It looks like DH’s contract won’t be renewed when it runs out in January and he’ll be out of work. It’s a sales-based role, he’s not on track to hit his targets this quarter (he’s one of many in there) and at his probation meeting last month they said if he doesn’t he’ll be gone. He moved out of his previous, more secure job (more details on that below) as this role is within the entertainment industry, which he’d like to break into – it wasn’t packaged up as a sales role when he applied/was interviewed, but that’s what it is. As a result he gets little exposure to the bods he thought would be good to network with and there isn’t really any development to be had. He’s on a very modest salary with no commission and does close to 50 hours a week (meant to be the standard 37.5) to get as much of the work done as he can. After a long chat last night we agreed he needs a plan to leave, even if he hits targets this time he’s not suited to sales-driven work and its clear anyone is disposable from one quarter to the next. Appreciate this is how sales-based work operates and some people thrive in this environment, but he doesn’t.
Looking for your thoughts on jobs that don’t involve the above/being in an office all day.
His degree is in ecology and he loves the outdoors however there’s not a huge number of nature-type jobs in cities, it also appears to be a difficult field to get decent paid work in – some of his course mates who went on to do an MSc are still interning and this is in more rural/coastal areas where there’s even more openings.
His previous role to this was in a council planning enforcement team (secure but dull – 50% bureaucracy, 50% dealing with members of the public that had broken the rules) however he was out and about for half the time which mitigated be sedentary at a PC all day.
He’s in his mid-20s and really wants his next job to be something with longevity/room for progression and ideally something he’ll enjoy. We know its not easy to find a job that ticks all the boxes, but we’re still fairly young, no kids. We have a mortgage - I’m in a fairly stable job and if he ended up with no income we’d survive (on a shoestring budget). Applying to join the Police isn’t an option, for reasons I won’t bore you with!
My thoughts so far have been roles I know can be fairly competitive or assessment/selection process can be very drawn out: train driver, paramedic, fire fighter – all potentials still though.
Thanks for reading!