I’ve been reading some interesting blogs and musings about employee engagement (what is it? is everyone just on the bandwagon? Concept overload?) and people feeling less than loyal to their employer. “Shall I leave?” “I hate going to work”……. So do something about it! The tricky bit is the next step. Two choices – you either trawl through the web/speak to recruiters and apply for the next dream job(s) and leave when you get the golden ticket (AKA job offer), OR you just leave and then do all the same with a lot more time and (perhaps) panic mushrooming in your head….
So I chose the latter option. Many people have asked “why?” The answer – it was the wrong job, the wrong place for me. There was learning. A whole steaming pile to be honest, but I’m glad for all of it. Most importantly, it’s helped me to be clear about what I don’t want. To me, that’s as important as what I do want.
I recently attended a #streetwisdom / #BTWC session held in London with a wonderful varied bunch of people. The most interesting thing about this (I discussed it with a rather cynical person last week – they know who they are!) is that there’s nothing earth shatteringly new about it. It’s striking in its simplicity and it helped me to see the fundamental need I have around work. And it didn’t involve a 9-5 day in day out routine stuck in the same office behind the same desk (or bank of desks!).
What has happened since I hear you ask? (Well, maybe ask…) It seems that for all of the talk of transferable skills, in reality a CV search takes note of the sectors you have worked in, rather than consider what you can bring. I met with a recruiter a few weeks ago who had me earmarked for the same sector I want to get out of. She told me that she just needed to get me in front of people as they’d realise I would fit into a commercial/corporate environment. That’s great! But only if I have a recruiter bigging up ‘me’ as a person and helping them to see past the sector I’ve worked in. Then I thought about my own prejudices when reviewing CV’s and where people have worked before… I’d love to say that I disregarded everything, but to be completely frank, I’ve been wary in the past of potential candidates with significant experience in the public sector, or the sector I’m coming out of. My reasoning? Purely past experience trying to enable change or different ways of thinking. Adopting a stereotype that’s unfair. The lesson? When I find that dream job and if I ever look at applications again……..throw everything I think I know out of the window and see the person and the skills!
Rambling over!