Why now is the best time to assess your career goals

Landing a dream job might not sit at the top of your priority list at the moment. Although the notion may feel like a far-off luxury at a time when security and familiarity are paramount, assessing your career goals may improve your chances of finding a job, increase your tenure and could even move you in a direction you’ve never considered.

Our Talent Acquisitions Director, Victoria Sprott sat down to speak with a panel of experts as part of our Your Future webinar series. The panel of experts included Janet Moran (Owner of The CV House), Sheryl Miller (Transformation Director, Career Coach, Author), Emma Howard (HR Professional) and Robert Half UK Managing Director, Matt Weston who offered their advice on clarifying career goals and moving forward within the current market.

great okay over to Victoria thank you Matt so good afternoon everybody thank you for joining and welcome to the first of our series of your future clarifying your goals I'm victorious for our time talent director for Robert Half and I'm delighted to be joined today by our panel of experts so by way of introduction Cheryl do you want to give us a quick overview of your experience and expertise Thank You Victoria for for having me good afternoon everyone my name is Cheryl Miller I am a chartered accountant by background but I tend to pretend not to be an accountant anymore but I spent a lot of my career leading big finance transformation programs Natalie have moved more into mentoring and coaching so something I've done for a long time is mentoring business startups I never and retreats and coaching business as well as coaching people that are perhaps looking to leave corporate going into side hustles and starting up on their own passions brilliant thank you so um and dammit hello everybody thanks for having me Victoria my name is Janet Moran and I run a business called the CV house I specialize in helping senior people in business get jobs and the output to that process is collateral written collateral namely a CV LinkedIn profile biography anything that really supports people in their job search or career transition my corporate background was in Human Resources I started off in the olden days when Human Resources was called industrial relations Motor Company and then I moved to the city and worked for ing and I've been running my own business for 14 years now brilliant thank you very much Janet and Emmett hi guys so I've worked in a chart for large corporates and for sure I'm not gonna tell you how long so I'll make you guess my age so working with large top teams in terms of setting up their succession their planning also recruitment results a large program more recently I've worked with individuals to really kind of get clarity on what they want to do because it's one thing it's not a job you want there's no point so I coach individuals I also work with teams to make sure that suppose your equipment is aligned with your purpose thank you for having me today Victoria really AM great that you're all here so thank you and Weston yeah good afternoon everyone again thanks great to be part of the panel so when I look after the UK business I've been with Robert Half for 21 years obviously everyone is specialists within finance and accounting technology creative and digital and we focused on temporary and permanent placements within those industries we have a 22 branch network we've been in the market since 1948 I thanks Victoria I'm Matt Robinson so my role is a corporate learning manager and leadership development manager for our international zone here at Robert Half just very briefly I've got around 15 years experience in recruitment I have been a recruiter but the majority of my role has been within the learning space Learning and Development so my role today on the webinar is to moving this behind the scenes but also host in the Q&A once the panel discussion has completed so we're really really grateful for your time and the opportunity to share your views and experience today so the last four months has thrown many curveballs at all of us it's challenged us professionally personally and financially and as we begin the return phase Robert Half was very keen to offer you all a series of events addressing the key questions and concerns that you may have when considering a job search or a career move we want to provide you with honest and insightful updates on the employment market perhaps dispelling some of the negative reporting we get to see on the news and social media all the time but most importantly giving those concerned their futures some insight some top tips some hope some confidence direction and most of all support through what could be some trouble times in order for us to gauge the thoughts and feelings of our audience today and bespoke our conversation to reflect this we will be running a number of polls throughout the next hour the question will pop up on the screen and all you do is you just click through else which is most relevant to you so also as we progress through the webinar there may be questions that you want to ask the panel please submit these questions through the Q&A button icon at the bottom of your screen and we will be waiting and themeing those questions where we will answer them in the last sort of 15 minutes of the call and Matt Robbins and Robinson will collate them as he said earlier so please be assured that your participation with the polls are totally anonymous and you can submit your questions to also be anonymous if you wish the call will also be recorded so we're going to kick off straight away straight into a poll which map is going to show up on the screen in a minute so what we've got here is what is your current job status so are you actively seeking work a you in a recruitment process are you passively looking or are you happy where you are so if you would like to just click the one which is most relevant to you and we'll just give that a couple of moments and then once Matt closes that that poll down we'll just quickly display what the what those results are think that's that's probably and I think yep yeah I'll just end the poll and display with me I will share those results with you so you should now be able to see those results can you all see that Victoria yeah I can thank you so as you can all see you know a resounding a number of you today actively seeking work so we've got a few that are currently in a recruitment process we've got about 26% passively looking and we've got you know a small percentage of people who are clearly happy where they are but interested in all the see some of the commentary and insights that we're going to get today so thank you very much for that so it brings us very to the pertinently to our first question which I think as MD of Robert Half if Matt if you wouldn't mind taking the next question so um as we say with there's lots of negative reporting out there Matt can you give us some sort of real insight as to what you're saying in the current job market at the moment absolutely no I'll keep you soft so I'm off see quite timely yesterday the government released the ons stats and from those stats you could see our unemployment rate was three point nine percent and that was only naught point one percent higher than this time last year you heard that some negative press around six hundred six hundred twelve thousand jobs have been lost within the quarter but equally Q&Q there was no decline in the unemployment rate so that's quite interesting and obviously clearly the unemployment rate in the market is in some respects in suspended animation pending the furlough programs that are at some point gonna wind down however you know being you know in the line of work that we do we spend an awful lot of time speaking to our clients gauging what the appetite is getting an understanding we are effectively a barometer of the economy and what I can tell you is that we are seeing sequential movement in the jobs created where we're not a pre coded levels yet but we're about 68% of frequent levels every week we're seeing sequential weekly growth clearly through all of this there are winners and losers there are some industries that