For more career advice, visit the Career Energy homepage

Sometimes amazing things happen to us, for reasons we don’t understand. We put them down to luck, or chance. Whilst things can, and do, happen by luck or chance, more frequently outstanding things happen to us because we make them happen, even though we don’t realise it. (more…)

A fifty seven year old man came to see me. He had come to this country as a young man, a refugee from war in his homeland. His immediate need when arriving in the UK was to earn money to send home and he got himself the first job that he could, a fairly menial job which paid relatively well given what he was used to, but which did not stretch or challenge him in any way. (more…)

Writing in the Guardian this weekend, Equality and Human Rights Commission Trevor Philips makes out a powerful case for increasing the opportunities for all in the workplace. In addition to their traditional work around gender and ethnicity, the Commission’s Working Better project aims to ensure that new ways of working are introduced which address the specific work-life and personal life management issues of all groups. These include parents, carers, younger workers, disabled and older people. (more…)

One of the biggest obstacles that career changers face is accepting just how wide a range of options they have. At Career Energy we meet people on a daily basis who want to know what careers are open to them, as an ex-engineer, ex-designer, ex- lawyer or whatever. It can be difficult to accept that the career you are hoping to leave no longer defines you, that employers will exclude you because of career choices you made at an earlier stage in your life. (more…)

There is nobody with a job in one sixth of all homes. That figure is likely to increase over the next few months. If you are one the many unemployed, what can you do short of waiting for things to improve? (more…)

As far as I know there have been no forecasts published on how the expected increase in swine flu cases this autumn will impact on businesses already struggling due to the recession. With one in eight workers expected to be affected by the pandemic it is clear that the impact on business will be significant. Which will impact on productivity, which may in turn impact on job security. (more…)

One of the most difficult assessments to make if you are not happy at work is whether the problem lies in your choice of career, or in the company you work for. It is a difficult assessment because for most people the only way to really find out is to get a similar job in a different company and see if it is any better. To be really sure you would need to do this several times. And of course this is very impractical. (more…)

One initiative being touted in influential circles is known as Alternatives to Redundancy, or ATR. Under this scheme, rather than making staff redundant, employers will pay them them the equivalent of Job Seekers Allowance, in addition to the benefits they receive from the government, for up to six months. After six months they will get their job back. (more…)

Over the past few days we have been exploring how you can protect your job if redundancy is looming. This is the third and final article in the series. All three articles will be circulated shortly to our mailing list, so if you would like a copy please go to careerenergy.co.uk and enter your name and e-mail address in the boxes on the right hand side. (more…)

Those who manage their careers well will find it much easier to protect their job against possible redundancy. I know that is not much comfort if you are fearing redundancy and are not proactive in managing your career but before we discuss instant solutions let’s look at what career management means and how it can assist you in the long term. (more…)