Despite 20 years as an HR manager I am struggling to progress to another role
I am an HR director with 20 years’ experience, mostly in different public sector organisations – so you might think I should be able to manage a career change quite easily. But I need advice.
I left a post in further education at the end of 2014 and took some time out (completing a coaching qualification, travelling and completing projects at home etc), but I started looking for work again seriously in May.
In spite of applying for 16 suitable jobs, and registering with some consultancies for interim work, I have made little progress. I do have one interview lined up, but as feedback is almost impossible to obtain, I’m left unsure about where I’m going wrong.
I am genuinely flexible about whether I take on permanent or contract work, and have worked as a consultant in the past. I think that if I get face-to-face with an employer I should be able to present fairly well, but I just need to get over the first hurdle.
Jeremy says
As an HR director with 20 years’ experience, you’ll have read and reacted to thousands of CVs and letters of application, so I’m hesitant about giving you advice on the subject. But I’m going to be foolhardy enough to teach my grandmother to suck eggs.
First, I want you to list everything about yourself that makes you unusual. Many people believe they should include absolutely everything about themselves in their CVs in the hope of appealing to the maximum number of potential employers. This may sometimes work – but more often than not, the effect is to make the applicant seem unfocused and uninteresting.
Now apply serious empathy. Remembering your personal profile, try to see yourself through the eyes of specific organisations. Ask yourself who might find someone of those uncommon aptitudes and experience of the greatest value, and why? Then target those organisations, even if they’re not currently advertising situations vacant. Show that you’ve thought intelligently about the company and its work, and why you could make an unusually valuable contribution.
Remember, your aim is not to have a wide and superficial appeal to many, but to incite the positive curiosity of a few. This approach should greatly increase your chance of obtaining interviews – which must be your primary aim.
Readers say
• While it sounds like you have a solid career behind you, you might need to face up to the fact that a solid career alone is not enough in this day and age. If you’re not already treating your search as a full-time job – with the working hours that go along with it – you need to start. Searching for a job is not for the faint of heart. It is hard and will never pay off unless you’re prepared to put in the work. NykkiC
• Sad to say, it is easier to get a job when you already have one. You may need to take a job slightly below what you want and then work your way into the position you want. snick
• Sorry, but what goes around comes around. Having seen many people never receive feedback from HR to their applications, I can’t help feeling a touch of schadenfreude. As a HR manager surely you should be able to explain your own difficulty now trying to get back on the horse? bino
Should I quit my job and home for the life of a Tefl teacher in Spain?
I’ve been a French and German teacher in a secondary school for 12 years, and am also a pastoral leader (head of year). This brings with it more money, but also significant extra pressure.
There are many aspects of my job I love: working with young people, helping them to sort out their problems, the fact that no two days are the same, the rhythm of the school year, my colleagues. But I am increasingly worn down by the workload and target-driven culture. Most weekdays are 12 hours long, increasing to 14 when marking is at a peak. And I spend part of every weekend either planning lessons or assemblies, or marking. Hobbies and interests fall by the wayside.
Aged 50, I long for a better work-life balance. My youngest is a year away from university and I want to make decisions about my future. I’ve always been in education of one form or another. I would definitely consider a move into another sector but feel overwhelmed as to where to start. Working with people, a varied work environment and not being desk-bound are important considerations.
As a younger woman I worked abroad, and would love to learn Spanish and am considering a Tefl qualification, which seems to be a minimum requirement in Spain. I would like a high quality, well-regarded qualification, which seems to rule out studying online. This leaves the option of a four-week intensive course (impossible with work) or 12-weeks part-time (equally impossible in a working week). So I feel the only option would be to quit the job in England with no job lined up, do the four-week intensive course in Spain, and then start job hunting, a prospect which I feel very anxious about, especially as I have no savings.
And then the reality check kicks in: why I am I thinking of pursuing a career change which is financial suicide? An entry level teaching job in Spain would pay less than half of my current salary. I still have 15 years of my mortgage to pay.
Jeremy says
The way you frame your position leaves it virtually impossible for you (or me, for that matter) to see a way out. You’re desperate for a more civilised work-life balance, still have family responsibilities including a mortgage, and no savings to fall back on – yet you restrict your options to Tefl and a poorly paid job in Spain. You really have talked yourself into a bit of a cul-de-sac.
To achieve that desired improvement in your work-life balance, I suggest you think much more radically. You need to do a mental audit of all your assets and explore how you might exploit them. I don’t suppose you’d be happy renting your house, let alone selling it, but you should at least consider it.
You’re fluent in three European languages – and happy living abroad. This opens up the possibility of many interesting jobs as a translator or interpreter in a number of cities. Expand your thoughts and you may see some light.
Readers say
• The general Tefl market in Spain is vibrant, but mainly staffed by younger people who can tolerate the lower salaries as they flat share and effectively live a student lifestyle – would a 50-year-old be willing to live on such a low salary?
The corporate market is dominated by a number of larger schools and salaries are not much better, and typically require at least a working knowledge of Spanish. My nephew works for one in Madrid and the starting salary was definitely less than a UK teacher with 15 years’ experience would expect. I would suggest that any move is a couple of years off as you will need to build savings, you could do the intensive course in Spain during the 2016 UK school summer holidays and maybe do a beginner’s Spanish course. JulesMaigret
• As an experienced teacher, take up a post at an international school. With French and German, those labour markets would be a better bet. For Tefl teachers focussed on cash, it’s the big Asian markets or (if you can tolerate the culture) Middle East. oommph
• The job market here in Spain is wretched. Take a lot more time to look into job opportunities in other countries, but working in Spain will be a problem for a long time. leebee
Do you need advice on a work issue? For Jeremy’s and readers’ help, send a brief email to dear.jeremy@theguardian.com. Please note that he is unable to answer questions of a legal nature or to reply personally.
