- I’ve been doing some talks to school recently – I still remember that feeling of panic when I was at school and my leaving date was fast approaching, and I had no idea what I wanted to do. Those lucky people who had always wanted to be doctors or teachers or join the army!
But actually, what DO you say do a bunch of sixth formers? I think Engineers are great, and Sales is a well-paid career that will always be in demand, but I wouldn’t recommend either of those to everybody of all abilities and personalities.
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What’s the process to optimise your chances of finding a great job, perhaps even your life purpose….??
Having done a few talks now, and revamping my material each time, it’s becoming clearer in my mind, and this is where I’m at:
- Try as many things as you can, since you’ll never guess or imagine what they are like (good or bad) unless you try them. Ask friends to find free positions where you can work for just a week or two to get the experience.
- Take every opportunity that comes along – either it’ll be great or you’ll learn a bit more about what you don’t like!
- Volunteer – especially for things that other people don’t want to do. This will give you experience, knowledge and contacts that other people won’t have.
- Things always lead to other things (and people always lead to other people)
- Your first job won’t be the one you end up doing so don’t worry excessively about it – it’s just a starting point for wherever else you go (the exception are those rare things like medicine, where you have to train in that one thing for a long time first – but most jobs aren’t like that).
- Don’t be afraid to change course / say goodbye to sunk cost / take a risk – the search must go on for the ideal job
- Don’t settle for a job that is OK, or “easy and quite well paid” – if you’re not learning, and it doesn’t excite you, then it’s not good enough.
- Walk away from toxic bosses and companies, however much they promise you, however much they pay you.
- Bosses will probably lie to you about “your great future” and how they’ll look after you, – and at the very least they won’t really care about you. Often it’s directly against their interest to help you with your career. Your bosses boss probably doesn’t even know you exist, you’re just a number. Even a good boss, or CEO, can be moved or made powerless suddenly, so don’t hitch your star to someone else. YOU have to look after number one, YOU have to plan your career – nobody else will.
- Work as hard as you can and always do the best you can – first for yourself, and second your job security and third for the customers, …and fourth to please your boss.
- Give your career 40%, not 90% or even 60% (with your family at 40%), but also not 10 or 20%. Your career should be important, almost as important as your family and personal life, but not quite AS important.
- Start with what you like doing and what you’re good at – and then, as long as it makes a difference to other people, the money will sort itself out. Never start with the money, never choose a career based on the pay. Even if you do end up getting the big pay, that money won’t make you happy, especially after you’ve paid the price every month to earn it.
- If they are offering a lot of money then it must be a tough job – otherwise why would they have to pay that much? Check well-paid offers particularly carefully. Though it’s possible that you are one of the few people who can do it, and will enjoy doing it (e.g. I love speaking to conferences – most people don’t, or can’t, I’m just odd, luckily!).
- Only self employment can give you a lot of money AND happiness – this is because employed positions have supply and demand operating, so they will pay you the minimum they can, and if they pay you a lot there’s a catch. But with self employment it’s different, there is nobody capping your earnings: if you can find a good niche, you can earn a lot and enjoy doing to. BUT: you have to know how to DO something that is in demand, and then also be able to SELL what you do. However, selling is a skill that can be learned – don’t be afraid of it.
- Learn selling because it’s always going to be useful in any job – and learn the other business skills: negotiating, managing people, assertiveness, influencing, problem solving, time management and project management. Not just because you’ll perform better in any job, but because when you are interviewed you can talk about your interest and studies in these subjects, and that will count massively in your favour, especially if you are a school leaver who can’t point to much experience yet.
Any comments? What did I miss?
onwards and upwards
Chris
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PS – Are you considering getting into training? Would being a freelance trainer suit you? Get more information here: www.becometrainers.com
Really great set of advice here Chris, echoes a lot of what I’ve been telling my kids since they first started thinking about work (whether they took all that advice is a moot point!).
The biggest omission for me is for young people to have a focus on self-awareness. Encourage feedback formally and informally. Listen to it all and work out who you are, how you’re perceived and then take action on the things that you want to do to become a better version of yourself.
Remember these learning points as you go through life and your career, use them when you have young people, or anyone, working for you.
Self employment isn’t for everyone, make sure that you have the right fit, skills, and confidence for whatever you are doing. Self employment can be lonely, stressful and rewarding in equal measures
Stay teachable. No amount of training can fully equip you for what is ahead. There will always be more to learn.
As a full time working dad with almost 5 years of experience this is still solid advice, thanks Chris!