MyCareerBrand: Career Transition & Outplacement, Jobsearch Strategy, CV, LinkedIn, Personal Branding

Free Webinar: 12:30pm 11th April 2024. Are you prepared for your job search? If you had to start your search for a new job today, how well prepared would you be? We're hearing a lot about organisations having to restructure their resourcing to better reflect the market and financial constraints. It seems to be across most sectors including the government and private sectors. Will you gain cut-through with recruiters and employers? Find out in this fast-paced 30-minute webinar. Register here: https://lnkd.in/gYxp-QPC Gain insights from our specialist panel, and find out how you can be prepared in 5 key areas. 1: Your Mindset 2: Your Why 3: Your Plan 4: Your Touch Points: > CV > LinkedIn > Cover Letter > Pitch > Interview 5: Your Close-off There will be a job market update from McLaren Associates Limited and a Q&A session where the panel will answer your questions. Delve deeper. Find out more. Be prepared! Register here: https://lnkd.in/gYxp-QPC Brought to you by MyCareerBrand: Career Transition & Outplacement, Jobsearch Strategy, CV, LinkedIn, Personal Branding and McLaren Associates Limited #Careers #Jobs #Strategy #Jobsearch #CV #InterviewSkills

Is there something missing from your work? There are many reasons why we work. Front of mind for most of us is the need to earn money and pay the mortgage. However, it needs to be more than just for this. Much, much more. I was reminded of this when a late career client going through a redundancy said, “I’d like another job even though I’m mortgage free and comfortably off.” Deriving purpose and meaning in their life from work was a key driver. We all want to do work that matters. Ideally, we all find purpose and meaning in our work and careers. If your work provides purpose, your motivation, well-being and performance are enhanced. Purpose also contributes direction and meaning to your career, allowing you to engage more deeply and make a lasting impact. Does your current job provide this? If it doesn’t, what can you do? Can you cultivate a sense of purpose in your current role? The answer hopefully is yes! Reflect on the impact of your work. Who benefits from what you do, and how can you enhance that contribution? 🟠 Bigger Picture - Find out how your work fits into the larger mission of your organisation or industry. Knowing how you are part of something bigger can boost your sense of purpose. 🟠 Help Others - Work that involves helping others or making a difference in another person’s life is often associated with meaning. Even in roles where this isn’t obvious, look for ways you can support or uplift others around you. If you try to find purpose in your current role and can’t, then it could be time to start thinking about the type of work that will give you purpose and meaning. A career coach can help you with this. Once you have clarity, put in place a plan to attain this important goal. If you would like assistance working out what work will provide you with purpose and meaning, get in touch with me and we can discuss your next steps. #careers #jobs #strategy #careerdevelopment #coach

Stuck in your job for now and would like it to be better? When the employment market is challenging it sometimes pays to hunker down in a current role and wait till the market picks up again before starting a job search. If you are wanting to move on this may be driven by aspects of your current job that you don’t enjoy or would like to be better. In the short term, rather than just mark time, think about ways to change things up. You may be able to redesign aspects of your role to increase your job satisfaction. You can utilise opportunities to customise your job by actively altering: ✅ The number, type, or nature of your tasks ✅ Interactions with others ✅ Perceptions of your work through reframing You could alter the boundaries of your job by taking on more or fewer tasks, expanding or diminishing the scope of tasks, or changing how you perform tasks e.g. an accountant creating a new method of forecasting that makes her job less repetitive. You could change your relationships at work by altering the nature or extent of your interactions with other people e.g. a software engineer offering help to co-workers as a way to have more social connections and teach new engineers. You could change the way you view your job by altering how you perceive tasks e.g. a process improvement analyst seeing his work improving the quality of products and reduction of rework as a way to provide customers a better experience. Also, reductions in waste are kinder to the planet - a mindset change from just crunching numbers. Making changes along these lines can deliver wonderful outcomes for you however there are some caveats. All initiatives need to be agreed with your manager and be of benefit to the organisation too. Fulfil these caveats and it’s win/win for you and your employer. You don’t have to stick tight and grin and bear it in your current job until the market picks up. You can make changes now to help make the situation better for you. Craig McAlpine Kaela Hindle Wendy McPhail #jobsearch #jobchange #careerchange #careers