are doing incredibly well and where we're seeing great opportunities and we're making placements both permanent and temporary is in healthcare farmer biotech and medical devices manufacturing i T clearly will see some industries start to come back with the phase returning retail events so clearly we feel very very buoyed and obviously within our technology practice we're seeing that grow rapidly technology and the need for data creative and online is very big but also within Finance and Accounting which will be the main people on this call we're seeing great opportunities are permanent businesses still transacting we're making placements clients are very receptive to remote onboarding the temporary market which i think is a question further through the presentation is something that will be really interesting to touch upon but so we feel very very excited clearly I think the silver lining through all of this is work is not going to be the same you know the future of work remote working what an office is so I think that opens up a lot of opportunities nationwide for people so think of the job market not as a as a regional level I think it's gonna be a UK level and we've even had international candidates do work in the UK so that you know as businesses reimagine reform you know post the return phase that were currently in I think this is a great opportunity but new roles to be created for new skills to be required so in that sense what we're seeing is where we're not where we were but where we're getting back very quickly to where we were and I think it's gonna be exciting about what the future brings for us brilliant thank you very much much Matt some very sort of positives patterns and things coming out to that so is there anyone else on the panel bit we'd like to sort of add to what Matt said yeah I would just like to say that I think it's great to hear some positive news because I know the kind of those of you who are actively looking you know that kind of 63% it can't feel really frightening to be out of work and I think you know one of the reasons we wanted to do this series of exercises with you is to give you the hope that actually things are getting better and I would also just like to say to all of you that both the media and in some cases LinkedIn are a bit of catastrophizing so it's fantastic to hear from Matt who actually has got the data but things are getting better because a lot of what's going to keep you sustained during your job search is that that kind of positive mental attitude I don't know it could feel really really difficult when you're being bombarded with negative messages from everyone so I hope that all of you who are looking for work at the moment kind of really take that as a great sign you know we're all hoping for a v-shaped recovery and certainly when Matt shared those figures with us earlier it it really did put a different spin on it so thank you so we'll move on to the next question which Janet perhaps in your line of work you'd be best posed to to take this initial question so for those thinking about a career move right now which obviously there's a very large percentage of the audience what advice would you give those individuals given the current market thanks Victoria I mean there's no doubt that locked-down has prompted lots of reflection on professional goals and career satisfaction and there are going to be workplace changes as Matt's already indicated I think it's important with any potential career move to approach it in a structured way but not to be overwhelmed by the task so I mean first of all take time to think about what might be driving your wish for a change or dissatisfaction where you are are those things that could possibly be addressed without moving organization if you're in a role at the moment or even within your current role think about your drivers what are your motivations what's really important what makes you feel fulfilled what makes you want to jump out of bed on Monday morning and go to work what gives you that horrible Sunday feeling where you just can't face the week ahead are you being true have you been true recently to your own values in your professional life think through where you've felt conflicted or uncomfortable with perhaps the organization culture or what's being asked of you what stimulates you what challenges you these are all things that are going to inform satisfactory or unsatisfactory future career moves the people that I work with have typically never really invested time evaluating themselves their own competencies their own achievements and when I work with people we often start off by just talking from the day of the first appointment what did you find when you first walked into each role what had you been tasked to do what did you actually end up doing and really try and revisit your career in a completely different way so not looking at your job responsibilities but what was it actually like what were you doing how did you feel about what you were doing what was the impact that you had so thinking about your contribution and whether or not you can measure that contribution because an awful lot of considering a career move is about bringing up your confidence level and really feeling that you have something to offer and being able to articulate that offer so do some research - both online by talking to people that know you that you've worked with before and also people in your prospective target industries you know don't be afraid to seek help not just from the people on today's call but from other people in your network and finally going back to my first point don't be overwhelmed I think if you're in work at the moment it feels like it's a known risk task that you need to set aside at least a whole weekend for we just do it in bite-sized chunks you can you know you can start today at lunchtime just by scoping out a few things or making a couple of calls doing a little bit of research I have also been hearing lots of positive stories on career moves and not just people moving within the kind of corporate and employed group but people thinking about setting up on their own people thinking about working a completely different way and definitely at a national and international level as well as that indicated brilliance yeah it's a really really useful tactics there to start that perhaps the most daunting tower which is the initiation of that job so Thank You Johnny again opening up to the rest of the panel are there any other people that want to comment on it yeah Victoria I think I'd just like to add that the print that Janet made in terms of taking time I think is a really important one we've actually had to really you know as much as the time that we just had in terms of lockdown has been quite tragic in some ways but also it has been a real gift of time so actually you know there is a there is a danger that we you know especially once then actively seeking there's a danger that we kind of just rush into the next the next thing in terms of a career move and I would definitely encourage people to take the time to really sort of reflect on you know what is important to me what do I love before sort of jumping into the next thing because I think sometimes the fear can push you straight into the next role and then sometimes we end up being in in a in a career that's perhaps not as fulfilling as we would have wanted it to be and actually you know kind of almost as bad as the one that we just jumped out of so definitely just take the time basically don't want a frying pan and fire situation okay thank you very much so we're going to move on to our next question now so as people consider their next career move what are the important factors that they should think about and I suppose in in here where we're really really considering sort of the sideways move or somebody taking a role where they don't necessarily use utilize their entire skill set so and where perhaps you could not yeah absolutely and you know this very much the continuation of the question of both Janet and Sheryl of just answers so you know really taking that time to think about what it is that you want to do what you enjoy with a couple of things that that I always encourage