Joanne the Coach

Ten Tips for Career Changers

Spring cleaning must have started, because I keep getting enquiries from people who are interested in coaching to help them find a new career.

So here's an article from the archives.  I think I wrote it for a magazine or a website, or maybe just as an excuse to stay indoors and hide from the storm.  In any case, if you're looking for a new path, I hope these tips help you find it.

TEN TIPS FOR CAREER CHANGERS
Some days you wake up and you just know you can’t face another year in your current job.  If that's you, you’re not alone - the average person changes jobs around 7 times in their working life. 

These are career coach Joanne Mallon’s top tips for planning your fabulous new career.

1. Don’t rush it – Is it really a case of you hating your job, or is it just that you don’t like it right now?  All professions have their peaks and troughs.  You may find that what you need is to make changes within your current job, rather than running into a new one.

2. Get Passionate – What’s really important to you?  What turns you on?  What do you like doing so much you’d do it for free?  To find a job that you’ll really be passionate about, you need to delve deep and uncover the things that make you tick. 

It can also help to pinch the kids’ crayons and draw a picture of what your ideal job would look like.  Drawing stimulates the creative right hand side of your brain and will inspire new thoughts and ideas.

3. Talk to the experts.  Talk to at least 3 people who already do the job you’re after to get the lowdown on what it’s really like.  Ask them what are the things they wish they’d known when they  got started.  Virtually every job looks vastly different from the outside than it does on the inside.  You may fancy the life of a vet, tending to ickle sick kittens, whilst the reality might involve spending half the day with your hand up a cow’s bottom. 

4. Get experienced.  If talking to the experts hasn’t put you off, arrange to shadow them for a day or two.  Work experience isn’t just for school kids  –  it can be helpful at any stage to give you a realistic picture of what a particular profession is like.  It will also save you oodles of time and effort to find out what you like at this stage, rather than later.

5. Get some objective help – Talking to someone who’s trained to help you find new opportunities will help you take a more objective bird’s eye view of your situation.   A trained careers advisor or coach will help you spot opportunities you mightn’t have thought of on your own.  There are some excellent books published on career change - I recommend 'What Colour Is Your Parachute?' by Richard N Bolles.

6. Make a list – Write down what are the most important things to you in an ideal job.  Yes,  a company Porsche and unlimited expense account would be nice, but also consider: 

How important are things like flexibility; creativity; working environment etc?  Do you like working in a team or are you more of an independent operator?  How do you feel about managing staff and taking the lead?  Do you want a job that challenges you or one that you can do easily?  The clearer you are about what you want, the more likely you are to get it. 

7. Get Your finances sorted – changing career will probably involve an investment of time and money, especially if you have to retrain or do voluntary work.  Make a detailed inventory of what your financial commitments are and start putting some cash away in a new job fund. 

8. What’s next?  Changing career can be a hugely scary thing to do, which is why so many people put it off.  Breaking down the change into more manageable chunks will make it seem more achievable.  What is the tiniest, easiest thing you can do to get the ball rolling?

9. Think about what will happen if you don’t change – Let’s say you decided to stay where you are, and were still in the job you’re in now in 10 years’ time?  If the idea fills you with horror, then it’s probably time to go. 

10. Remember that it’s OK to take a leap of faith – many people are put off changing career because they’re scared about what will happen if it doesn’t work out.  But would you rather go to your grave having given it your best shot, or do you really want to give up on your dreams? 

Career change is becoming more and more common, and nobody will think any the less of you if yours doesn’t work out – if anything, people are more likely to admire you for having had the courage to have a go.

© Joanne Mallon 2008

Click here for more info on how coaching can help you change career

Applying For Media Jobs: Covering Letters

We've already looked at the crucial elements of your media CV, but what about that covering letter or email to introduce you to your potential next boss?

All your covering letter needs to be is a short note (typed, with impeccable grammar and spelling) saying who you are, what you want and why they should give it to you.  eg "I'm studying bog trotting at the University of Melchester and hope to pursue a career in TV production when I graduate.  I'm a huge fan of News 24 and would love the chance to come in and see how your newsroom works.  I'm resourceful and hardworking and have already had experience working at Radio Pisspot where I became a valuable support to the team."  Make it clear what's in it for them as well as you.

And always remember that the longer your letter, the less likely it is to be read.  Just because it's called a covering letter doesn't mean it has to cover every aspect of your life and career to date - the potted highlights will do for now.  The same goes for your CV.  Production companies are simply too busy to look at much more.

BTW If you're applying for a new job in the media, check out this great post from freelance journalist Sean Blanda on how to decipher media job ads.  He's figured out the code, he'll go far.