What due diligence should I do for a ‘portfolio career’? Last week I co-presented a webinar about due diligence as a key requirement during job search. This is an important activity for all career opportunities and especially so if you are considering transitioning from a permanent role to a portfolio career. When considering a portfolio career — where you pursue multiple part-time or freelance jobs instead of a single full-time role — due diligence is essential for personal satisfaction, ensuring financial stability and long-term sustainability. Whilst this type of career potentially offers flexibility and work/life balance benefits, it pays to explore the option with ‘eyes wide open’ so that you make well informed decisions. Here are some of the important due diligence areas to consider: 🟢 Evaluation of your personal motivation and goals, including career satisfaction and risk tolerance 🟢 Assessment of your skills, market demand and pay/pricing rates 🟢 Financial planning, including income stability and cash flow management 🟢 Time management, including work/life balance and managing downtime periods 🟢 Networking and client acquisition 🟢 Exit strategy if it doesn’t work out as planned In my experience as a portfolio worker, and helping clients plan this type of career, financial planning is a critical area of due diligence. By undertaking comprehensive due diligence, you’ll set yourself up for success and be better prepared to navigate the potential challenges of a portfolio career. If you would like to discuss a potential portfolio career, get in touch with me and we can discuss your next steps. #careers #career #careerdevelopment #careerchange Craig McAlpine Kaela Hindle Wendy McPhail

Should I do interim work whilst looking for a permanent job? I’m often asked this question by clients who are between jobs and seeking another permanent role. It’s a good question. Will temporary work detract from their job-hunting efforts? Will they get categorised as contract workers and will this make it harder for them to secure permanent work? Whilst each person’s circumstances need to be considered, overall I think the benefits of doing temporary work whilst job seeking outweigh any downsides. What are the benefits? 🟢 It keeps you in the workplace with all associated benefits 🔹 Purpose 🔹 Routine 🔹 Social contact 🔹 More experience 🔹 Earnings 🟢 It presents opportunities 🔹 Different sector/industry experience 🔹 Growth of professional network 🔹 Extensions of temporary work periods are common 🔹 Possible permanent employment 🔹 It helps you maintain your confidence, perhaps the most important benefit? Hunting for a new job is demanding and tiring. At best I think you can only do it justice for about 2 hours per day. That leaves plenty of time for other activities, which could include interim work. There is however one major caveat. If you are taking on a piece of temporary work set aside some regular time each week when you aren’t working. For example, keeping Friday mornings free. This means you always have time available to schedule meetings such as for networking, which enable you to tap into the hidden job market (possibly up to 80% of vacancies in NZ). Avoid the trap of getting consumed by your temporary job at the expense of your job seeking. Whilst you need to do your temporary work justice, you also need to keep up the momentum seeking a permanent role. Interim work is a good option to consider whilst job hunting. What’s your experience been? Craig McAlpine Kaela Hindle Wendy McPhail #jobsearch #jobchange #careers #coaching

Free 30-minute Webinar: Join us at 12:30 pm. Tuesday 24th September (NZST) Register here: https://lnkd.in/g6Dzkqqr What do you do when you're ready to move on from your current role and the job market is challenging? Is this the right time to explore opportunities elsewhere or should you hunker down in your current role? Clarity of what you are looking for will make a significant difference to the questions you ask during due diligence and enable you to mitigate risk by making the right decision. Gordon Holmes and Craig McAlpine, from MyCareerBrand, and Nikki Walshaw and Kirsty McLaren from McLaren Recruitment will present key insights on: ✅ Job Market Update: McLaren Recruitment ✅ Current state: Understand how you got to this point ✅ Objectives: What you need. What you need to change ✅ Actions: Your toolkit to make change happen - the questions you ask and your decision process ✅ Identifying benefits and derailers: Going into the challenge with eyes wide open ✅ Breaking through the barriers and dealing with derailers: Making change happen ✅ Next steps: What you will do now - putting a stake in the ground ✅ Q&A Join us at 12:30 pm. Tuesday 24th September (NZST) Register here: https://lnkd.in/g6Dzkqqr #careers #jobsearchstrategy #jobs #employment