people to think about when I'm working with them what kind of organization Jon I worked for so we're thinking about size we're thinking about kind of sector now is a fantastic time to actually do that move because with the best will in the world the lock time that we've just gone through almost gives you the perfect excuse to say that you've had that time for reflection and change so you know you can actually go a little bit off as off the traditional track at the moment start thinking about that another thing that I'm starting to think about is what kind of work-life balance you want so I know for a lot of people who've been working through this time it's been really stressful others have said that they've found it great because they've been able to work from home more and they've been able to spend more time with their families so when you're thinking about that next career move at the moment I really would encourage you to not think of it it's just kind of climb upward so we often think of careers as like ladders you know and we're just climbing from link rung to rung do you start thinking about what it means for you in your whole life so maybe you have found a passion something that you really love doing you know during lockdown and although it's not gonna be something that you can actually make money from at the moment it's something you want to have time to do so perhaps you will go to a different sized company at the moment or you will start looking at something that isn't necessarily a step backwards but it's a sideways move or perhaps a little bit of a branch out those the type of things I'd be encouraging you all to think about at the moment that doesn't take away from the fact that for those of you who are actively seeking work I know this can be really frightening and the kind of aim is just get a job as quick as possible if that's what you need to do financially and I appreciate not everybody's looking up to have time to think about you know where they want to go get a job get a kind of gap a stopgap job as it were don't stop this work so all the questions that we're talking about within this seminar today you continue to do that because actually getting some money in to pay your bills is one thing thinking about how that works for the next career movies as a complete I would just say you know I think there was some reference there to sideways move and I - a lot of people about this some people might see it sideways maybe step backward you know I didn't just always remember maybe a step back isn't always a step in the wrong direction we're entering a new market new skills acquisition is critical people want people who are agile and adaptable flexible that's the world we're going into now so I think it's really important and I think when you evaluate it what makes you happy what you enjoy because you know I think find your passion find your purpose and you will excel and I think that's really really important and maybe coming back to the other point I think you know Cheryl referred you know fear that moves I actually speaking to more people that are probably right yeah I'm gonna probably I'm gonna stay here I'm gonna sit it out and you keep my head down I just encourage people to lean in and go into the marketplace be bold I think this is a great opportunity for new careers new opportunities and new new skills and I think we've got to look at the upside of all of this everything everything come with a great lever of that yeah I think we've sort of begun to touch on the next question about sort of sideways move so when they when people are considering a sideways move and taking a role that doesn't necessarily reflect their current skill set how is that sort of viewed by employers and has that handled perhaps yeah let me kind of start with this one I'm and I think there's some really interesting points that Janet can make around how you position this on your CV so certainly when I've worked in internal resourcing roles I have always encouraged the clients that I've worked with considered people who actually on paper appear overqualified because I know that's a phrase that we used to hear a lot and I also know that Robert Hart really encouraged their clients students saying the same thing I would agree with Matt and said there was absolutely no shame or stigma at the moment around those sideways moves as we've said you know careers are not just linear things now you don't have just climb the ladder you can move sideways you can shift around but what I would do is really emphasize a couple of skills we say here not useful izing all of your skills think about the ones that you really do want to pull out and kind of perhaps the top three that you can utilize in a job that is slightly different because it's that bridge that will help you move into something kind of separate there's also something to be said I think for not all getting hung up on status at moments so if any of you follow me on LinkedIn you know one of my real hatreds is them the cult of job titles don't get too hung up on job titles I really do have a look at what the meat of the role is you know if you can afford to take it I would look and think about how you could really add something different to that and what you could learn in return because you know if you know if an organization can get someone who already knows what they're doing you know ninety percent of the time and just moves across that's a fantastic place to be in to start to grow their skills kind of knowledge as well so don't rule it out I'm sure Janet's got some some kind of advice on how to position that within your CV as well yeah absolutely I think from a CV point of view being able to contribute very quickly being agile and adapt is 'le to a new environment influence new senior stakeholders very quickly is invaluable and being able to perhaps develop skills that you didn't have before because you don't have to spend time developing the skills to do the core role that you've already done in another capacity I think some of it is around the language that we use so sideways we have negative so it's assignments you know not everything is about a promotion and you know if you're developing yourself you are giving yourself the opportunity to I suppose stop and smell the coffee a little bit but also think about how else you might contribute rather than just fulfilling the core requirements of that role so they're going above and beyond taking on some additional responsibilities and perhaps carving out a slightly different space for that role and using that influence in a way that you often can't do when you're gathering those skills and learning how to do the job in the first place yeah I think that development assignment angle is there is a really really valid and a great positive way to look at that I think justice to our MS point I think it is just always look at the job function rather than its your title I think that's apps a really critical point I would totally agree with that I think in finance in particular you know and having having done a number of finance roles from kind of you know FPA so much planning and analysis and then strategic planning and business partnering you know titles are can be really misleading if people get really hung up on on job titles specifically in finance and you know the roles do bring you know different different requirements different skill sets so actually there is definitely nothing wrong in kind of like sideways moves in finance they can actually be really enhancing in terms of your your CV and actually can make you a much more rounded finance professional yeah right so thank you everybody we're going to move on to another poll now which will appear on the screen shortly so as before just pick the question the answer which is most relevant to you so why if you are looking for work so this May any big participation percentage of you you know what you why are you currently looking for work so are you in a position of being in consultation for redundancy are you currently on furlough and slightly concerned about the prospects of returning back to your company have you taken voluntary see are you considering a total career change or looking for