Individual Career Change
There are times when we realise we need a change of career, but do not know what direction to take or how to enact that change. Whether it is a career plateau, redundancy or you just feel you need to move, we can support you in identifying the right career path and making that happen.
Our approach is to meet with each individual to assess their objectives and to tailor a programme to meet those needs. We give support in identifying a new role or career direction by using structured exercises to identify strengths, values, competencies and skills and then producing appropriate CVs for alternative roles and preparing an action plan including networking approach to each marketplace identified.
The first phase is to take stock from a career perspective. To identify your ideal next job or career path you need to know three things:
What do you Enjoy? What are you Good at? Who is going to pay you and how to do these?
We use structured exercises, personality questionnaires, including previous questionnaires that the individual has found useful, and discussion of these to build a picture of the individual’s strengths and motivations. Our role is to act as the independent sounding board and to challenge the individual’s own perceptions of where they can make a difference and contribute in the world of work. Most of us tend to either forget what we have done or undersell it!
Once themes have begun to emerge and we have identified potential sectors and roles to target, we begin to look at achievements and skills and decide how to position these in the CV or CVs. In these sessions the individual is creating, not only a great and appropriately positioned CV, but also their answers for subsequent interviews.
We then work with the individual to create an action plan to approach the marketplace, focused on the three main routes: Executive Recruiters; Adverts (mainly online nowadays) and, the most important of all, Networking. We have in-depth experience of supporting senior individuals with all these routes. At this stage, support focuses on review of progress and tactical advice on next steps to fine-tune the approach to the market.
Career Change is similar to most of the changes we face in life: there are always ups and downs. We are here to support you through those and to normalise the process, as well as acting as part of your team of experts and advisers.
Our goal is to make sure you receive the support you need when you need it. Every session begins with your agenda to ensure we focus on those topics which will be immediately useful, before returning to the strategic agenda. We also work with you to make sure you are as well prepared for every step of the plan as you can be, which includes interview and presentation preparation and practice, negotiating the next role, deciding on which job to take and, finally, preparing to be successful in the new role.
Career Management within Organisations
We have experience in creating programmes to support individuals in their career planning within organisations, often in conjunction with a Talent Programme. We believe that organisations need to develop their employees from a career perspective to enable them to make the best of their potential within the organisation. Not only does this support improve retention, but also performance. Research shows:
‘Performance = Ability + Motivation + Opportunity’
Boxall & Purcell, 2003 (Understanding the People and Performance Link
– CIPD Research Report (Purcell et al, 2003)
Most organisations can assess ability, but forget to look at motivation from a career perspective and often do not communicate to employees where the right next opportunity may lie. As a result, high potential employees leave, causing a talent drain.
We support organisations in developing programmes for managers and employees to give them an understanding of how to manage their own careers within the organisation. Such programmes are e tailored to the company, but would cover areas such as:
Understanding the Career Management Model; Values, motivators, interests, personal strengths; Skills and Competencies; Organisational Values/culture, management style, environment and preparing for career discussions and interviews.
We also work with employees and managers on developing personal Career Management Skills, including Networking for Career Success; Producing an effective CV; Successful Interviews – Preparation and Practice; Reputation Management and Personal Branding.
Our programmes receive consistently high feedback and managers have commented on how much more motivated employees have been following attendance at such programmes.
Outplacement
We work with organisations to support senior executives in finding a new role outside the organisation following redundancy/downsizing programmes or when the organisation wishes to support ‘good leavers’ as part of a compromise agreement.
In working with senior executives we offer tailored career change programmes, including the opportunity to consider building a portfolio career, moving into consultancy, Interim roles, looking at the Non-Executive Director and the Entrepreneurial routes, as well as, the more usual, next senior corporate role.
We follow the Career Change Model, carrying out appropriate assessments and discussions to identify the right next role, target sector and organisations depending on which route the individual is exploring. We then work together to create targeting marketing materials including CVs, prepare the individual for networking, interviews and presentations. Finally, we give support in negotiating and planning for success in new roles.
We tailor the plan for the NED, (needs evaluation discussion ) Interim and Consulting routes and have also experience of supporting individuals in successfully setting up their own companies.
The First 90 Days Coaching
We work with individuals to create their plan for achieving success in the new organisation or role, built on a good awareness of self and including plans for developing any perceived development needs.
Our approach focuses not only on planning for the early wins and strategic goals of the organisation, but also on preparing the individual to be the person they want to be in the new role, as well as preparing to establish rapport with their new boss, key stakeholders and building good working relationships with peers and reports.
This structured approach ensures executives quickly identify and use the exact leadership competencies and skills needed to address business challenges and opportunities. It also supports executives who are charged with leading change in a new and different environment.
We are often asked by individuals whom we have supported through career change to meet with them after 3-6 months to ensure they are sticking to the plan and on track, as it is easy to forget the disciplined plan in the face of constant new challenges. This also serves as a timely reminder to keep up the networking!