Sital Ruparelia

The phrase “Nothing happens in the summer months” is all a bit of a myth.

Yes, key decision makers may be on holiday and things may slow down – but it doesn’t mean that you have to as well.

Here are 5 ways for you to get more proactive this summer:

1. Get working on the new career or business idea

You know that great idea you have for changing careers or starting / expanding the home based business? Well now is a good time to work on it.

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“Pay no attention to what the critics say; no statue has ever been erected to a critic” - Jean Sibelius

Whenever you attempt anything worthwhile, you’ll often have more disbelievers than you will have believers.

Whether you decide to transform your business and your team, decide to change careers and pursue your passion, commit to starting a new business venture, choose to become a consultant or interim manager – in fact, do anything big, important or different and you’ll often find 3 things happen:

a) The people who you thought would support you the most – probably won’t (the support often comes from the least expected sources)

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Ladies, what if…..

You were in a toxic relationship with a man who didn’t treat you particularly well.  He had little awareness about your needs, didn’t hold a lot of respect for you in private and often was quite disrespectful of you in public. And as a result you suffered a dip in confidence and constantly wished you could just get back to being your old self again.

Now tell me, if you were in this situation, what would your girlfriends be telling you?

“Walk away…” they’d say,

“…you deserve much better ……”

For a while, you’d probably create all sorts of excuses for him – it’s not his fault, he’s having problems at work, he’s got financial problems, he doesn’t mean it…..and oh, maybe I’m exaggerating and things aren’t quite that bad.

In time, your girlfriends would convince you that the more you accepted and tolerated the situation, the worse things would get. The situation would become toxic and affect your health, relationships, career and self confidence.

So you either need to:

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As we wrap up 2008, I thought I’d share some of the best posts of the year below. I got the idea from Penelope Trunk, who recently shared her best 18 posts of the year on the excellent blog, Brazen Careerist.

As this is the last post of the year, can I also quickly say ‘thank you’ for reading and commenting on the blog. I understand that everyone is busy and so appreciate you taking the time to read. I hope you’ve found the articles of benefit during a turbulent 2008 and hope to bring you more valuable advice and information in 2009.

So wherever you are in the world, I wish you an enjoyable and relaxing time over the remaining days of the holiday season and look forward to ‘seeing’ you in January.

15 Best Posts of 2008

Focus On Reinvention, Not Recession

10 Ways YOU Stop Yourself Getting The Right Job

How To Thrive During Uncertain Times

9 Career Lessons From Richard Branson

13 Ways To Stay Positive In An Economic Downturn

How To Recession Proof Your Career By Developing Your Network

5 Tips For Managing Your Career In A Crazy Market

Why Thinking Like A Consultant Protects You In A Downturn

5 Steps To More Money AND More Satisfaction

The 7½ Tips For Being Remarkable

The Secret To Success In A Downturn: Choosing Your Reaction

5 Tips For Job Searching In A Crazy Market

How To Make Your CV / Resume Stand Out In A Downturn

Lehman Employees: Here’s What To Do Next

Career Changers: 6 Steps To Becoming Unstuck

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Have you noticed how the downturn and recession have become the great new excuse for, well, virtually everything.

You may even find yourself using it frequently. If you’re struggling to find a job, it’s because of “the market” – or if you’re struggling to create sufficient career opportunities, “it’s due to the downturn.”

But having recruited in the 2002 financial services downturn (which was similar to the current market) and now working with an array of professionals  in the job search – I can assure you that your level of success in finding the right job will have less to do with the state of the economy and the job market and much more to do with YOU.

You can sit around all day complaining about the markets and the recession – but if you’re not making progress with your job search, stop looking at what is happening outside and take close look at yourself. How are you stopping yourself making progress?

Here are 10 ways that you may be stopping yourself – and what you need to do to snap out of it:

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If you have a warm home, a soft bed, food in the fridge, clean clothes, family and friends – then you have a lot to be thankful for. Two-thirds of the world’s population would think they’d won the lottery if they were in your shoes. If you have a college education, own a car, a phone and have internet access then you’re far more privileged than about 90% of the people on the planet.