that next next career move so we'll just give everybody a few moments to participate within that poll them and maybe you can share the share the findings like before yeah we still got some people polling so we'll just give it another couple of seconds okay it looks like everyone's done nice arms gonna end that poll and then here with the results to call you up you should be able to see that nice yes I can so we can see that we've actually got here about 16 percent who are in currently in consultation we've got nearly 50 percent who are actively looking for next career move and then the rest beings it's like concern on furlough the voluntary redundancy and I'm considering a total career change which is nice and encouraging and death and hopefully well for all of your statuses that today is already beginning to help frame whatever decision on wherever you're at so thanks Matt we'll move on to our next question so you know super pertinent to the last poll you're moving roles is really hard in energy and change is hard for all of us and can often be very very uncomfortable so I'd be really interested in Sheryl perhaps you could take the lead on this one with regards to your experience specifically within change but the interest of don't know what are the different stages involved in that change cycle and and how do you proactively push yourself through those different stages yeah thanks Peter it was really interesting actually to see the results of that poll because I almost feel as though as though the audience that are watching are probably further along the change curve and I think we were expecting at the start of this webinar I don't to kind of talk through the the kind of academics or of the change go because I think you're probably already sort of seeing that so you know things like denial shock kind of anger frustration at the train at the start the change curve so I've been working and change and transformation for a while and one of the things that I've heard quite a lot is you know people don't like change or you know we feel that change is being done to us or people don't like being change but they actually do like change because there there is a subtle difference you know if if fifty nine percent of you are actually actively seeking change then I would say that the on this call you you're actually probably a fair way through that change curve which is good because it means that you're already in the space of thinking about what the future might be and seeing that as a positive I've kind of got three specific things I want to leave with you really just in terms of of how you can move yourself towards a more kind of positive and brighter future so for me you know the first thing is kind of understanding where you are something or one of the reasons why we sometimes this light change and why we tend to cling on to the familiar it's because we have a fear of losing some things that we have a fear of losing odds the positives that we have currently so I would kind of say maybe spend a few minutes just writing down from the pros and cons of your current career or your current employer just to kind of see you know what is it that you like what is it that you love but actually what are the things that you don't don't like and don't enjoy because that will give you a better sense of of why it is that you're feeling the way that you're feeling and then the second thing that I would suggest is that you analyze your CV in terms of you know what is transferable in your CV so what are the skills that you've got that actually you could quite easily package up to kind of go and do something different because that starts to give you a sense of the opportunities but you are you are ready to take advantage of and then the third thing that I'm going to suggest is a specific activity that I undertook a couple of weeks ago that was a real insight so so I really encourage you to get feedback from close friends family and and maybe some colleagues that you you trust and make sure they're going to be kind to you as well but why suggest is that you drop them a little text rewards that miss it and just say to them you know um what am I good at you know another way of saying that is what is my zone of genius so what am I really good at what is it that you only come to me for and just kind of see what comes back on the text and and hopefully the one it will kind of just give you a real confidence boost because that's really important as you go through change but also give you some insight into what your real skills are that you can actually take forward and you know that should have you feeling a lot more optimistic about what your next opportunity might bring ya anywhere else like it like to sort of add to show yeah so they're just something that I would add into this as well and I agree with Cheryl it's fantastic to see kind of 59% of you already so far you know through that because you're actively looking and thinking about a different piece you remember that the pain cycle isn't permanent so you will find yourself kind of going up and then coming back down again and certainly with some of the people that I've worked with where the kind of the lowest point of the change can often come is when you actually get the dream job that you've been wanting I mean oh my god I actually have to do it so do you cut yourself some slack kind of during this process and remember that the sim work at the moment the change cycle doesn't necessarily look like this anymore you know it kind of actually looks like a constantly evolving and another thing that I find really helpful I do you always surprise people do read about people who've gone through massive changes or kind of gone through adversity I know that sounds cheap but there's a reason that kind of really inspirational autobiographies always kind of kick off and sell at this time is because it's a great example to all of us around you know kind of how change can be good and even if it doesn't feel positive at the moment there's a way that you can make it work for you so please do that get that kind of external affirmation as well and click yourself a bit of Stax you go through this because you know change isn't necessarily easy even when we hope and wish for it it can be challenging so you know just bear that in mind as you go through this okay thanks we're gonna move on to our next question question six now so I think Emma values is you know commonplace word now in a couple of work so how important is the alignment of your own personal values to a company's values that you're doing yeah absolutely and guys I'm sorry that it's me again I couldn't have commented on that last question if Freud realized I was coming straight back out at you so only you can answer this question so I have known some people to whom this doesn't matter at all a great example being a vegan who I once placed in a chicken slaughtering factory so you know it can it can vary however what I would say to you is it's a really great time to get really clear around your personal values so ask kind of Mad Cheryl Janet have booked back and do you get really clear on what I call all three levels of values for you the first is what's absolutely non-negotiable okay absolutely non-negotiable so what is it that you just couldn't work in you know I know some people have challenges working in industry as well as fracking for example get really clear on what are those non-negotiable for you it's not even bother looking at careers and jobs in those type of areas it's pointless the second one I would say is around nice to have so you know what are the things that you really like to see is it them doing work out in the community is it Pat you know giving back are they supporting charities that you really admire and then those are things that are really kind of specific to the company themselves so I would encourage all of you when you're applying for jobs go and have a look at the company values and I'm also going to tell you that 9 out of 10 company values look exactly the same depending on whichever company you work for right I'm not going to say that they are all excuse my language but often they say I'm very very corporate so what I'd really