Need Inspiration!

[caspered]

I have been a SAHM now for 4 years and my youngest DD will be making the leap to 'primary school' in September. I really would like to get some type of employment, BUT have no idea what!! In my previous incarnation as a single person without children I was a Market Research Manager, worked all over the world, enjoyed it because I am naturally very nosey . But 1) that would not suit my life now (can't pack two DDs and two dogs in a suitcase)
2) Its just not me anymore, I am no longer interested in where companies buy their batteries and why. Or why someone uses fibre tip pens over ball points .
I have a degree in Business Studies, I am a reasonably outgoing and confident personality, going for interviews etc doesn't really hold any fear for me as I have been doing them in one way or another for the best part of 20 years. But what should I do? Or where can I go for advice/inspiration? My DH would be very supportive for me to retrain if needed, just have to find the 'WHAT' Any thoughts/ideas welcome

Hi.

Try a careers adviser; maybe your old college one or I think there are some private ones you can go to.

Good luck. Sorry I can't suggest anything more.

Thanks anyway, I know that jobs are scarce and it seems self-indulgent to say I want something that I would really love to do. But it will mean a lot of organising and logistics for DDs and dogs if I get a job and I just would like it to be for something I like/love rather than something I hate!!

Thanks again I will look for a private careers advisor

I bet you have loads of transferrable skills. What about sales? Account management? Events? Could you be a self-employed marketing analalyst?

Or recruitment?

Thanks for the boost of confidence Eviz!! I do quite fancy recruitment, got my thinking cap going now

I'm not sure about paying for careers advice if you have no ideas what you want to do (I do career coaching and it's difficult to offer value for money when you're starting with a completely blank sheet).

Eviz is right, you will have lots of transferable skills that you could use in many types of career. I'd start your research by exploring as many different job types as you can. Get the recruitment pages from newspapers, or search some online forums, and cut out (or print) all the jobs that appeal to you. At this stage, it's not a real situation so you can include jobs that are too far away from where you live, jobs that you are not qualified for, jobs that don't pay enough. Just collect anything and everything that appeals to you. If you do this over a few weeks you might start to see a pattern emerging in respect of the type of roles that interest you and the ones that clearly don't.

Even if you can only narrow it down to 3 or 4 careers/roles that would be a better place to start with a careers advisor. At that point you could look in more detail at the job descriptions and candidate requirements of the jobs that you found attractive. identify which skills/ experience you already have, and which one you would need. Are there ways to get the qualifications / experience? Doing a course, volunteering, starting in a junior role?

Good luck - it's a very exciting thing to be doing.

OOO I love you venusandmarzipan thanks for the advice I will do this and let you know!! Quite happy to start in a junior role BTW [bsmile]

Go for it. You sound like you will anyway.

"Gabby"

You and me both! I used to be an accountant but the thought of returning to that profession fills me with dread.

Agencies don't seem to be impressed with "transferable skills". The ones I've met anyway are only interested in ticking boxes and if you can bend over backwards for any employer. When infact the only people you have the inclination to bend over backwards for are your family.

In this ever increasing recession, especially, beyond London, there are many, many job hunters with current experience, which despite my 10 years+ in accounting and 6 years spent establishing my husband's business and then creating, building and running (then selling) two retail businesses (whilst raising our two children, with a husband working wherever it took him and no support), counts for very little.

I'm dispondent in the current climate. I've tried applying for a wide variety of roles and have been told I'm either over or under qualified. I think some interviewers think I'm all out ambitious and driven. I may have been in the past but all I want is to exercise my grey matter during school hours :)

Which brings me to the "retraining" option but where do you start?