What to do to improve your chances?
• Network
• Work with a professional recruiter
• Educate yourself
• Innovate

The right career choices

You will be very lucky if you hit the right career choice immediately. For many of us it takes a few attempts before we find a route that gives us the first inkling that we have made the right choice.

What can you do to improve your chances?

Research is the simple answer.

Take the time to sit and think about the simple things that matter. What you enjoy doing, what your motivation for working is and how much you would realistically like to be paid.

The more you prepare for the job search ahead the better you will fare.

Once you have taken the time to prepare, perhaps even worked with an experienced career advisor, you have to take that leap into the unknown. Remember this, it is ok to fail, because without failure there is no success

Playing to your strengths

Now more than ever you need to prepare for the interview and in the process of interviewing upwards of twenty people a week it amazes me that not every one is understanding this.

Surely everyone knows that they will be questioned on personal strengths and yet so few people are prepared.

Admittedly it is often extremely difficult to answer, but even more reason to have thought it through before hand.

If you are finding it difficult to do, talk to the agent who is representing you (if you have one) failing that, talk to friends and ask them what they think your strengths and weaknesses are and practice answering the questions with them so that you come across fluently and articulately in a real interview situation.

A sense of urgency in your approach

This is an example of how not to get the job.

You have sent your CV to a company or an agency who are seriously recruiting for a position.

They call you and ask you for an interview, suggesting a time within the next couple of days. You are currently unemployed and live within half an hours train journey.

"I can't do it, perhaps one day next week?" is your reply.

This does not give the impression that you are really interested in the job and the interviewer will no longer be persuaded that you are a serious prospect.

Most interviewers realise you cannot just drop everything and be at their beck and call, but if you really cannot make the first couple of times they suggest, please have a credible excuse why not and express it sympathetically and succinctly.