encourage you to do is do your research so what I do when I've got people applying for jobs is we look on Glassdoor great place to get a really good indications what companies really like and also network with people through LinkedIn so have a look and see actually you know what is the presence that what do the people who are already working at the company say they're like because then you can get a real understanding of be on it behind the kind of corporate gloss or what people say they're doing what are the real and for and that helps you kind of align what you're doing because what you may find is that there's a company that's doing something that you really interested in it's a job that you really passionate about but actually the Aesop's of the team isn't one that aligns with you perhaps they do a lot of individual work and you really love working in the team you know it's working out what are the things that you're prepared to negotiate on on what are the things that you're not compromised on and I think you know you as individuals answer that question but you think back to times where you really haven't enjoyed your job offer it's because your personal values and your company values are completely out of line so this is a great time to get clear on both of those thank you and I'm just conscious of time and I know that there's a couple of key questions that we want to get through it and to ensure that there's sufficient time for the Q&A so I'm going to move on to there to the next one Cheryl you could take the lead on this one so you know if we've already got a blend of people on the call today in different statuses but if somebody had a choice which is certainly of moving roles what would be your advice right now given the current job climate as to whether or not somebody should consider a total career change and I think it was 12% were which is great you know but for the rest of those people who perhaps haven't made that decision is no the time to consider that okay so I think so just going back to what Matt said at the top of the webinar in terms of the job market you know the job market and welcome back if not you know now when it kind of strains weight we'll come back over the next kind of sort of month etc and I think combining that with what Janet was saying in terms of the time that you've got off reflection so the combination of those two things is actually less there's never been a better time if you're thinking about a total career change because you've got so much headspace and heart space if I say about in terms of thinking about personal values as well as you know kind of moves in the job market so there's never been a better time from a personal front but just going back to the financials and being practical particularly we've got a lot of accountants on the call and going back something that Emma said I think thinking about you know the practicalities and something that sometimes called that financial runway so if you are thinking about a total career change all you potentially even thinking about starting up your own business you know something that you can do that will help to kind of soften soften the fear of moving into that is really think about you know what is it that I need to survive on for the next three six twelve months and if you've really thought about that if you've really trimmed the fat and you've got a grip of it you actually feel a lot more empowered to take those decisions and perhaps not to jump as quickly as you know as you might have done if you were kind of in the dark so that's what I basically say you know now is as good a time as any you know there's never a good time for kind of these massive life changes anyway but actually now is kind of a perfect storm for that and then just be really practical and sensible so you know nobody's expecting you to kind of leave a job and kind of be out on the street so just really think through your budgets your money etc and what's doable before taking that leap definitely so again very sort of positive constructive advice so the next one got the next question we're going to move back to Matt so for those what vice you know given there some will consider temporary and contract and talk Cheryl said no financially people need to ensure that they've got some security and secured a position as soon as possible what advice would you give those considering temporary contract or perhaps short term roles now my advice one on this has always been you know always taken interim role you know I worked or my background is specializing in inter in many many years ago in Bristol and I'd always talk to people about diversity of experience flexibility now obviously we're clearly in uncharted waters this is a health crisis it's led into a economic crisis I worked through 2008 and 2009 and we saw massive opportunity in the interim space what we're speaking to our clients about at the moment is that need for interim we're seeing a number of big project you know cash flow projects reporting projects data project heavy investment into ERP which are being led by interims so my advice is always if you look at interim at every possibility what I like about interim from a candor and current perspective it's think of it as a date not a marriage so therefore what what I mean by that is people are more flexible on and on maybe dropping some of the most important things perm when you go through a perm process it's very all about what's the CD say what's the skillset say the experience in this industry if they've done that system I like what I like about interim is you get to see the candor in action and people are more flexible and I think I've saw something flash up from one of the people on though on this call I think it's John Kemp talking about you know you're only get to know people and their skills when you sort of speak to them or see them in action and a great stat which is really important is 63% of our interns go perm so what that means is most clients tend to be using an interim to to fix a short-term hole that is generally down to someone leaving so I would see is a good opportunity to upskill yourself clients will be more flexible you get to go in you know the amount of people who say to me go on the permanent side of things if I'd known it was like this I wouldn't pick in the job and some people would go in and go I wasn't sure about this interim role and I got in there too to Emma's point kind of the the values aligned to what I believe in I really like my boss they saw me in action kind of try before you buy and I think it's you are really limiting your opportunity to develop your skills by not considering it they're traditionally you know as I've been through my 20-year one years here the view on contracting has changed back 20 years ago it was people who couldn't get perms you're now it's people who make a confirm joist to be an interim and you know they like it they like the flexibility they go in they go out they don't get involved in political issues and challenges and there's some other chap that you see but it is an absolute it's a must for everyone on this call you should have an open mind to interim not only developing skills but as a way to get your foot in a company that you might not consider it before but you probably wish you had and it is a clear opportunity in the marketplace it is you know as I predict and what I hear from speaking to all these clients they're going to be bringing in interim resource quickly and that's probably going to spring back a lot faster than the permanent market but the permanent market always catches a at some point but it doesn't come quite out the gates as much as interim and temporary assignments thanks Matt very clear that perhaps you can take our last questions those leading on from what Matt said you know clearly there are many reasons why those on the court should consider temporary or contract roles from an employer's perspective there will be many who will understand why some be taken a temporary job home there are some that will see that as a negative how do people position that on their CV to have perhaps those two prospective employers how do they handle that thanks Victoria I think one of the most