Not the 9 to 5

When I first set up the website I felt that the name of the site was self explanatory and would be understood by any readers who came this way. Now I am feeling the time is right to explain what Not The 9 to 5 really means.

9 to 5 is a well known phrase, in the west at least, and is a synecdoche, it is a description of a part of the world of work which stands for the whole of work.


Hearing the phrase 9 to 5 will invoke in many people an image of commuters jammed into a train, suited men walking across Waterloo bridge to the City, people head down hard at work in offices. In the USA it will summon the image of the ubiquitous cubicle familiar to anyone who has seen the Matrix or a Dilbert cartoon. In the UK where our buildings are older they may envisage people chained to their desks. 9 to 5 is a fairly neutral statement but it conjures slightly less than positive ideas of work being a chore.

In the pre-Industrial Age 9 to 5 made sense, daylight was available during those hours for most of the year and very little work could be done by candle light. Then the invention of machinery and electricity made it possible to work through the night but tradition and the need to interact with other workers meant that change didn't happen. Now we have connectivity and can interact with workers on the other side of the planet if we wish and 9 to 5 really makes very little sense. People working in London may have to work with people in Tokyo at 7am or San Francisco at 11pm, should they really be asked to work all the hours between? If your colleagues are a thousand miles away is it necessary to be in an office in central London or can you work just as well from home in the country?

In past jobs I have often felt how strange it is that bosses are happy for their staff to clock in at nine and out at five with very little regard for what they did in between. I knew staff who were penalised for not being at their desk on time or for leaving early and yet anyone working beyond those hours was never praised and anyone who achieved a lot in that time was given no more benefit than someone who slacked through the day. Seems a funny way to run a business to me.

I recently wrote on my other blog about ways in which the world of work is changing, hopefully for the better, in that some people believe a business should be measured not just by its bottom line but also on the good, or bad, it does in the world. The way employees are treated and feel about the company would be one of these measures. For now we live in a world in which there is almost nothing that is not business. Your health, wealth and free time are all tied to someone's business somewhere. How you meet, court and marry is now monetised. How you travel is almost never free, even walking costs shoe leather. Without money there is nothing in the modern world.

And yet we are still, by and large, tied to the 9 to 5 day. From shops and schools to doctors and bankers the majority live in the 9 to 5 world. But there are others breaking out.

Teleworkers, using home technology to 'be' at work any time of day. Crafters and inventors working in their sheds building beautiful things, people with big ideas about becoming Free Range, Multipotentialites or Paid-to-Exist. For many people there is no longer a need to be a cardboard cut out, boxed and packaged automaton or cog. And these roles don't need to be for internet geniuses. Any idea, any pursuit, any handmade item can be a success with very little start up funding.

Of course, Yahoo seems to disagree. But I planned this post last night and then saw this on my Twitter feed this afternoon:

Working life isn't 9-5 any more. The world is connected. Companies that do not embrace this miss a trick. Quote of the week @richardbranson
— Part Time Jobs (@timewisejobs) March 1, 2013

 So Not The 9 to 5 is a blog about all those other opportunities, ways of working, places to work and ways to monetise your life for yourself not some remote boss who has nothing in common with you. For anyone sick of being a desk jockey, anyone who wants meaning in their work, anyone fed up of being a nameless cog in a faceless machine, anyone wanting to break out and do things their way, the posts on this blog and the links on the Twitter feed are for you, they may be inspiration, information, advice or other resources but I hope that through them you will find a new way to work - Not The 9 to 5.

Laura. (Don't forget our motto - No Link Is An Island - when you follow a link and arrive at a new website have a clickabout and see what else is on offer.)

Too much information?

People all over the world have started to take leaps into the unknown and work differently, work for themselves, work for their own goals.

Here a few of the blogs we've seen about taking the plunge.

• Sarah and Anna are embarking on what they term a series of 'work experiments'.
• One woman had to leave work to have a child but found a way to make money
• Laura believes there is work only you can do
• Being a nonconformist

It's a lot to take in.

There are more blogs on the web than you could ever read. Some are beautifully designed and written with care and passion. Others are chucked up and thrown together, full of spelling and grammatical errors. (We hope we are in the first category, we try to be). Everyone has some advice to dispense. It's up to you to read it, assess it in context, synthesise the information and take what you need and can use from it.

It may help you to distill the essence that really engages you by recording or writing down the advice you like, maybe on record cards, perhaps in a mind map, or a spreadsheet.

How do you evaluate the information you find on the web? Is it easier than taking ideas from books and newspapers?

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?

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

The up to date job hunt

Things change rapidly with ever growing use and simplicity of technology. It's easy to think that your job hunt can be conducted in the same way as it was when you first hit the job market. But the pace of change means employers have new ways of finding staff.


There is a lot of advice on the web to help prevent you blundering through the process or making faux pas. From the basics of job hunting through to special advice for mature job hunters, to how being a mum is a valuable set of skills and experience. Just type what you are looking for into Google or one of the other search engines out there.


One technique you might find useful is to make the job hunt your job in which you schedule tasks just as you would at work. Look into finding a mentor, someone you know and respect could be just as good as a remote but mega successful star.


Try putting your CV on Pinterest, and Tweeting about your job search.


