The Dream and The Toil

We recently featured this speech by Bill Gates which was quite a contrast to these words we featured from Steve Jobs.


But contrasting doesn't make them incompatible. You just need to know that in order to do the work you love, you need to put in the time and effort.

We have previously discussed the need for people to go into the jobs that make the world go round, and in the USA the International Baccalaureate qualification is now offering an alternative that focuses on real life everyday jobs. This article offers a round up of training available in the UK.


We have previously mentioned that a successful job hunt can be thought of as a full time job but it is important not to let the whole process overwhelm you.

Are you considering quitting?

When thinking about leaving a job there are a few things to consider. Many of which probably run through your mind night and day. But there are a few things you may not have thought through, and some you don't know how to resolve.

Get your wings

First up, are you sure leaving is the right option? Think clearly about your job. Are there any ways to make your current job more enjoyable or to change your role in ways that benefit both you and your company? That's not always possible in a small company or a huge company with clearly defined departments so maybe it is time to weigh up the risks?


Perhaps you can use your current job to fund a future change in your life. Maybe you can find some time outside work to prepare yourself for a change. You can prepare a home office space ready for when you make the change. At the very least you can dream.


If you are feeling that leaving is the best option, make sure you have considered what quitting would really mean for you. Then when you've made the decision think about how to approach your boss.


If it's just the office and commute you want to quit, here are some tops home based jobs (from the USA).


Take a leaf out of the books of people who have already made the switch, even under difficult circumstances.




Finally, on a personal note, my biggest regret is that many years ago I thought my job was going nowhere and applied for some other jobs. I was offered a job in a company that wasn't really in my industry, but paying a bit more so I accepted. I told me boss and he was a bit upset that I was leaving, and told me had hoped I would stay and move through the company. I hated the new job and a few months later a former colleague moved from my old company and I subsequently learned my old boss had been hoping I would take on that role. My new boss was a bully and was later done for embezzlement. I ended up with smashed confidence and phobia of new jobs! I just wish I had talked to my boss before quitting, he might have been able to help me prepare for taking on that other role. So don't be shy, approach your boss or a sympathetic senior colleague before you start sending applications out.


And don't forget, no link is an island. If you  clicked one of our links, look around that site for more info and advice.

Reality Check, by Bill Gates.

Have you seen this recent meme about a speech by Bill Gates?

I think this chimes with our post What Is A Good Job?


Do you think your expectations have been too high? How has life in the real world turned out for you?

CVs and cover letters

There are literally hundreds of sites across the web offering advice on how to present your CV or cover letter.Here are some that we have found that offer some key insights.


Your cover letter should be the place you lay out your personal brand.

The basics that your CV (called a resume in the USA) should include are fairly straightforward. But there are essential items that are important to include, particularly anything the job advert or specification mentions, and there are key mistakes to avoid.

Modern CVs though, need to be creative and stand out from hundreds of others so how can you ensure the HR staff or manager chooses your CV for the INTERVIEW pile?

If you want to start afresh, think about how you can rewrite

Whether you include your online links in your resume or not, employers may look for you on various social websites so be sure your profiles won't embarrass you. If your brand has a great online presence perhaps recruiters will come to you.

Your CV has to stand out.

Does your CV and cover letter stand out? If they were separated in someone's file would they be able to find the different pages and easily identify them? It's not usually advisable to make your CV look outlandish, but consider something that will tie all the pages together. If you have a well defined online presence, is there a theme you can apply to your stationary that will help tie it all together? It could be as simply a a plain blue line along the bottom of every page, or having your Twitter handle at the top. Think of something personal to you, but you might a want to avoid rainbows and kittens unless you are planning to work in a field they relate to.

Happy at work

I just had to share this article from The Guardian about Zappo Shoes in the USA.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/zappos-shoes-profits-happiness-business?newsfeed=true

And don't forget these words from Steve Jobs.....






How important is it to you to be happy at work?

The world of work

If you saw our post What Is a Good Job you might already be aware that University is not the only route to a career. If you have made the decision not to go to Uni this site has lots of tips and advice.


What are your reasons for applying to the jobs you find? Is pay a primary attraction? See what other people say in this article.

Are you interested in the reasearch that is done into work and employment? There's lots of information at the Work Foundation.


Finally have you planned your pension?

After redundancy

Just a quick post with a few links specifically for people facing or recently made redundant.

• New Life Network offers links and advice.
• Redundancy Help had information and advice about how redundancy actually happens.
• Check how the UK compares to other nations for .

Have you found any other sites that help at this difficult stage?

