careers beyond university

Cooking up a storm

When you bake a cake, do you freestyle it or follow a recipe? The recipe lists ingredients, equipment and a series of steps to follow, to reach your desired outcome (a delicious cake, hopefully).

Cooking needs to be quite structured, otherwise you’re not going to convert the inputs into outputs successfully. The same is true of careers, that to get the best out of your career (however you define that), you’re going to need structure, you’re going to need tools and methods for success. While traditional professions have their own career ladder, many jobs and roles today don’t have this supportive framework.

You really notice this when you listen to the kinds of frustrations people express about their work these days. Especially as the nature of work itself is changing too, as we’ve seen with ‘The Great Resignation’ in recent years:

  • People feeling they’re drifting or stagnating, rather than progressing – they’re stuck in jobs that aren’t helping them reach their full potential;

  • People feeling weary of the corporate treadmill – who could benefit from switching into more energising and rewarding roles elsewhere;

  • People feeling disconnected from their work - who could make a bigger impact by switching organisations, or by doing side gigs or starting their own business.

Just imagine the impact, if we could put proven tools for job changing, great performance and career progression into the hands of as many people as want them, to help them achieve their desired goals.

In this regard, for over ten years I’ve run this Resource Hub for university researchers looking to change careers. I’ve learned a lot about sharing careers guidance and more importantly, I’ve seen what difference it can make to people feeling stuck. Folks benefit so much from structure and guidance - having a recipe that helps gets them where they want to go.

So I feel it’s time for me to shift my focus, and take some of these insights and approaches, and share them with a much wider audience. Such as:

  • How to identify your transferable skills, that you can take from one job to another

  • Finding jobs that are a better fit with your personal beliefs and values

  • The power of positive stories, when changing jobs

These kinds of topics are relevant to many people who’re contemplating their careers today. Hopefully by sharing my own guidance, along with top tips from some of my favourite careers experts (like Dr Fatimah Williams, Aimee Bateman and Squiggly Careers), we can help people move forward and thrive.

In conclusion:

  • The problem for many people is not how to get a job - which a lot of careers guidance is aimed at.

  • The problem for many people is how to get a better job, better than the one they have now. Developing their career beyond their initial choice of university and first job/career.

If you’re interested in working with me on this project, through my writing, speaking and consulting activities, please do get in touch.