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NEW YEAR, NEW you – the most prolific phrase you’ll read and hear this month.
January ushers in a desire for change and a reboot in the most important areas of our lives; our physical and mental wellbeing, our relationships, our living spaces. It’s also a perfect time to think about job satisfaction and prospects – the working world goes back into top gear after the festive slowdown.
If you are one of those who has faced into 2018 with doubts about whether you are on the right career path for you (or on a path at all), then TheJournal.ie wants to hear from you.
We are hosting a Facebook Live on Monday afternoon, 8 January, with career and performance coach Jane Downes. While we will be taking questions live from our Facebook participants on the day, we also want to hear from you in advance.
Feel free to leave your questions in the comments below or to email them to editor@thejournal.ie, with the subject line marked ‘Career change’.
Keep an eye out for our Jobbio Careers Magazine on TheJournal.ie on Monday, bringing you advice, trends and the latest news from the world of work.
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Nearly a year ago I bullied in my work place and the only path to resolve the issue was to find another job in different department away from the bullying colleagues but in the same company. The HR dept did not handle my bullying complaint sensitively and I had to withdraw the action due to the pressure they put on my to confront the main bully before they would progress the complaint. I was recently promoted in the same company to another department (my standard of work or attitude was never questioned) but have lost confidence in my employer and myself. How do I rebuild trust in the company and confidence in myself in this new role?
@Smidgen Dublin:
Are you in a position where you can now work with HR to try and understand the process for handling bullying better. It’s much easier to fix a process issue when there is no actual case of bullying to have to manage. If you can get HR to understand how and why it didn’t work for you they may change or modify their processes. If you achieved this I suspect you would gain both confidence and respect. Even if you don’t effect change you make get a better understanding of why
@Smidgen Dublin: Issues around bullying can be extremely complex for organisations to deal with. Arranging meetings between the parties is a common path for companies to take in order to resolve the issue. In terms of your own confidence, why is it shaken, you state that the standard of your work and your attitude was never questioned, in my view that reflects excellently on you, also the company mmust value your ability as you have earned a promotion, to do this someone must have witnessed your ability to succeed in the role. Well done, be proud of how you have handled yourself and become succesful.
@Smidgen Dublin: I think HR really has no clue if their policies work until someone tests them out. I am sorry you had to by the guinea pig. Hopefully they will learn from their mistakes but if you have the courage to tell HR where they went wrong it might help others in the future.
Post something for us college students please :)
@Dalya Al-Tulaihi:
My advice is to get some experience. Yes it can be a catch 22, how do you get a job in the first place to gain the experience.
Depending on what you are graduating in I would write to every company you can find and explain you want to gain experience and that you are looking for some sort of non paid internship. You need to sell yourself as best you can. A lot of companies may actually pay you some expenses to do an internship and it is a great stepping stone to a full time position
@Nick Allen: That’s great advice!
@Nick Allen: I’ve already contacted a few pharmaceutical companies and laboratories for the coming summer to do a placement. Hopefully that works! Thank you for the advice !
@Dalya Al-Tulaihi: I did science in college and took a placement in a lab in the university and was allowed to use my results towards my thesis, that could also be a useful route to go down if you feel like you might want to do a higher degree. Fostering relationships with scientists you might want to work with in the future goes a very long way.
@Veronica: thanks Veronica! I’ll keep that in mind when a scientist gets on my nerves in the future haha. I appreciate the advice !!
@Veronica:
In did too. I got a 6 month placement in Trinity to do free work as a placement. The day I started they told me they secured some funding which covered my travel expenses and left me a few pennies for a pint at the weekend. Hospitals are also a good source of placements too. I spent 2 months testing the the accuracy of weighing scales in the labs in Charing Cross Hospital. Was much better experience than it sounds and required a lot of statistical analysis. The intern jobs are there for those that seek them out
@Nick Allen: Oh cool! I was working in Trinity too. Hospitals sound fun, I never worked in one but I was in the labs a few times and it seems interesting. I remember once telling my professor during a fit of rage/hopelessness at an experiment gone wrong during my masters that I would never consider doing a PhD, which ended up being a big mistake because of course I changed my mind and ended up going on to do one, but not with her because when I brought it up she raised her eyebrows and said “thought you were never going to do one?”. I think a big thing I learned throughout my studies was to not grumble when lab work wasn’t going well, because there’s always someone listening and remembering what you say.
