Careers Services are becoming increasingly popular. Many people have been forced to look at their employment prospects in a new light as a result of Covid 19. The transition to remote work has enhanced the need for digital skill and better communication. Additionally the closure of much of the hospitality sector limited people’s work options through the various lockdowns we underwent. This has led to a massive upsurge in online learning and career development. People are really beginning to look at the world differently as a result. The exciting thing about this is that we live in an age of infinite information. However, it is also important to acknowledge that not everyone is able to avail of this opportunity as much as others. The rate of change has been a very significant one and the digital skills that people possession if appears have not kept pace.

However, there have also been a host of knock on effects from the pandemic. Many people are taking more chances than before and still others are finding themselves position in a much more favorable job market.

A Seller's Market

For those of you who remember the dark days of 2009 on beyond there was a very definite shift in the ‘power dynamic’ between employers and employees. Those still lucky enough to have jobs were being asked to work longer hours for less money and often under the considerable stress of impending redundancy. Employers to be fair to them were often applying this stress in the name of saving not only their employees jobs, but the very business they worked for. However, it didn’t take long (relatively speaking; many people have yet to recover from that time) for the wheel to turn. As business began to slowly pick up in the subsequent years, more opportunities became available to employees. H-Training can clearly remember that shift and how the power ran back to staff, who in many cases were only too happy to leave their recession time employers high and dry and they moved onto better things.

Currently, in Western Europe, help wanted signs litter the widows on many, if not most restaurants as they valiantly attempt to climb back onto their knees. Staff who used to depend on these jobs are either gone home or have upskilled or are students living at home while studying remotely. The logistics crunch is a well documented crisis that we are surely due to see the real impacts of as the madness of Christmas begins to open its hungry jaws again. Inflation, new industries and the War in Tech for talent are all contributing to the maddening screams on business everywhere:

“WE NEED STAFF!!!!”

 

And it is with great satisfaction that we tell each of our clients that they mean YOU! It is rare that we tell career coaching clients to take their time. But such is the market at present we are telling people to hold off on making decisions, given the broad array of options they have available to them. We are saying this because we want to assure that they get the most satisfying roles possible.

Change comes fast...

While this is great news for now, however, we want to be careful in not resting on our laurels. There are plenty of potential threats out there that could scupper all of these best laid plans. Many economies have been buoyed by government investment, like the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, however these facilities will have to be rolled back at some point. Furthermore, the money borrowed to pay for these will also have to be repaid.

H-Trainings’ clients feel very positive about the economy at present. However, there is also a trend of cautious optimism that comes with this. The hard days of 2009 live in the minds of many people as a sort of yardstick against which they measure their baseline. The general consensus seems to be be…I do not want to go back there! And it has a utility in terms of motivating us to be more. But we must remember that we don’t have full control over this, especially in a globalised economy, where pain travels fast. Just look at Covid 19!

In the same way that we experienced a full swing from bad for employees to good for employees in those dark early days of the last decade, that swing could very reasonable happen again this time. But we deeply hope it wont.

But, while we have this information what can we do to ensure you make the most of the current demand for people.

Capitalising on the Current Climate

People come to H-Training for a lot of reasons.

Many just want help with an interview. Other are hoping to make their CV & LinkedIn Profile Standout

Others have a nagging sense that they can be more. This is really where Career Services come in. Some many of our clients have different reasons for reviewing their careers. And all of this work will be driven by what you want. In doing so we need to discuss what your priorities are and it is amazing how much it varies.

  • Security
  • Money
  • Challenge
  • Fulfillment
  • Time off
  • Development
  • Prestige
  • Autonomy
  • Variety
All of these priorities reflect the preferences of different people and there is no right or wrong priority to have.
 
It is also important to recognise that there are different cultures when it comes to work. A corporate role requires dedication and often long hours that can take its toll in a variety of ways. However, this is offset by the fact that you will be remunerated considerably for these efforts. However, for many people this exchange is not enough or for others it works perfectly.
 
But the important thing to remember here is that you will often be fed the party line in a corporate setting as if it is fact. These cultures can be very convincing and H-Training has encountered numerous candidates over the years who believed what they were given often to their own detriment. All of what you receive in any larger organisation needs to be interrogated. Remember, the managers telling you these things have their own agenda, and that is for you to commit as much as possible and without question.
 
The same can equally be seen in academic institutions, particularly in the area of research. Many people who embark on a career in academia have warm notions of being tenured and having an office and fifteen hours of lecturing a week. However, the sad reality here is that many of the lead researchers in these institutions are incentivised to have more research assistance, which in turn leads to larger grants. The truth is that a tiny percentage of these PHDs become lecturers in a full-time capacity and many even struggle to make ends meet, finding themselves trapped in a purgatory of over-qualification and under experience as the years drift by.
 
However, all of this is rendered moot, when the candidate in question has a deep and driving passion for their subject. This is often payment in itself for many as they get to follow a passion and get paid for it. This is an important aspect of career fulfillment. Money is not everyone’s driving force. We regularly meet very well paid people struggling with a deep sense of meaninglessness. In the caring and social care professions nowhere is the stark divide between income and meaning more pronounced. If it wasn’t for the urgency many people feel towards the disadvantage in our communities, the already strained system would become more deeply overwhelmed. H-Training has also seem many people move from this kind of work into something better paid only to find that the work felt utterly meaningless and unimportant. It is one of the odd quirks to career development that many people don’t often consider.

 

Safe Choices

Security is a very common aspect of what motivates people in their careers. The obviously answers to this problem are the ‘too big to fail’ tech giants or other well established companies. In Ireland, the tech sector and foreign direct investment was a big reason we were able to survive the big recession of 2009. However, the other safe haven that many people flood towards during downturns in the Public and Civil Service. Roles in the Public Sector can be a diverse and front line staff in a busy hospital to An Garda Síochana to working in a local county council.
 
All of these roles offer different benefits and much of it can be related to security. While you may start on a lower level, if you keep at it your income can raise considerably and there are a host of benefits from flexible working to pensions and definitely the security you will enjoy.
 
At H-Training we have worked across all of these sectors and we can advise you directly about your best options. Whether it is the public sector or big tech, the main point here what are you looking for. Remember, we need you to think for yourself and identify the goal, getting here there may be a need to compromise, however if you compromise first, you are already selling yourself short.
 
Get in touch of book in below to discuss the next steps in your career by availing of our professional Career Services:
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If you’re looking for interview coaching or even further career coaching, career guidance, emotional intelligence testing get in touch with Ciarán and the H-Training team today. If you’re located at the other side of the recruiting desk, H-Training also offers comprehensive interview panel training, corporate group interview training and effective sales training programs.

Ciaran Hourican

Ciaran Hourican

Ciarán is a professional Coach and Mentor and has been working across careers services and career development for over fifteen years and has supported thousands of people to better their lives. He is deeply passionate about assisting others to realise their dreams and see more opportunity in the professional world today than ever before

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