In a stretch zone things are different.
We’re not so confident or assured,
But there’s this feeling we’ll get there,
We’re not worried, we got this.

In panic zones all bets are off.
Everything compresses,
Comfort shatters, stretch snaps.
In panic we get lost.

These three zones are normal.
Perhaps even good.
No single zone is permanent or all powerful.
All three have downsides and benefits.

Comfort, stretch and panic interconnect.
There are no dead ends.
All three are joined by merging routes,
In and out, known and new.

Skyscraper Junction
[Image courtesy of Metro Politain on Flickr.com]
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The post Comfort, Stretch, Panic appeared first on Explore Your Career.

Sometimes lines of questions are very long, reaching way back to the past. Sometimes the string or stream is shorter. Often the path of questions follows an offshoot, tributary, smaller road or turn we took from a well-travelled path. Instant answers don’t just strike you. They don’t come out of nowhere. Answers that move us take their time but it’s all to easy to forget this. Or worse still ignore it.

Waiting for answers can be agony. An answer’s moment of arrival can become something we crave. Answers are cerebral chocolate. Ice cream for the mind. Answers feel good. They satisfy. They fulfil. If we have to wait for answers it starts to feel like something’s wrong. We’re in limbo, anxious, frustrated. This all feels real enough.

Questions lead to answers. Questions come before even the most immediate of answers. But questions are tricky too. Sometimes questions don’t come easy. They aren’t always clear. They don’t always come at the right time. Why is it so easy and so comforting to jump to conclusions rather than sit or stay with questions? Why is it so hard to stick with questions? Aren’t questions friendly? Far more friendly than immediate answers. Much less likely to turn on us, desert us, leave us lost.

Yes, question time is uncomfortable. Yes, questions can be scary. Yes, lines and lines of questions can be tiring. But questions are the only route. The only way to answers that make sense. The only way to answers that last over time. The only way to answers that feel right in our bones. Immediate answers but with long, long lines of wonderful questions stretching out before and after them. Endless trails of beautiful questions to explore.

[Image courtesy of rocket ship on Flickr.com]
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The post Lines and Lines of Questions appeared first on Explore Your Career.

All job searches are unique tales of knock-back and rejection. Each one can tell its own story of the Herculean effort it takes to turn disappointment around. To turn a hundred ‘No’ answers into just one ‘Yes’. Some job search stories are tough but they can also be amazing examples of great triumphs, great resilience and amazing outcomes against all the odds. Some of them are epic indeed but it’s simplicity and guts that keeps us coming back to Michael. So why not give your Friday feeling an extra little lift with the ordinary yet extraordinary story of Michael’s job search…

Looking for a job was taking its time for Michael,

But there was a turning point and it came in the shape of a shiny new van.

After his usual round of job and apprenticeship applications on the internet, Michael was on his way into town to see a recruitment agency when he saw a plumber’s van parked in the street.

He found himself looking at the van again because it was so clean. And then again when he saw the contact number on its side was local.

Fast forward just a few hours and Michael was standing in the reception of the van’s plumbing company with his CV in hand, his heart in his mouth.

“Sorry. We’re not looking for anyone at the moment and we don’t take on trainees.”

These words went around and around in Michael’s mind on his slow walk home.

A week or so later (with a couple more van sightings and some fact-finding on the internet in-between) Michael was back in the same office, again with his CV.

“Maybe I can leave it with you just in case?”

“You’re welcome to leave it but we’re not looking for anyone at the moment. Plus we’ve just taken on a new apprentice.”

How much harder could news like this blow.

A whole month went by,

But this month was different because Michael not only saw the same van, he also spoke with its driver.

Something this guy said (or maybe it was the way he said it) made Michael more determined than ever.

A new day, a new visit to the same plumbing company’s office (maybe one or two visits have also gone by since)

By now the greetings are more friendly…

“Back again Michael?”
“Not you again!” (but said with a smile)
“Not Found a job yet Micky-boy?”
“I wondered when you’d be back”

And then, on Michael’s next visit, a BIG turning point (to follow all the little turning points that came before it)

“The Apprentice we took on didn’t work out. Be here 8 o’clock Monday morning and we’ll give you a shot. Let’s see how good you are.”

And the title of this story?

What better than all the main ingredients to Michael’s job search success,

A trainee plumber, some guts and a shiny new van.

fig 1. A shiny, new plumber’s van (incl. comedy number plate)
Image courtesy of sarflondondunc on Flickr.com
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The post Job Search Success appeared first on Explore Your Career.