@Veronica:
You are so right, always do the best in a job an opportunities will follow. I worked in the Moyne institute in TCD testing eColi levels from sea samples. Absolutely loved it but unfortunately no longer work in Science. Moved to the business world and did an MBA instead. Would still love to to a PhD but I think that time has passed
@Nick Allen: Never say never! There’s always time to what you love!! I’ve known PhD students who came back to do their undergrad in their 40s, started PhD mid 40s, finished by end 40s, and they absolutely loved it! (and were really good because they tended not to care about going out on the sesh like everyone else).
@Veronica:
I will be 50 this year. But I haven’t completely ruled out the idea. Problem is cash. Mortgage, 4 teenagers, bills etc and (hopefully) university fees and expenses in the coming years restrict my ability to explore interesting things
Belief. Simply believe in yourself even when things are seemingly hard. Take baby steps everyday. But keep going forward. It will get better.
Age
@David Cloherty:
I think age is becoming less and less important. I employ People regularly and rarely even look at the persons age as it is somewhat irrelevant. If however I am trying to recruit a junior position age can be a problem as a junior role will have a lower salary and as such may not appeal to an older person
@David Cloherty: age had been shown to be not as much a barrier as once thought . Employers are looking for skilled knowledgeable workers who have experience and know how on their side.
@Nick Allen: hello Nick. I had to retire on health grounds from the health service 2 yrs ago after 24 and a half years. I have a mild physical disability which means I have to walk with crutches and had to have 2 discs removed from my neck and just realised I could no longer do what I was doing anymore. I have now started looking and applying for jobs, something even for 2 or 3 days a week and I’m worried my age is what is putting people off, I’m 45.
@Declan Moran:
I don’t think 45 is old and in my industry sector i really don’t think it would put people off. However, i don’t know what the health services are like and they may be a little different. Good luck with the job hunting and don’t worry about your age as there is naff all you can do about it.
@Nick Allen: thanks Nick. Not looking to get back into the health service, had enough of the politics that goes on there :). Thanks again, will keep hunting :)
@Declan Moran: politics goes on everywhere. Its how you choose to deal with it that’s the key.
I am in the same job for 13 years no hope of progression or sufficient wage increase anytime soon – considering adult education training courses but don’t know what job/profession suits my skills set – what should I do??
@Brían Ó Cionnaith:
Without knowing specifics regarding your current skills it’s hard to give you a decent answer.
Perhaps do some research on people who you used to work with and see how /where they progressed or what they have that’s different to you?
13 years tenure and no major promotion could mean time to move on or at least ask your boss for some feedback?
Best of luck with whatever you do
@Brían Ó Cionnaith:
If you like what you are doing Brian but the company isn’t supporting you to develop in the role so that you can earn more and move on into another position, then definitely have a look at a course in relation to the type of work you are doing. Qualifications will probably make it easier to move elsewhere. The other thing you could do, is a complete change. Do an evening or distance learning course in something completely different and still stay in your current employment but with the knowledge that you are putting steps in place in order to move on but you still have the comfort of your wages during this time of study. Best of luck in your new choices, the world is your oyster.
I have a degree in IT, gotten a few years ago. Decided to retrain in Digital Marketing and got a Professional Diploma but now employers still don’t want to know. Every dm executive job is requiring a degree and years of experience. Unpaid (or low paid) internships are the only options, and even they don’t want to know. I even have some experience through the years but it’s just not happening.
How am I meant to change jobs if no one is willing to give me a chance?
@Ali:
I went back to college to get a degree in digital media. The day I graduated I rented an office. That was 3 years ago. I did free work for people, I scraped by on cash, I kept at it and at it. My logic was that a low paid internship would teach me little for hardly any reward. In 3 years I have learned my skills from top to bottom, managing everything. Profits have doubled every year. I also went for a communications position in a government department which I got and will start in the next few weeks. I also start part time lecturing in an IT in February. The key is not to wait about, just get up and start doing something, make yourself relevant, if you do digital marketing you should also be able to do digital design, graphics, etc. Learn video, the most popular form of digital marketing. Learn the skills that others don’t have, know digital marketing from every perspective. Do free marketing campaigns for charities and show that you can get tangible results. DM is a difficult field to get into, to succeed you need the fuel of sweat and tears.
@John Smith: I’m all for getting active but the problem is that I know relatively little. I need a learning position.
I’m doing online modules through Lynda.com but it’s hard when you’re working full time too
have your say