Want to ensure you have a great career? Best you take charge. In my previous post I wrote about how people who are in their late careers can benefit from having a career plan. The reality is that we can all benefit from having a career plan, no matter the stage of our career. Why is this important? Many people have what I call an “ad hoc” or “incremental career”. They land their first job, often in an area that’s of interest or related to their area of tertiary study. The job goes quite well, and then the next opportunity presents itself. Its assessed and if it provides more skills and experience, is interesting, and hopefully pays more, then the job is taken. This pattern keeps repeating itself. This may be fine, but eventually it may not be. I see a lot of clients who have reached a career ‘brick wall’. They may not like what they’re doing any more, they may be unsure of what they’d like to do in the future, and they don’t know how to get clarity. In short, their career has been left largely to chance. They haven’t been intentional with their career management. When we spend so much of our lives at work (research has found on average 80,000 – 90,000 hours over our lifetime) and it has such a big impact on the rest of our life, it’s really important to invest in developing a career plan. If you have found yourself in this situation, or fear that it could arise, the good news is that it’s never too late to create a career plan. You will be energised and feel in control of your destiny. It gives you every chance to do meaningful work, to leverage your potential and to flourish. No matter your age or stage of career, why wouldn’t you take charge? If you would like assistance with your career planning, get in touch with me and we can discuss your next steps. Craig McAlpine Kaela Hindle Wendy McPhail #career #careerdevelopment #jobchange #coaching

Got a plan for your late career? You’d be wise to have one. What is late career? What does it mean to you? Have you explored what that might look like? For everyone, it’s probably different. It’s not just age related. It’s where you are in your own sense of career stage. Age is just one measure - but, as we’re increasingly aware, it’s by no means the determinant. And it’s most unfortunate it’s been allowed to dominate. Let’s explore late career further. “The huge cost of being made redundant at the age of 60” was the headline of a recent Radio NZ article. For many this would be a scary situation, particularly when finding new employment is currently challenging. There are many good reasons to have a plan for the latter stages of your career. These include helping to: 🟢 maximise your career, subsequent transitions and life after full-time paid work; and 🟣 prepare you to better cope with any unplanned situations that may arise. Expanding on unplanned negative situations, having a well thought through and executed late career plan can help you: 🟣 adapt to changing circumstances such as ▪️ job changes and losses ▪️ personal life changes, health issues and/or family carer responsibilities 🟣 recover from savings shortfalls to attain financial security for retirement There are many good reasons to have a late career plan beyond trying to protect yourself against the above negative situations. A great late career plan can also help you: 🟢 continue learning, ensuring your skills remain relevant and marketable 🟢 maximise your skills, experience and expertise 🟢 leverage mentoring and coaching opportunities 🟢 transition you into roles or sectors that you are passionate about and will provide fulfilment 🟢 make a lasting difference and leave a legacy 🟢 prepare you for life after full-time paid employment reduces or ends Do you want to leave your late career to serendipity, or would you rather plan to maximise your career and minimise the impact of any negative events? I know which I’d rather do. If you would like assistance with your late career planning, get in touch with me and we can discuss your next steps. Craig McAlpine Kaela Hindle Wendy McPhail #career #careerdevelopment #jobchange #coaching

Stuck in your job for now and would like it to be better? When the employment market is challenging it sometimes pays to hunker down in a current role and wait till the market picks up again before starting a job search. If you are wanting to move on this may be driven by aspects of your current job that you don’t enjoy or would like to be better. In the short term, rather than just mark time, think about ways to change things up. You may be able to redesign aspects of your role to increase your job satisfaction. You can utilise opportunities to customise your job by actively altering: ✅ The number, type, or nature of your tasks ✅ Interactions with others ✅ Perceptions of your work through reframing You could alter the boundaries of your job by taking on more or fewer tasks, expanding or diminishing the scope of tasks, or changing how you perform tasks e.g. an accountant creating a new method of forecasting that makes her job less repetitive. You could change your relationships at work by altering the nature or extent of your interactions with other people e.g. a software engineer offering help to co-workers as a way to have more social connections and teach new engineers. You could change the way you view your job by altering how you perceive tasks e.g. a process improvement analyst seeing his work improving the quality of products and reduction of rework as a way to provide customers a better experience. Also, reductions in waste are kinder to the planet - a mindset change from just crunching numbers. Making changes along these lines can deliver wonderful outcomes for you however there are some caveats. All initiatives need to be agreed with your manager and be of benefit to the organisation too. Fulfil these caveats and it’s win/win for you and your employer. You don’t have to stick tight and grin and bear it in your current job until the market picks up. You can make changes now to help make the situation better for you. Craig McAlpine Kaela Hindle Wendy McPhail #jobsearch #jobchange #careerchange #careers