If your employer complements your productivity and is investing in your future career with financially supporting you with professional qualifications then you are a lucky employee. According to research, fewer than six in 10 UK employees feel a strong connection to their employers' company – a five per cent decline since 2002 – whilst 64% of workers in the UK are satisfied their employer recognises their qualities and contributions to the business.
However, it appears that the need to move on to more senior positions and new challenges is felt by a large proportion of employees. 45% of the 1,200 professionals who were interviewed claim to be actively looking for their next move up the career ladder – yet the research also found that less than half had actively moved careers within the last two years.
The evidence that people want to change jobs is overwhelming, yet strangely not many do, which could be because of the delays in Brexit and keeping employees in their current jobs. This, says the report, also shows that professionals find the recruitment process overwhelming, and are unsure whether to make their career move now or wait until after the 31 October 2019.
Here are five thoughts to figuring out whether you are in the best place for your career and future:
Rate your current job
What do you enjoy about your job? What are you particularly skilled at? What area would you preferably like to specialise in, if the chance appeared? To gain insight into this, you must rate elements of your current job. Rate these elements on a one to 10 basis and you’ll start to build a picture of what jobs you’re looking for and where you need to look to find your goals. Without any planning of your career on your part, it’s impossible to envision what will satisfy your career need in the future, nor where your strengths lay, and what qualifications need to be studied to get you there, if any.
Focus on the immediate future
Whilst building a lifelong career plan sounds like a great idea, you’ll never be able to anticipate what events lay around the corner. Your situation changes, your location may change and the job market isn’t always in a stable period. However, this doesn’t mean that planning ahead is a bad idea. Think about your immediate goals and keep long term plans present in your mind. If you know where you want to be at the end of your career, then having this as a goal in the back of your mind is a good thing, but the route can be winding and can dramatically change many times – business never stands still which creates new opportunities and careers.
Create a transition plan
Ultimately you will not be looking for any new job, you’re looking to grasp the next big opportunity and promotion if you are career-minded. This isn’t a random decision, you are creating a plan for progression and to reach your ultimate in your career. Think about how you plan on promoting yourself and your abilities; is there anything you can do now to evidence your capabilities at an interview which will put you a cut above your competitors who are also vying for the same job? Will you spend time exclusively seeking temporary or contract work whilst you search? Can you financially afford such a change?
Think outside of the box
The UK job market is in a positive place for jobseekers at the moment with more people in employment than ever before; there are currently more vacancies in the job market than there are candidates to fill them. The best way to find the right job is to use a reputable recruitment firm. Who will hear what your wishlist is and find you the company that suits your current needs. AP Group’s divisions, AP Executive, AP Technical and AP Personnel have in-roads with desirable clients and companies who are looking for professionals who want to succeed in life. Anything you can do to differentiate yourself from the crowd will be advantageous when searching for an in-demand position. Enlisting the help of a specialist recruitment agency, like AP Group, is the best idea, we can provide sound advice on what qualifications you need to get you to the job you want to be in.
Be open
Opportunities appear in strange places, and in the most unexpected of times, this is why AP Group is the agency of choice and we are privy to many different jobs in global locations which candidates never hear about without our help. The difference between a business leader and a standard worker is that one has the ability to perceive advantages when they appear. Be willing to trust and listen to your recruitment consultant and be open to new opportunities and chances. It may be scary and risky, but interviews which you originally did not seem keen to attend, often flourish into lucrative job opportunities – and if they don’t, then you have positively taken a chance and it’s another feather to add to your cap, and you have practised your interview skills.
If you are seeking new recruitment opportunities, contact one of AP Group’s consultants today.