important things to indicate from your CV is the sentence that begins with the words hired to so be very clear why you were brought on board because typically where the temporary or interim role there is a something very specific to be delivered often within a finite period of time and if you are hired with that in mind the employer will presumably consider that you are capable of delivering that project and then you've already done the interim role you can demonstrate that you have fulfilled the requirements and that you've left the role job done if you're looking to go into an interim role for the first time then the I think the examples to draw out from past employment would include anything that's project-based that shows that you can take on something with a clear beginning middle and end rather than just running the business as usual to be honest the people that I work with that want to get into interim often find it difficult to get into the interim market because employers that historically have didn't you have been looking for a very particular kind of person you can demonstrate that agility flexibility and early effectiveness if you're structuring your CV then make it very clear which are the permanent roles and which are the interim roles don't try to hide it be completely transparent and celebrate it and again always describe why you have been hired for a particular role in fact not just interim but permanent as well because that will help your thought process in then going through what you actually did what you delivered and how and again with all CDs including anything that's measurable financials percentages anything that clearly means it demonstrates the scale and scope of what you've done Thank You Janet excellent so those are the questions that we were posing to the panel today so we're going to finish on off on our last poll and then we're going to move on to the Q&A so the last poll as before you'll be really familiar with this now so how do you feel about your employment prospects in this current climate so are you confident are you worried or concerned are you ambivalent or are you feeling cautious towards the prospects so again we'll just give a couple of moments we'll share the results and move on to the Q&A yeah it still we still got a few people polling at the moment so we'll just give it another few seconds okay it looks like with pretty much there so I'm going to end the poll now and here are the results Victoria hence why we're heads why we would want to run these series of webinars to really support you and to give you that confidence hope and direction so but you know great that some of you I love to be also a feeling sort of also confident and I'm cautious thanks Matt so Matt has been very busy doing the QA so I'm going to hand over to you questions yes any Victoria we have had quite a few and some we go back to I think there was a comment earlier one made by map towards the beginning of this about where people can work you know temporary or permanent they can work sort of it's not necessarily regionally now people can work in UK wide or even overseas I think a couple of questions have come in about if roles can actually be worked worldwide is there a chance that people will go overseas for for lower salaries okay so then that's that seems to be quite a common theme for a couple of questions around that what are your thoughts well I think you know clearly you know maybe I'll pick this up I think there's clearly gonna be more flexibility and more remoteness of the skill base I think I think personally that's gonna be kept within the UK I think you know we've had some examples where we use international skills or particularly languages I would I would say if you look at the patterns and themes what we're seeing in the marketplace more than ever is a number of the bigger companies reshoring shared service centers so I think that that is probably the biggest indicator that we are not going to to you know take jobs out of the UK I see more things coming back I think um you know the flexibility I see is we've had people you know filling roles in sharor who are based in Edinburgh I I do not some I cannot say this as a given but I do not see that as a threat all indicators look like reshoring is going to create opportunities because some of those processing centers that have been outsourced for reduced costs haven't had the technology the ability to connect with their businesses it's not been great so I don't see that as a threat I see this is a great opportunity across the UK it all comes down to we've clearly demonstrated you don't need to be in an office to work I think what we realize now is the office is a more of a community it's gonna be more for people to connect so I think that'd be really interesting but I don't see that as a threat we should be worried about okay thanks Matt thank you you've already mentioned part of another question that came in which is very similar but I'll just be the second part obviously we heard the announcement from British Gas I think they're cutting half of their management team what about do we see a trend of corporates willing to consolidate maybe senior roles to reduce general admin costs what are we seeing oh well maybe if I just pick this up from what I'm hearing I think that you know clearly I think obviously there is a lot of talk around reimagine ation the senior roles I think you can look at it two-fold I think there'll be huge opportunity is because people be hiring at the senior level because they want businesses reform to reimagine for the future I think also I think some companies has taken this as a really good opportunity to look at their structure and probably realise that they're probably more heavier at the senior levels and probably need people who are more at the ground level I also think we're gonna see a lot more disbanding of the old hierarchical leadership hierarchy I think we're gonna see a lot more leadership communities I think we'll see more sort of loosely coupled but tightly aligned teams and maybe now it doesn't need these senior managers you know seeing and and and managing people in an office so I think that you know we will probably see some of the more senior roles go but created in other businesses yeah okay thanks Matt okay I obviously I think throughout the webinar we've talked about doing research so somebody's ass ass here you've mentioned do your research on your target area when we find an area that we'd like to work in we sometimes get demoralized when we find on paper the perfect role but we're told we're not a suitable fit so I think it's getting more and more difficult to recover from this judgment have you got any advice yeah well why don't I start with that I mean I suspect there's also something around your CV but we just need to make sure that if it's that's the point you're getting rejected and it would encourage all of you we have got more of these seminars coming up we'll be going into kind of series and interviews in more detail yeah the emotional resilience of this is not something that I underestimates at all and I think you know where do you find that that resilience the first thing to do is to kind of you know really reach out and make sure that those colleagues who previously you've worked with who rate you you know Cheryl was talking about making sure that you get that kind of great feedback there's your I also think that can be a great and value in working with the recruitment partner who actually gives you helpful and honest advice obviously is why we're partnering up with Robert Half at the moment um the other thing I think I would say to all of you is you are allowed to feel negative so our culture tends to a little bit of like relentless positivity yeah so I tend to say to people I coach and work with give yourself half an hour to feel really awful no go set a timer on it and then kind of pull yourself back round from it because unless you have that personal resilience it's going to make it very difficult keep sending those guys CDs out and before I hand over to Janet who I'm sure will talk about it's everything that I would encourage you all to do have a look on LinkedIn and start to build those