1. What’s your name?
Andrew

2. Where do you live?
London

3. How long were you looking for a job?
4 months

4. How would you sum up the story of your job search?
Very stressful and disappointing

5. What went well?
I managed to get a few temp assignments only through contacts/friends

6. What could have gone better?
Agencies could have been more supportive andactually work on finding you the correct role

7. What helped your job search? How did it help?
A small boutique agency, they promoted me very well to their client and I was made an offer in the end

8. What job search support did you value most?
Personal guidance from the agency (all their staff members are involved) and their personal attention and interest

9. What experience (or advice) do you want to share with other job seekers?
Don’t rely on online job boards or large recruitment agencies, as you are just another number. Work your networks and try to get a foot in the door through someone you know and focus on small well known agencies rather than the big ones

10. (If you had a magic wand) What would a network of job seekers do for one another?
Guidance on CV writing, Cover letter writing, interview tips and help with promoting/selling yourself. All support out there is not free of charge, and I think that if there are professionals in your network of job seekers who can assist with this through previous experience, then it would be very helpful and obviously very well received by all

The post The Job Seeker’s Interview #8 – Andrew appeared first on Explore Your Career.

National Careers Week runs from the 4^th – 8^th March 2013 and is now in its third year.  The whole thing is the brainchild of those very clever bods over at Careersinfo. All of us here at Explorer’s HQ are proud to lend our support to this important initiative.

It’s worth pointing out that National Careers Week is no hill of beans.  This year alone, over 1,500 schools across the UK have signed up, which means 1.1 million UK students can get more of the support they need to make informed choices about their first steps on the career ladder. If you like statistics, during National Careers Week 2012 more than 25,000 totally free resources were downloaded including case studies, videos and information packs. I think you’ll agree that adds up to an impressive amount, maybe even a mountain of free careers support!

This year, National Careers Week has two big objectives:

1. Inspiring schools to offer a more innovative careers approach by highlighting free resources & support

2. Encouraging employers to connect with the massive pool of talent young people represent

We wholeheartedly believe an initiative like this is crucial. We also see the value in supporting young people as they take their first steps towards work in a tough economic climate. Our own explorers regularly tell us that employers look for a mix of attitude and experience. Their lessons have taught us time and time again that attitude can always be influenced and as for experience, you always have more than you think!

National Careers Week is a big step towards ensuring more people get this message and get access to effective, common-sense career encouragement and support. Find out more about what’s happening near you during National Careers Week via their website: www.nationalcareersweek.com. All that remains is for us to say, National Careers Week, once again we salute you!

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The post National Careers Week 2013 appeared first on Explore Your Career.

As part of this launch, we wanted to share news of a first for you and for us too… everyone who owns an earlier copy of the book will receive a free upgrade to the 2013 edition.

This means if you purchased any of our earlier editions, get in touch via our contact page and we’ll send you a 100%-off voucher for our publisher’s website. From this site you can download the 2013 book in your preferred e-reader format, completely free of charge.*

So why are we giving away free books? First, we want to say a BIG Thanks to the career explorers already out there on their journeys. Hearing your stories has been a delight and we’ve really valued your feedback. Second, this is our way to bring even more support and encouragement to your unique career exploration. You invest in us, we’re investing right back in you, and then some.

We’ll have more launch news following soon. We’d love to hear what readers old and new think of the new book so do join the conversation with us here or on Twitter and Facebook.

We’re incredibly proud of the 2013 edition but we also know you’re the reason and the source for us to keep on improving and developing. Together we’ll all get better at what we do best: exploring careers, creating new opportunities and delivering new satisfaction, new fulfilment and new success as we go.

If you own any edition, claim your upgrade now!

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*Free edition is limited to one per customer. You may be required to show proof of original purchase.

The post The Career Explorer’s Journal: Latest News appeared first on Explore Your Career.

I wrote the first edition of the book in 2009 and published it in 2010. If you’d asked me back then, the idea of writing new updates each year couldn’t have been further from my mind. Back then, after all those months of research and writing, I’d have said the book already contained everything I was ever likely to know about work and careers, what more could I say?

I couldn’t have been more wrong because in the book’s first year I got loads of feedback, or as an explorer would call it: new evidence. This feedback (good and bad) improved the book enormously but the experience of listening to it also changed me as a writer. The two factors combined to evolve The Career Explorer’s Journal to such a degree that by the end of its first year, it felt like a new book. The same thing has happened every year since.