Leaving the BBC: A Guide For Beginners

Over the last few years, I've had an increasing amount of enquiries about career coaching from BBC staff who are either planning to leave or are worried about being made redundant.  And they're right to worry - look at this latest management wheeze - the NUJ is claiming that everyone in BBC News will have to explain in 200 words or less why they should keep their jobs.

So my advice for you if you are currently working at the BBC but have spotted the sword of Damocles swaying above Broadcasting House:

• Get yerself a CV together.  If you work at the BBC, it's easy to go years without compiling a CV as you progress through a combination of application forms and personal recommendation. This post will help you get started.
• Don't be scared of the independent sector.  It's OK, there are some good people out there.  There's a lot to be said for freelancing.  I know your staff job feels nice and secure and ideally you'd like another one, just as cosy but with less stress and more money.  And who knows, maybe that's what will happen.  But maybe you will have to fly freelance for a while, so look on it as a new challenge and opportunity
• Activate your network - Start making yourself known to people who might be able to point you in the direction of your next job (basically sucking up to people but with way more charm and elegance than the phrase implies).  Most people leave this until they are desperate for their next job, but the smart way is to keep in touch regularly with your contacts in the industry.  There is no getting away from the fact that media jobs are largely dished out as a result of personal connections, so keep your connections current and think about how you can help others, not just how they can help you.  It's karma, y'know.  What goes around comes around 'n all that.
• You can always register with The Production Base , Broadcast Freelancer and Media Guardian Jobs, but don't expect a website to do all the work for you.
• Talk to a career coach or mentor.  The BBC does provide career coaching for some grades of staff, so ask whether you are eligible for this.  However, some staff prefer to go to a coach who is completely independent, in order to take a totally objective look at what they might do next.  This is where I come in, with specialist media career coaching.
• Consider a complete change.  Sometimes redundancy can be the greatest opportunity as it gives you the excuse to become the great garden designer/writer/yoga teacher/lawyer/entrepreneur/sheep poo paper maker that deep down you always knew you could be.

Workers Just Want To Have Fun

Thanks to BBC Radio Solent for inviting me on to their Saturday morning show to talk about fun in the workplace.  (Though it did provoke some fury in The Offspring, who don't like to be disturbed from their regular Saturday morning date with Toonattik - "Muuuuuum, what are you doing uuuuuup!   Go back to bed!")

Anyway, Solent's attention had been drawn to this report in The Sunday Times.  Apparently the workplace is a fun place to be these days, with companies investing in ever more exotic ways to keep their staff smiling.  A happy workforce is a more productive workforce, the theory goes.  Also it's far more expensive to recruit new staff than it is to keep the workers you've already got, so anything that aids the staff-retention mission makes economic sense. 

Obviously this won't work with every workplace - you wouldn't want to turn up to your local funeral parlour to find the staff doing a conga or playing table football.  And if you've seen The Office, you'll know the inevitable conclusion of a boss imposing their definition of fun on a workforce.

As for the reported army of "fun-sultants" who are apparently beaming in to help with this corporte sanctioned merriment - ye gods!  If you ever turn up to work and your boss says that the fun-sultants are coming in today, just turn on your heel and walk away fast.  Or maybe that's just me.

When I am working with a client who wants to find a new job, one of the first things we do is to look at what their ideal job might consist of.  And the interesting thing is that fun doesn't always figure terribly highly in the list.  Far more highly prized are

• Flexibility - this is the biggie, particularly for working parents.  People resent the culture of presenteeism and want some choice over when, where and how they work.
• Fulfillment - people want to feel like their work makes a positive difference to the world and preferably enhances it in some way
• Creativity - people like to be challenged to create something new.  Stimulates the grey cells, keeps you alive.
• A sense of autonomy and choice - people want a sense that they have some control over what they do.

Basically, nobody wants to feel like a hamster in a wheel, taking pointless action which ultimately leads nowhere.  It's good if your culture at work has space for fun, but that won't neccessarily be enough to make a workforce feel valued enough to want to stay.  Buying a round of lollipops is not enough.

September - Is It Your Time To Fly?

Apologies for minimal posting lately, but I fell deep into the hole that is New Term Madness.  Suffice to say that the UK school system has sliced my day up into little pockets of not-much-use, and it has been a challenge to find a way of working that actually works.  But we're getting there now. 

~ ~ Deep breaths ~ ~ 

And relax.

September can be a funny old time. Even if it's aeons since you were last in school, it still retains an air of the new term about it - sort of like a mini January, with the added attraction of crunchy leaves to jump on. Maybe it's because summer holidays are a good time for seeing life in a new perspective, and the Autumn then becomes the time to put those ideas into action.  So this is why the divorce rate tends to spike in September - it seems that spending concentrated time with your partner can be enough to push many relationships over the edge.

