Hi,
I really enjoy reading comments made by members of this forum and they are all valid in many ways. I would like to talk about my own personal case.
I'm what you would probably call a spoilt brat. Parents paid for my education throughout university. I never had to work and have basically no work experience - except in Dad's wholesale business. Turnover of £500,000 - one man business. I have done marketing, cold calling, manned the stand at exhibitions, credit control, book keeping - you name it!
It may sound silly or even naive of me - but when I started looking for a job and was told that I would earn £6.50 an hour it was a BIG shock to me. I applied for graduate jobs (I got a 2:1 in Business, excellent GSCEs and A levels plus part ACCA qualified) - I got turned down because according to them, I would be fine working in small teams or on my own but not in a LARGE organisation like theirs. That was after taking all their silly online tests and passing them as well.
What option do I have left? It's either working as a telesales agent for £6.50/hour or try to do something on my own. Opening my online shop will be a low cost way of getting into business with *potentially* a bigger reward. Is it laziness?
Laziness are those teens who go get pregnant to be able to claim a council house and benefits. For all those who are actually trying - even if it is in front a computer screen... I think it does require some guts.
Just my thought on the topic!
You have three issues. The first one is that no one has taught you how to get a job, that is not your fault. The second one is that your upbringing and background makes you think that working for £6.50 and hour is beneath you. Again not your fault but you will have to get over that especially if you start your own business. The third one is that you are in a comfortable position so you do not need to work apart from self esteem reasons. Again not your fault.
So of your three issues the one you can do something about is getting a job. I will take a guess that you have no real idea how to go about this or how much effort it takes so I will do a deal with you. I will spend my Saturday evening telling you how to do it and you will follow my instructions to the letter and I can assure you that offers of work will come. This will sound like a lesson so apologies up front.
The objective is to get a host of interviews not a job, that comes later.
Enjoy your weekend then starting on Monday you are going to work from 9am to 9pm every day with Sunday off. You will be at the computer and phone by 9am dressed as if you were going to work in an office.
Week 1
Research all companies that you think your skills could be used in within and list them in industry sectors and in order of priority of which ones you like. Ensure you get several hundred on spread sheets. Do research and find out who is responsible for recruiting. Avoid the HR department like the plague if it is a reasonable sized company find out who runs the departments and if it is a small company you want the MD.
Get on the phone and talk to them one after the other hour after hour. Make detailed notes on the spreadsheet. Find out if they are recruiting now or in the next few months. Find out if the are making people redundant! Amazing , how many companies recruit soon after
Find out what really , really needs done in the company if only they had the resource. Make notes lots of them.
It will take the whole week to contact 200 people who could help you like the department heads or MD's . After 5pm each day ensure that your spreadsheets are up to date and reorganized in order of priority based on the feed back you got. Each evening send thank you emails to each person you spoke to thanking them for taking the time even if they did not help. Ensure all you contact details are on the email and have a hook strap line about looking for work.
Week 2
Repeat the above and keep doing so until you have a list of invites to send you CV to. By this point you should not have sent any. Once you have a list to send your cv to make sure it goes with a covering letter and both are tailored to the organization whom your are sending them to. Update the spreadsheet and ensure you follow up each and everyone with a phone call within 24 hrs. CV production and covering letter production is a skill and I do not have it and I suspect will also not have it. Consider getting an expert to help you. Search the web for a guy called Steve Holmes he is very good.
Week 3
Repeat the above again but by now you will be getting a bit fed up so get out and start walking into offices and asking for work this forgotten act brings surprising results. Also ensure that you call and have spoken to everyone your CV has been sent with the aim of getting a meeting. You are selling and it s not time to be shy. You want to have a meeting because you know you can help the company.
Week 4
If you have done enough of the above, which most people do not by about 90% plus you will have a selection of interviews to attend. Do not go near one of those interviews without having done extensive research on the company and ensure you know what the companies issues are. Go prepared in every way you can.
If you cannot get offers after doing 20 plus interviews consider getting interview training
Summary
Your first aim is to make hundreds and I mean hundreds of phone calls and as many drop in visits as you can.
Send CV's to those that request and follow up expect to only get 1 interview from about 10 cv's so I am sure with your accountancy background you can do the numbers to tell you how many contacts you need to make.
Expect to only get 1 job offer from around 5 interviews so again do the numbers.
Yes it is tough out there but there is still lots and lots of work. There is not a business without issues that needs fixing you just need to match your skills and abilities with that need, that means crunching large numbers.
If all of above fails you will have identified in the process some companies you would really like to work for so go and visit them and offer to work for free for a month as a trial.
You have had more luck so far than many. It is now time to stand on your own two feet. If you do the above several times in your life you will be also training for when you go self employed without knowing it.
The work is out there and needs doing it is up to you to find it. It will not find you.
Peter