Today, your feedback is still helping us do everything even better. As a result the 2013 edition of The Career Explorer’s Journal is even more up to the task of delivering individual support and even more tuned-in to the world of work and careers today. If you asked me now about the single biggest difference between 2009 and the book as it is today, I’d answer the same way I introduce the new edition. With a famous thought from Francis Bacon that compelled me to go forward despite my doubts because starting with doubt leads to certainty. In 2010 I was doubtful, in 2013 I am certain. Absolutely certain The Career Explorer’s Journal supports and encourages a new journey of discovery for every single reader.

Throughout 2013 our plan is to engage with more readers and new career explorers here and across social media. As well as more news about the new edition’s launch, I’m hoping to introduce you to a few new team members very soon, plus some very special news for owners of the journal’s previous editions.

In the meantime, thanks for visiting, reading, sharing your feedback and (most of all) for exploring!

Sneak preview of the new cover…
Thanks again to Atholl McDonald for all of his great work!

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The post Coming Soon: The Career Explorer’s Journal 2013 appeared first on Explore Your Career.

Last time around we were stuck in the real world (some might say stuck in the past!) because we started at a meeting. This time around we’re kicking things off here in the wonderful online world first. You don’t even need to leave your seat in order to have your say.

So this is our new group exploration, Who is the perfect careers adviser? What qualities does he/she have? What makes her/him shine or stand out? What makes this person so effective? Why is this perfect person inspirational to you?

To get the ball rolling, we’ve added a few early responses gathered through the EYC network. Send us yours by Email, Tweet, Tumblr, Pintrest, G+ or by Commenting below. For first timers, anyone can join in, no membership, subscription or login is necessary. We look forward to hearing what you have to say!

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Responses on the subject of the perfect careers adviser…

“He would always be there when I needed him.” Jere

“She is comfortable talking to anyone about their career whatever age or level.” Amanda

“She knows a little about a lot of industry sectors but is never afraid to ask when she needs to know more.” Nadine

“She never fights anyone when it comes to their decision. Challenge has a place in the discussion but conflict, no.” Paul

“He has a good sense of humour along with a never say die backbone. No career is worth giving up on!” Mia

“The perfect adviser would have a real passion for seeing people move forward in their careers.” Jo

“the perfect CA listens without prejudice/helps me see things from another viewpoint/’magically’ builds my confidence” @GhislaineDell

“Being a good career adviser takes time effort & knowledge” Mathy (aka @whathejobisthis)

“Eschewing perfectionism, am opting for good enough CA; makes sense of clients’ stories, within systems (family, economics)” @rachel_mulvey

“Our perfect careers adviser would be bang up to date. Yours?” @jobisjob

The post The Perfect Careers Adviser appeared first on Explore Your Career.

Recently, this got me thinking about easter eggs for our careers. If some of the good things that happen throughout our careers can be thought of as career easter eggs, is there a way to make more of them happen? Is it possible for each of us to sow seeds and help more delightful little breaks occur in our future? Not only is this possible, I reckon you’re already making it happen through every good deed, every willing effort and every attempt to do your best. This is the stuff career easter eggs are made of.

The kind of right stuff I’m talking about is the extra mile you go to do something well. The extra effort you put in to make sure a colleague, customer or boss goes away happy. The thank-you note you send when an interview doesn’t go your way. The dedication you show when you leave a company so your work and your reputation don’t suffer. The support you offer even when it isn’t part of your job. These are all great career deeds. They create good feelings all round in the present and some of them go on to create career easter eggs to light up our future.

Career easter eggs can take the shape of a call out of the blue when a new job comes up, a great reference that totally blows you away, an unexpected bonus, the opportunity to develop new skills you always wanted, the realisation you have a new partner or friend. None of us know where our easter eggs are buried or when they’ll show up but you can be sure they are there. Every good career deed has easter egg potential. Not every egg will hatch but that’s OK because it only takes a few to make all the difference.

Career easter eggs can happen to you
[Image courtesy of praktyczny.przewodnik on Flickr.com]

The post Career Easter Eggs appeared first on Explore Your Career.

For more films & more experiences
(because we don’t all want to be Midwives)
visit Careersbox.co.uk

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The post How Careersbox Works appeared first on Explore Your Career.