But it's not all gloom and doom because September is a great time to think back to what you intended to do at the start of the year, and plan what you intend to do by the end of it.  Clients coming for coaching in September tend to be keenest on kickstarting their careers or businesses.  When you've spent time away from your job, coming back to it can often mean one of two things:

1.  A feeling of 'Aaargh - what am I doing in this fecking awful job? - there has to be more to life than this!' (Most commonly said by politicians and TV producers)

2.  A sense of potential and of being ready to take the next step, career-wise - whether that means taking on new work, expanding your skills, earning more money or just saying Yes to new opportunities, even the scary ones.

Whichever it is for you, you will know when the time to fly is now.  Hiring a life coach will help you do it faster, but ultimately you do have to grow your own wings.

Time off is essential to give you new perspectives so hopefully you've had a break which has given you the clarity to see what needs to happen next. And if you can't remember the last break you had, then that's the best sign that you need one now. Go on, knock off early today. I promise not to tell anyone.

Look, a flying coach

Some thrills and spills today.  As we have discussed before, doing something that scares you a little is A Good Thing.  And thus I found myself on the scary high waterslide**at the swimming pool today, queueing with the seven year olds.  Almost bottled it, then slid off into the unknown.  Four times.  Back to sedate granny-lengths of the pool next time methinks.

Also quite exciting today to find yours truly quoted in the August issue of Red magazine (the one with the snazzy free beachbag).  It's a feature about the benefits of portfolio careers, where you have a variety of jobs throughout your life.  As opposed to the same job from 18 till eternity.  It's the future, I tell ya.  "Zenployment" is apparently the official term, though I can't see that catching on.  Mighty Morphin' Career Rangers - that's more like it.

**PS Of course this link doesn't show the actual waterslide I went down.  Mine was way steeper.  At least it felt like it.

What Really Goes On In A Life Coaching Session?

In an average coaching session, the client will talk for about 80-90% of the time, and the coach makes up the rest, give or take some silent thinking time. Some clients say they feel guilty for talking about themselves for such an extended period of time, but that's the point - a coaching session is a time to focus on you.  But it's not something we normally do in day to day life, so it can feel a bit odd - kind of luxurious, sometimes uncomfortable but also quite mind-expanding and uplifting.

So as the coach, when it's my turn to speak I aim to make it useful and say what needs to be said - no idle musings or waffle.  Don't always manage it, sometimes make no sense at all.  If I think I can get away with it without sounding too naff, I might quote Gandhi, specifically when he said 'Be the change you want to see in the world'.  I LOVE the sentiments of that simple statement.  It's so true, yet so hard to put into practice.  It's all about personal politics and taking responsibility for your reality.  Whatever you are looking for from others, start by giving it out yourself.  If you want more love in your life, be loving, and so on.

There's a popular misconception that coaching is all about giving advice and telling people what they need to do to sort out their lives.  Certainly, sorting out of the client's life will get done, but that happens through the coach asking questions and helping the client to take an objective view of their life.  The theory behind this is again all about personal responsibility.  If I tell you how to sort your life out (assuming that I know - and why would I?  Surely you are the expert in your own life), then how does that equip you to be stronger in the future?  Improving your own life is far more likely to work when you do it yourself.  A coach can support you, but they can't do it for you.

The coach will also bring some tools & exercises to the party.  I have written exercises I use regularly with clients which will help with specific issues such as finding a new job or building confidence - stuff like the interview confidence exercise described earlier.

Working with a coach can be an absolutely transformational experience.  But it may be harder work than you thought.  Don't expect the coach to be some kind of new age Mary Poppins who will step in to sort your life out.  That's not how it works.  It's better than that.

Do Freelancers Need Websites?

Recently we looked at the essential ingredients of ye olde paper-based CV.  Whilst it's important to know how to construct a CV for a media employer, increasingly freelancers are finding that the best CV is no CV at all.

It's no secret that the media world runs on personal contacts - this isn't always a bad thing if you take a positive attitude to it. Instead of whingeing about the fact that you're not in with the right people, ask yourself honestly: What can I do to make the contacts I need?

One way to make yourself more visible to the people who need to know about you is to create a website advertising your services. Think of it as an alternative to the traditional CV, with the advantage that you can include a lot more information and samples of work.

Sometimes freelancers can be unsure about starting a website. Is it too much of an ego thing? (Here's a site all about meeeeeeeee!) Will it be worth the time and expense?

In an age when even your pet hamster can have its own site, what's stopping you? A good site is a statement to the world that you are a professional with a body of work to be proud of (though you wouldn't say no to a bit more).

One small but crucial difference between a traditional and a web-based CV is that, whilst you almost certainly don't need a photo for a regular CV, for a website you almost certainly do.  Websites can be fairly sterile, and your photo is a useful way to humanise it.  Also if you are a freelance journalist it's not beyond the realms of possibilty that you might be asked to appear on TV, and TV people will want to see a photo.  It's not so much that you need to look a certain way, it just helps to reassure tham that you don't have four heads and a parrot nailed to your nose.