Most companies have jobs on their website but you may have to hunt them down; look at the top or bottom of the page for "About Us", you may find a link on the "About" page. Have a look at all the big sites and get a feel of how they work and learn to identify less effective sites. Read articles and learn how to use any tools they have. Make notes!     
Keep track of all the applications you've made, whether by automatic processes on these sites or by sending a CV, and note all the phone calls you make or receive and time and date of any interviews.


Despite the great technology, perhaps one of the best thing you can do is pick up the phone (don't forget to keep it charged up). There are also offline places to go to advice, from your local library and job centre to specialist advice for people returning from a long illness.




A lot of the advice online is from the USA, but many of the basic principles will apply in the UK as well.
Don't forget that there is a lot of free advice out there, so before you commit to paying for anything make sure you have done your homework and are going to get value for money.

Setting up on your own

Leaving the rat race by setting up on your own is a move that is increasingly appealing to people across Britain, as well as many countries around the world. Increasingly, happiness at work is being valued as much as the other benefits of a job.


When your work, or lack of it, doesn't align with your passions and values it can seem that the obvious way out is to find a way to make your own livelihood. Even if you have never worked before you probably have valuable transferable skills.


The first step to this career path is to find inspiration. Do you have a great idea for a business or an invention that you believe can change people's lives? 


Next you need a plan. This might include making samples, testing them out and costing production, or it may consider what admin, accounting and other paperwork you are going to need on a regular basis, and whether you need to outsource that work. Will you need insurance of any sort? Are there licences or certificates for the sort of work you plan to do? 

Then a business plan is vital. There are lots of sites on the web that give advice and templates for business plans, and most banks offer advice as well in the hope you will go to them for a start up loan.


There is also a lot of advice about the whole process of setting up a business, including advice from BusinessLink and HMRC set up by the government.


This American site can help put you in touch with a mentor in your field and The Guardian offers some advice about finding a mentor.


If you have items for sale one place to market them is a market. Find stalls available in markets around the country at Stallfinder. Also try a blog to market your business, the basics are laid out here but there are lots of advice sites for new bloggers. If you are selling online make sure your social media presence does you justice.


Have a look at the post Starting Your Own Business on this blog for more ideas, and this link for tips on success.


And finally, if you are working from home try this design for making a room divider to keep your office separate from the rest of your home.


Don't forget, there is a lot of free information out there, make sure you do your research before you consider paying someone to help you.

Job boards

There are a great variety of job boards across the web. These range from a basic listings site which simply enables you to make a search of jobs fitting your criteria to huge sites that offer advice, networking and CV hosting.




Here are some of the main job boards and an idea of what they offer.

• Monster is one of the biggest worldwide job boards. As well as a search function they offer Career Tool and Advice. You can upload your CV for employers to search or join their networking group BeKnown. There is also a facility to sign up for Job Alerts; if you fill out your criteria for a job they will email you with matching jobs as and when they come up. They also have iPhone and Android apps and Advice Forums. You can connect to them via Twitter and Facebook as well. Monster is also an international company so try their Site Selection page to choose a new location abroad for your job hunt.
• Jobsite is a British site that started simply as a Jobs By Email (Job Alerts) site. It has grown to include Searchable Jobs, Career Advice, and CV hosting. They are also on Twitter and Facebook. Jobsite advertise on UK TV, currently featuring Max Beesley.
• JobServe, also British, make sure every job and CV is checked by a person to ensure nothing on the site is out of date.
• Total Jobs is another British board offering all the usual services but in their Careers Advice they also offer advice on Life At Work.
• CV Library offer the main services but also promote CVs through a network of other sites, the list of which proves just how many job sites there are out there.

A number of news publications offer a job board with many of the same features as the above boards.

• The Guardian aims at "an audience comprising high quality jobseekers just like you, we only list the highest calibre vacancies"
• The New Statesman  "focuses on attracting the unique and diverse jobseekers reading the New Statesman." 
• Jobsearch is provided by Trinity Mirror Group who publish The Mirror a host of local newspapers around the country and also provide Fish 4 Jobs.
• Jobs 24 comes from Archant who publish a lot of local newspapers.

Then there are the recruitment agencies, many of which have High Street branches, that offer similar services again.

• Reed
• Adecco
• Office Angels
• Blue Arrow
• Hays
• Or try Agency Central to find more specialised or local agencies

Most of these boards and recruiters are generalists, aiming to reach the broadest possible audience. This of course means that the esoteric and unusual jobs you might be hunting for are not listed there, or might be hard to find if they are. It is worth searching these boards though, or setting up email alerts, as that special job might be listed and you don't want to miss it.


You could also try other listings sites that have a jobs section, like Gumtree, FreeAds or Friday Ad.

When filling in your job criteria it is important to get the right balance between specific and general. If your search is too vague then you may find yourself inundated with results that are not close enough to your requirements. If you are too specific you may not get very many jobs. You can widen or narrow your search using criteria such as salary and location very easily, choosing the words to describe the sort of job you want is a trickier proposition and you may need to trial and error some phrases; for example the search term theatre may result in jobs in a surgical theatre, while the word stage may bring up Key Stage teaching jobs,

Please note, all the advice and services here should be free. If you are asked to make a payment for anything please do check the authenticity of the service, even if they claim to guarantee you a job.

Online resumes

LifeHack is a website full of advice on everything from a tidy desk to exercise. In this article they offer tips on creating an online profile for employers to see. You have to scroll down past their advertising and as you will see, this is not the first article they have published on the subject.


This article from The Guardian offers advice how to keep Brand You tidy online so prospective employers see only what you want them to see.