Interview skills

There are lots of tips on how to conduct yourself in a job interview. Here are just some of the ones we found online.

• First up do your homework.
• Be properly prepared.
• Make sure you take all you need with you.
• Here recruiters offer some advice.
• What to say when asked 'tell me about yourself?'
• What questions will you ask? Prepare a list of things you need to know at interview and in any calls before or after.
• After the interview consider following up with your interviewer.

The key thing is to do what makes you feel confident about yourself and your ability and suitability for the position you are being interviewed for. If that means wearing your lucky socks or favourite lipstick then go ahead and make yourself more confident with whatever tricks you have. 




What tips would you share for job seekers going to an interview?


Finally - a joke about interviews.

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Please note we supply these links for information and hope that as you look at websites you will come to be able to assess which are good sites and which are more dubious. Don't forget there is a lot of free information out there so you should make sure you do plenty of research before you think about paying for anything.

Behind the curtain

Take a peek at what the other side, the employers and recruiters, know and read.


The Human Resources Guide  publishes articles for and about human resource management (HRM).


What Jobsite tells recruiters about the relative merits of the job boards you might be using to find jobs and promote your CV. While this article discusses how recruiters view LinkedIn.


Recruiters have their own awards ceremony, details of the 2012 nominees are here.

What job do you want?

I came across this American post recently that includes a table of the numbers of people in the USA employed in different jobs. Have a look through and you'll notice that the highest figure at over 3 million is General Office Clerks, there are 2 and half million nurses, 2.06 accounts clerks and 2.02 million admin assistants. (In August 2010, the American labor force comprised 154.1 million people - see footnote 1) Are any of those positions the sort of dream job you had in mind for yourself?
There are some holes in the figures, I can't see any musicians or actors listed (they may count as self employed so not in a list of employees, unless they are included in Artists).


We've already discussed what counts as a good job, and how the perceived value of some of the jobs with the most employees is lower than it should be. Indeed no company can run smoothly without Admin and Clerks doing the foundation work that supports the sales, accounts and creative teams. In certain organisations the culture is such that everyone gets to enjoy work, whatever their rank or role. 


But this blog is for people who want something out of the ordinary, something that perhaps all those admin clerks aren't doing.

The web is full of sites that are, perhaps naturally, aimed more towards those millions of people in the jobs that are common, frequently up for grabs and easy to research. We have covered some of the basics of job hunting, the kinds of things that apply to all job hunters, and have offered links to some of the websites that offer job ads, advice and tips to the general population. 


For those people looking for something more individual, more esoteric, more unconventional, finding the advice that fits is much harder. Start by looking at the tag cloud on the left of this blog and click Dream Jobs, there are number of posts there that describe less conventional jobs and employment, from musicians to monks. 


Have a look at the posts on Up To Date Jobhunting and the Changing World Of Work  for more about alternatives ways of working and of finding the for you. 


 Make sure your Google search skills are polished, get to know all the other search engines, make sure you use the .co.uk versions and learn to use the web to its fullest. Try searching using related terms to your main search, the bar tending job you want might be listed as amixologist. But don't forget your offline skills. Networking is increasingly vital as a skill in job searching, tell everyone you know about your job hunt and what your aims and ambitions are. Tell your friends, tell your dentist and tell the milkman; you never know who might have just the link you need to make your career jump. 


Is there a professional body for the job you have in mind? You might be surprised. There are organisations for Travel Writers, for Musicians, for Actors and for Clowns. Do they have a regular publication or website that might include job ads? 


Keep updating your skills and make sure your CV and online presence reflect your abilities.


Are you changing career to improve you work life balance? Downshifting gained popularity in the 90s, you might want to try supplementing you paid work with self sufficiency, even if you don't have and land. Or perhaps you are more comfortable keeping several careers on the go. Again, see the tag cloud at left for more on work life balance from this blog.


Where have you found great job advice?






NB - links are provided for information. NotThe9to5 is not responsible for content of other websites.
There is a lot of free information on the web and from other sources like libraries. Make sure you do your homework before you choose to pay anyone for help.
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_of_America#Economy

More Dream Jobs

Not everyone can be a Premiership Football Player, and work is not like in the movies, but not everyone's idea of dream job is that same.

Quote from the aptly names Steve Jobs

Inside Jobs has descriptions of lots of different jobs, although mostly American they will give you a feel for what each job involves.


If you want to go for a comparison, here's a list of some of the worst jobs researchers recently identified. Are any of these your dream job?


Also see our post Dream Jobs and the individual Dream Job descriptions (Use the Tag Cloud at the left to find them).