The holiday season is upon us.
While many of us are looking forward to the empty roads which the next few weeks promise, many people will be heading off for sunnier climes or just for a few days away from the humdrum of day-to-day work life.
With idle hours to spare, it can be a time of reflection when the bigger questions such as “what am I doing with my life?”, “what job would I really like to be in?” and “is it too early to crack open a bottle of something cold” come to the fore.
The answer to the latter question is one which shouldn’t really be a problem for most people while the first question would need much more space and a much more learned answer than this column allows.
However, the middle question is one which we can offer at least a bit of encouragement, not about what career you’d really like to be in – that’s up to you – but how to get there.
It’s a daunting thought, giving up a job which you may have worked in for many years, climbing through the ranks to an impressive position, but if your heart really isn’t in it and you can afford it, then why not – to use a cliché – chase your dream?
After all, most people spend more of their time at work than they do with their family so it makes sense to be doing something you at least enjoy.
So how do you make the jump?
The most obvious way would be to go back to the start and retrain at college, university or through an apprenticeship scheme but, as we’ve already alluded to, that isn’t always an option if you have to pay the mortgage.
An easier way – provided you’re not planning on becoming a doctor, teacher or go in to another profession which requires a set-in-stone qualification – is to take a step back and look at how the skills you have can be transferable into another job.
That might sound like a simple process but it’s not.
Most people underestimate what they do in their current roles by a factor of ten because they don’t see the bigger picture.
For instance, you could easily say the skills used in compiling this blog every week are merely an ability to write 500-odd words in a reasonably (most of the time) competent manner.
But if I wanted to move into a new career which didn’t need me to whitter on like this then I could easily point to how I’m demonstrating communication, organisational, creativity, motivational, project management, time management and interpersonal skills.
You may think that’s taking it a bit far but even something as simple as these lines are an example of all of those skills and, if demonstrated properly in a CV or at interview, would hopefully give me a chance of pitching for a job in a different industry.
And it will be the same for you, whether you are a financial director or a bus conductor.
As long as you’ve performed in your current role then there’s no reason why you can’t say to an employer in a different sector that you have demonstrable skills which will allow you to excel in their company.
Obviously you need to think long and hard about what you’ve got to offer and about what you need in your new chosen career but the chances are there is something there for you.
So, when you’re lying on the beach, think about what you want to do next and start coming up with a list of the skills you carry around with you.
You’ll be surprised what you have to offer.