connections with people who are already doing the job that you want I don't mean email emailing them saying you know please find me I mean comment on their post start following the same kind of things that they do since any qualifications you need to do and start to build that kind of network of people so that your name is familiar and your interest is familiar in that area even if you don't have the experience to demonstrate yeah I hang up on what you were just saying about I think network is hugely important and most levels network increasingly plays a big part in how candidates secure their next role even if ultimately the opportunity comes through a search firm or a recruitment agency so if you are if you are known to that organization or you have connections within it or with people who have worked there previously that can help enormously there's nothing like a personal connection and to be honest I've had clients who have been rejected because the fit isn't perfect and they've been tenacious and they have ended up being seen and they have ended up being successful so I wouldn't rule that out the resilience piece of it unfortunately it's just a part of going through a job search and you have to approach it I think with as little emotion as possible until you are a reasonable way down the line and you can start to demonstrate some of that commitment in an emotional sense as well as a pure professional sense when it comes to actually structuring your CV and looking at the content it goes without saying if you are really getting to know yourself make sure that there is no other way that you can demonstrate that you in fact have those skills and it might not necessarily have been from the day job it might be from something that you have just not thought about if you're a school governor if you hold any other pro bono roles or contribute in any other way as an editor of a publication anything at all that perhaps might demonstrate that you you have those skills and you've utilized them thanks Janet very much shall I think there's a question that you've seen that you'd like to answer on here I'll just it's quite a lengthy one but I'll try and just condense a little bit so basically we've got somebody who's made a complete career change to move to a current role they've gone from a creative industry to finance and that was a maybe two and a half years ago so they took a role below skill set with the promise they could have progression from an admin to a finance role despite discussions now being told there's no opportunity to move role so they're looking elsewhere the issue is they don't have the experience required for the roles that they're looking for so they'd like a role within financial planning and they are studying ACA what should they do they studying qualified accountants one of the things I think he's always great for getting more experience is getting involved in projects I say over and over again is something that I definitely used in my career so I started getting in involved in big finance projects and you can always broaden your experience then into the areas that you want whether that be you know projects accounting or something that's more commercial more around planning etc there is always a wealth of opportunity so my experience for those that are struggling to get the experience that they need you know my advice as to how to get that experience is get involved in projects and especially as Matt was saying in terms of the sort of work that companies are wanting to do now probably does tend to be more project-based so you know put your hands up when when there are those opportunities going to actually then fill in those gaps in the CV Thank You Cheryl thanks very much one thing to that I think is you know Cheryl made an absolute valid point there going getting an understanding of projects is really important I think getting good understanding and good relationship with your recruiting consultant if you're working through Robert are because we we speak to a lot of people when we take that your brief they talk a lot about personality you know potential enthusiasm and we we get a good understanding by working with people you know where our philosophy at Robert Half is we like still in people not paper because CDs are a reason to reject so I think some when you've got someone who's you know proactive for you you know we had it today we had a role and they're like trust me Gavin probably not if you look on paper you wouldn't hire them but what you're looking for the softer skills and you can't see in paper my advice is see them for half an hour and you could get a really good individual there so we try work that work that way and I think it's really good to have those good relationships with recruiters and also to Janet's point having your network in building your network through webinars through events through staying with alumni of companies you work for is really really important because you know on the interim side of things it's very very rare unless it's a high technical project that we you know the client will get ten out of ten they will sacrifice often a couple of technical points which will be made up in regards to the personality and the softer skills thanks Matt I'm just mindful of time Victoria we've we have got a lot of outstanding questions here so I just wanted to say we probably pass over for a close eye but the questions that we've got we will review them post this webinar and we will obviously send out any responses that we need to following this so over to you Victoria to close out thank you yeah so be assured we your questions will be answered will liaise with the panel over the next 24 hours or so and get those answers back to you so that bank hours gone quickly so thank you very very much for your participation I hope you've learnt a few things I hope you've got a few personal takeaways but more importantly I hope you feel more confident about your future so there as you're aware this is the first of a series of nine and I hope that you all have not already signed up for future ones that you will do so after today next week's subject is recognizing the opportunity where we'll go into a bit more detail around to the coping mechanisms for change your building resilience and some of you have touched on that today and resources available for upskilling yourself amongst other subjects so I say thank you very much for your time but also I'd like to say a massive thank you to Cheryl and to Janet both Matt Robinson and Weston for your time and insights it's been a really positive discussion and hopefully a welcome message for all of the attendees today now I know much Western you just want to close out just first I'd like to say a massive thank you to our external panelist Janet Emma and Cheryl fantastic I love the zone of genius that's my that's my favorite one from this and I've jotted down some points I think this was really beneficial for me I think big thank you to Victoria Matt who have put this on and I just remind everyone this is a series you know looking for a job is a journey and to see the poll was there at 49% of individuals are worried and concerned if there's anything that we can do to help you through this series that's what we're here to do just to instill confidence and help me get through it it's challenging times hopefully from what you've seen and what we're seeing you know we feel confident that the markets out there this is a great opportunity lean in we couldn't get through all the questions but if there's any questions you want to ask to direct me to anyone on the panel that the details are up there if you have any questions that you want to ask specifically to robot half these reach out to myself and I can filter those to the relevant departments based on the relevant job fears and lines of business and speciality but just want to reiterate you know we we are here for you we want to give you some advice and and hope that we can guide you and give the benefit of our 72 years of recruitment experience and and some advice but yeah thanks for everyone's time today we could have gone on for hours I look forward to connecting with everyone on the next series thanks everyone alike