Keep that in mind the next time you find yourself complaining about the state of the economy, the job market and your prolonged job search. No matter how bad a day, week or year you’re having, you’re still in a pretty privileged place right now.

This is far more than a ‘you gotta stay positive’ message. Developing the right attitude is the foundation of your job search – without it, you will struggle to get back into the right job in the current economic climate.

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“Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them.”

Washington Irving, 1783-1859, Author

“We’re all f****d!”…… “We’re screwed…”…..”It’s all over”
 
That’s a series of statements I’ve heard in recent weeks when talking to people across the financial services industry about their career prospects over the coming year.

 Whilst the statements reflect the level of anxiety and nervousness caused by what we have seen in the markets, the banking sector and the economy in recent weeks, they are based on the (false) belief that your level of success is solely reliant on what happens in the environment. That you and your career are merely pawns in the events around you.

The truth is that your success is based on how you choose to REACT to what happens to you and the environment around you – not on what events do to you.

Over the coming months, you have two broad choices to make – are you going to act or are you going to be acted upon.  

a) Choose To Act

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I received this morning a copy of a note that has been sent out by JP Morgan to all their preferred recruitment suppliers. Essentially the message was

“please don’t call us with candidates – we’re doing just fine recruiting people via referrals and direct applicants” 

Over the summer I have written several times here, here and here about the fact that your job search campaign during a downturn or recession needs to be heavily driven via your contacts and network. Spending most of your time talking to recruiters and searching on job boards in the current climate is simply not effective. And if it is, you will find yourself playing the numbers game to make it work for you.

Nothing against my many friends in the world the world of recruitment and head hunting – but it’s just the reality of recruiting in a job market which is flooded with candidates coupled with ever tightening recruitment budgets. 

So if you’re a job hunter who thinks working hard at your job search means sending a few emails to contacts, checking in with your head hunter and looking through job boards and job alerts every day - then here’s some advice for you:

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As a job searcher within financial services, this week’s banking crises is the last thing you could do with. The papers are full of strories about banks collapsing, banks merging and talks of wholesale job cuts across the sector.

But despite all the uncertainty and craziness, you can still find a job - after all you are only looking for ONE position right? One position is out there – you just need to adjust your approach to meet the changing shape of the industry and ramp up the level of effort you put into the search.

Here are 5 tips job for finding work in the current market:

1. Be ready for more competition
In addition to competing with employees from Lehman Brothers, both Merrill Lynch and Dresdner are likely to lose people later this year having been absorbed into Bank of America and Commerzbank respectively. With rumours of further job cuts on the way, you must differentiate yourself from the competition whilst also ramping up the level of activity and effort to market yourself.

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Do you know anyone at Lehman Brothers faced with the uncertainty about their immediate futures? Or individuals from other financial institutions who have recently lost their jobs?

If so, I’d like to offer them a solution in the form of a complimentary Kick Start Your Job Search Career Coaching Session.

For the next 2 weeks, until September 30th, I am offering a special zero cost one-on-one job search call for a limited number of displaced individuals from the financial services sector.

Here’s the scoop:

• Get clear about what it is you want to do next
• Establish a high level plan for the next few weeks
• Uncover the hidden challenges and blind spots that may stop you achieving your goals
• Leave the session feeling renewed, inspired and re-energised about your job search

This will be a 30 minute phone session at a mutually agreed time.

“Ok, I’m interested – what do I need to do next?!”

To set up a session over the phone please email info@6figurecareermanagement.com and my assistant will book a slot in our diaries at a mutually convenient time.

But there are a limited number of slots which will be filled on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. So act now if you want to kick start your job search and get your career back on track.

“Hey, this doesn’t apply to me, but I know people who would benefit from such a call”

Go ahead and forward this page to them now.