Most of my days were spent on the sun drenched snowy slopes with a general feeling of being able to get by on my skis.  Oakley goggles, Solomon helmet, Animal ski  jacket and salopettes, and lashings of thermal underwear, I was pretty much the embodiment of the saying “all the gear and not a lot of idea” on my winter holiday!  As time went by my confidence increased, my expertise developed, the slopes became more familiar day by day.  Most days the sun shone and the conditions were good.  My snow plough manoeuvres progressed to parallel turns and blue slopes turned into reds and then came the dreaded black runs.

Familiarity breeds contempt as they say, and as the week went on I became more acclimatised to the alpine ski slopes and then I noticed a subtle change.  On several occasions aided by my growing confidence, ambition definitely started to get the edge and cunningly outstripped my ability.  Suddenly, I would be half way down a slope when I would become painfully aware that I was in fact hurtling downhill, almost completely out of control and even more worryingly with ever increasing speed.  It’s at this point, as G forces started to take hold, that I quickly realised that I had two very stark choices.  I was faced with a dilemma, and one that needed addressing in less time than it takes to shout “where’s the brakes?”  All I needed was a nanosecond of clarity.

Here lies the conundrum:

Should I

a) Keep gathering speed either in a straight line down the hill or in a traverse across the slope, which would ultimately and certainly lead to a considerable and undoubtedly painful drop over the edge.  Or …

b) Put in a turn?

Putting in a turn would be the more obvious, sensible and from a spectator standpoint, apparently simple answer.  But the novice and lower intermediate skiers amongst you will recognise that there are occasions when this simple sounding manoeuvre is much more easily said than done.  Despite the lack of logic on the face of it, continuing on my existing course regardless of outcome sometimes seemed preferable to an unfamiliar and potentially tricky turn.  There is no need for answers on a postcard as more observant readers will notice that I am in fact here back in the office, and so must have managed the critical turns, despite the difficulty encountered, and mercifully with all my limbs intact! (or at least the two fingers required for typing.)

The analogy of course and the point of my article is that once on a course of employment, it can appear easier on the face of it, to continue in a role where in your heart you know that ultimately the course you are on is not the right one. You are familiar with your surroundings, your days are predictable, you may be relatively comfortable right now, but you are faced with unavoidable and all too familiar downsides to your job that hang heavy like a grey cloud.  Perhaps redundancy is looming or you know that your job is just plain wrong for you, but staying with the devil you know until your hand is forced, can often seem preferable to the deep blue sea alternative of willingly and deliberately initiating the action of changing course.  Changing your job seems possible in theory, but you might not be equipped with the practical skills and knowledge to make the leap of faith it will take to change your career direction.  You know getting a new job is possible, but just like carving a turn on the ski slope, making it happen is an entirely different matter.  It’s more the fear of the unknown and unfamiliar that is holding you back and the perceived effort of changing your job than anything else.

Now, here is the good bit.  I have some good news at this point for anyone who recognises this dilemma.  Unlike ski school which will cost you an arm and a leg (hopefully not literally), there is an abundance of completely free tuition available on the internet to help you make the transition.  Research will pay dividends and practice will make perfect in your preparation for job hunting.  Perfecting your CV, honing your interview technique, networking effectively with possible employers and recruiters, there is more careers advice on the internet than you can shake a stick or even a ski pole at.  Just like learning to ski I cannot guarantee you will get it right first time, and you might fall flat on your posterior a couple of times along your journey, but hopefully it will be a learning curve, and ultimately you will head off on a new direction to pastures or slopes new.  There are videos, articles, blogs, websites all completely free and written by those in the know, so if you really want to do it, fill your ski boots, take courage and put in the turn.

For those who would rather après ski than trawl the net, here are a few starting points.

Video 4 in a series of 4 on how to write a CV

Video 3 in a series of 4 on how to write a CV

How to answer competency based interview questions

http://blog.giraffejobs.co.uk for many more useful articles

In this article I will try to provide some ground rules and guidance for you if you are thinking of changing your job and specifically having a complete change of direction.

If you are trying to change your direction and move into a new career, my general advice at this point in time is Don’t do it! However I would like to add a couple of clarifying points to this. If you are in a secure position where you are, consider the state of the world economy and the daily news of redundancies. There are at present large numbers of people losing their jobs due to the recession, many of these will be highly skilled and experienced in their area and will be joining the long list of job seekers looking for their next job. If you are trying to change your direction in your career you will be competing with an increasing number of experienced applicants for the same role. I’m not trying to dissuade anyone from looking for a new job, on the contrary there are lots of really exciting opportunities out there, even in this time of economic suppression, but right now it’s probably more realistic to look at career opportunities within your existing area of skill and expertise. This advice applies equally to you if you have been made redundant and are looking for a new role. If there was ever a time to play your joker and use your areas of greatest strength it is now.

A good example to illustrate my point was a recent applicant who was a Chemist in a pharmaceutical company, he approached me for advice about getting a job in the offshore industry. He wanted to know if I thought he would get an interview for an offshore Chemist job. My advice was that I thought it highly unlikely that he would progress to interview stage in the face of competition from applicants with offshore Chemist experience. He said that he would be happy to pay for his own offshore survival and medical. Again I had to advise that simply possessing these certificates may not increase his chances, as the key factor in short listing would be evidence of relevant experience in the sector. My advice was that he should look at moving into a petrochemical / oil and gas related chemist role onshore initially so that he gained experience in the right sector, and that once he had done this he might even find that a company may sponsor his offshore survival and medical. So keep your expectations realistic, set your goal and work out a set of steps that you need to take to reach your goal. It may be that you need to take a number of small steps rather than a giant leap of faith.

Have you thought of finding a new role using your existing skills and experience but in a new way or with a new company? I spoke to a candidate only yesterday who was completely unaware until very recently that his skills were very much in demand. He is a Mechanical Engineer with particular experience in Maintenance and Reliability engineering and he has good petrochemical experience. At present there are a number of companies looking for these skills and this person was delighted to find out that he could command a good salary or daily rate in a new and challenging role with a new employer. He had been feeling that his role had become stale, it had lost its challenge and he felt stuck in a rut. What better time to look for a fresh new start where he can use his 30 years of experience in a new and interesting job, and in this persons case one that will pay generously for his knowledge. I’m currently waiting for news of an interview, and he was under the misapprehension that no one else would be interested in him! Nothing could be further from the truth for this person.

So if you are feeling like you’d like a change of job, analyse whether it is your duties, your employer, your career aspirations or your colleagues that you want to change, and decide which of these factors is the most important to you? Do you really need to change your direction completely, perhaps you just need more of a slight deviation than a complete U-Turn. Tempering your desire for complete change may prove more lucrative too. Now look for your next role, contact your recruitment agent and take advice. Spend time polishing and honing your CV, it’s your key to change, and is a critical factor in your success. Advice on writing a CV is addressed elsewhere on this blog, and finally, keep your expectations realistic. (However being a glass half full kind of girl I always struggle with this last one myself!)

If you have found the information on this blog useful I welcome your feedback and would be pleased if you would pass my link on to others who it might benefit.

Thanks

Rowena