Start with a structured approach

Lockdown has given many professionals the breathing space to step back and evaluate their career goals — something many of us rarely do.

To avoid being overwhelmed by the task, try approaching things in a more structured way. Ask yourself questions which help identify the drivers for wanting change and whether they can be addressed without moving jobs.

“What stimulates you? What challenges you? These are all things that are going to inform satisfactory or unsatisfactory future career moves,” Janet says.

Tackle the issue in a series of bite-sized chunks, starting with some self-analysis and a few basic questions to guide your future steps, rather than ending up in a similar position a few months further down the line.

Consider your passions

Rather than viewing your next opportunity as climbing another step of the corporate ladder, take this time to consider what career move would fuel your passion and maintain your wellbeing at work.

“When you evaluate your career, evaluate what makes you happy and what you enjoy,” Matt says. “Be bold. I think this is a great opportunity for new careers, new opportunities and new skills.”

Lean into the current marketplace and use it as an opportunity to move your career into a direction that makes you happy, even if it doesn’t reflect your current skillset.

Don’t get hung up on job titles or promotions

Promotions aren’t everything! Due to the current climate, there’s much less stigma around making a sideways career move and you may find it adds value to your skillset and resume.

“Don't get too hung up on job titles,” Emma says. “Have a look at what the meat of the role is and think about how you could really add something different to that.” If you can utilise core skills along with the ability to adapt quickly, taking a sideways step may prove easier than you think.

“I think from a CV point of view, being able to contribute very quickly, being agile, adapting easily to a new environment, and being able to influence new senior stakeholders very quickly, is invaluable,” says Janet.

Learn to embrace change

Part of the reason many of us fear change is the potential to lose something we find positive. To help mitigate this, try making a list of all the positives and negatives in your current job role to gain a clear picture of what you’d like to move toward and what you’d like to leave behind.

Having a strong sense of confidence can also help you develop agility and resilience in uncertain times.

“Get feedback from close friends, family and maybe some colleagues. Drop them a little text or WhatsApp message and just say to them, ‘what am I good at?’” Sheryl says.

“It should give you some insight into what your real skills are and what you can actually take forward. That should have you feeling a lot more optimistic about what your next opportunity might bring.”

The change cycle is constantly evolving, so remember to be kind to yourself throughout the process — change isn’t easy!

Get clear on your personal values

Go into the job application process with a clear understanding of what your personal non-negotiables are and what are ‘nice to haves’. Rather than focusing completely on the role at hand, deep dive into the ethos and values of the company to make sure they align with your own.

“What I do when I've got people applying for jobs is look on Glassdoor to get a really good indication of what a company is really like. And also network with people through LinkedIn,” Emma advises.

“Think back to times where you really haven't enjoyed your job — often it’s because your personal values and your company values are completely out of line, so this is a great time to get clear on both of those.”

Don’t neglect temporary and interim roles

The interim and temporary hiring market represents a golden opportunity for professionals looking to get hired quickly or trial a new role with a new company. It’s a great chance to get your foot in the door, without necessarily having all the right experience.

“Many of our interims go permanent,” says Matt, “so I would see it as a good opportunity to upskill yourself. Clients will also be more flexible with an interim role in terms of their requirements.”

Interim roles are often misconstrued as a blot on your CV, but that isn’t the case in the current hiring market. Instead, they prove you can deliver project requirements quickly and are a demonstration of agility and flexibility.

SEARCH OUR JOBS TODAY

Your Future webinar series

Whether you’re actively employed, recently furloughed, facing redundancy or dealing with unemployment, Robert Half is here to help you take the next step in discovering new career opportunities and finding a fulfilling job. Check out our webinar series as we offer advice on securing your next role with an expert panel focused on you, your skills and your next role.

How to choose the right business and project management partner for your organisation

How to find the right recruitment agency for you to join

13 career opportunities in information technology to consider