From talking to many freelance journalists, broadcasters and other media workers, not one has said that they regretted the energy put into creating a website. All said that they found it enhanced their credibility and attracted work.

So when planning your site, consider these points:

• What function do you want your site to serve? What do you want it to do for you and your career?
• What attracts you/puts you off about other sites from people in your profession?
• How will you promote your site?
• How will you update it?

And of course, when will it be ready and open for business?

Applying for Media Jobs: Your CV and Why Size Matters

Traditional careers advice doesn't really take account of the fact that CVs land on media recruiters' desks in their hundreds, and getting yours to stand out from the crowd takes work. The main points to remember are:

• Keep it brief - aim for one page, one and a half at most. In media land, the more experienced a person is, the shorter their CV becomes. Make every word earn its keep.  I once saw a cv which included under the 'Personal Details' section the fascinating snippet 'I have two sisters, Sarah aged 9 and Catherine aged 11'.  You can probably leave out the name of the family dog as well.
• Work history goes before educational experience.
• Get someone to look at your CV and tell you what they notice in the first five seconds. This is about as long as an employer will look at it before deciding whether they want to read on. Make sure that what you want to be noticed actually sticks out.

Write a short covering letter (must be typed) saying who you are, what you want and why they should give it to you. The longer your letter, the less likely it is to be read. The same goes for your CV.  No 17 year old needs a five page CV, though a surprising amount have prepared one.   

Personally, I don't think there's any need to put in your marital status - it seems a bit outmoded these days.  Likewise, date of birth can be omitted, but only because it tends to make employers feel extra aged and haggard when they realise that people born after 1985 are now asking for work.

If you haven't got much relevant work experience, then list your education first - reverse this as you gain more work experience. Employers are much more interested in the work you've done than what you did for your dissertation. If you've got a degree then you don't need to list your GCSE's and A Levels individually.

You don't have to list your references on your CV, unless you want to highlight the fact that your referee is someone important. It's fine to put something along the lines of "References available on request" as these will generally only be needed if you are under serious consideration for a job. 

A prospective employer may also ask someone else for a reference without your knowledge, particularly if they know someone who's worked for the same company as you. The more you work in it, the smaller you will find the media world to be, so be aware that it's not just the people you choose who may be asked to recommend you.

If you include a list of interests, don't include things that are basic staples of life like reading, keep fit or the dreaded 'socialising'. You might as well put breathing and sleeping as well.  Only include interests which are genuinely interesting and (preferably) relevant to the job.

Dealing With Interview Nerves

When I worked in TV, I had a run of shockingly bad job interviews.  There was the one with the scary BBC lady, whose ultra-assertive hair intimidated me into silence.  When she asked a fairly strightforward question about what stories I'd noticed in that day's papers, al I could do was open and close my mouth like the Face of Boe on an off day.

But the most grimly embarassing interview when I professed a passion for a programme broadcast by the TV station who were hiring.  Only trouble was, I hadn't watched that particular programme for about 5 years and had just put it down to look good on the application form.  I then found myself in the interview praising a presenter who hadn't hosted the show for about 3 years.  In fact I believe he may have died.  The interviewing panel picked their jaws up off the floor and asked me what kind of TV I didn't like.  I casually slagged off the current host of the aforementioned show.  And to complete the hat trick, as I was leaving I walked into a stationery cupboard.  A job offer was not forthcoming.

Thankfully all of that is a long time ago and these days I prefer to help coaching clients become stonking good interviewees instead.  Just think of it as me making a right old pig's ear of interviews so you don't have to.

Here's a great exercise to boost your confidence in interviews.  It's similar to the exercise for dealing with fear of pitching.  You can deal with just about any fear if you follow it to its logical conclusion.  Make it real rather than vague and you can form a plan to deal with it rather than be its victim.

1.  Ask yourself - What do I least want to be asked about in this interview?  What am I afraid that the interviewer might say?  Then write down your 5 nightmare questions (or more if you can think of them.  But not less than 5 - it's the magic number*).

2.  Next prepare answers to these questions.  Write them down.  It will help enormously if you can practise this out loud and get someone else to ask the questions.  Get your coach, friend or local hoodlum to roleplay the tough interviewer and actually ask you the questions you most dread.  This forces you to come up with answers in a safer and more confident space than a real interview.

What this does is convince your subconscious that you can handle whatever questions are chucked at you.  Chanes are you won't be asked the questions you most fear.  But if you do, you've got a plan and an answer prepared.

*  Ok so it's not really magic.  That would be 23, but nobody's got 23 most feared questions.  If you do, it's probably best to become self-employed.