Career Services from Measurability

I am a Career Doctor with The Sunday Tribune. Here is a Q&A postI am considering doing a Degree in Business Studies and I want to know what options are available to me as a career should I choose this qualification?

A Degree in Business Studies is an excellent qualification in that it covers all the business functions providing students with a broad knowledge and understanding of commerce. Many business qualifications give the option for students to specialise in a particular business function such as marketing or purchasing in the latter years.

With the broad nature of this course there are a large number of possible career options available for individuals and this is one of the reasons why many students choose a Business qualification. These options can include, but are not limited to, finance, marketing, sales, purchasing, materials and human resources. The choice available to students is great but this can cause confusion. Therefore it is essential that you use your time studying to investigate which direction or roles suit you best.

One final point I will make is that you should decide what you want to do with your career and not let your qualification dictate your career path. Too many graduates feel tied to pursuing a career related to their qualification when they have graduated. This does not have to be the case.

If would like professional career advice contact us – Measurability

 I am a Career Doctor for the Sunday Tribune – Question & Answer below.I am considering a career change as I cannot continue with the daily commute to and from work. This daily commute is affecting my family and personal situation. Even though I enjoy my job I want to find alternative employment close to where I live and I would like some advice on how to go about this?Commuting and traffic congestion is now one of the key reasons for people changing jobs in the current market. As you outlined this situation puts a strain on the individual and the family but more importantly driving with frustration and reduced concentration can be very dangerous.To resolve this issue there are two options available. The first option is to explore alternative solutions within your existing company. Commuting is a huge issue facing most organisations and their staff. As a result many organisations are exploring alternative such as remote working, reduced working week or flexi-time to help resolve the problem. If you have not already done so, I recommend that you talk to you existing employer about this problem and explore the possibility of resolving this.If there is no resolution internally then the only other option is to seek alternative employment. The immediate focus should be to identify a similar role within your new geographical requirements. You can use typical strategies like job boards, paper advertisements but also research your chose region to identify networking and direct or application opportunities.

For professional career advice contact us – Measurability.

Whether you are beginning your job search in 2008 or you are actively hunting but struggling to reach you career goal – there are two important points to consider.

Recruitment Log

It is essential to keep a record of your job hunting activity. By this I mean a little black book. A recruitment log will benefit you job search in a number of ways.

- It will provide a record so you can analyse what is working and what is not. I regularly meet career coaching clients who are not getting the results they want. Most do not keep records and when we analyse their activity they are relying on one strategy. Information from you log will help focus your activity.
- It will make your job hunting more professional. You will easily know what companies you have approached reducing the possibility of applying to the same position twice.
- It will prove a valuable source for when you are back hunting again. It will be a resource of recruitment consultants you have worked with or industry contacts.

If you keep doing what you are doing you will keep getting the same results.

Great if you are getting positive results. Your recruitment log will help you identify what is working but more importantly what is not. There are many ways to source a job and you must embrace all strategies. There are reactive strategies such as recruitment agencies and direct application like papers and job boards. Most jobseekers will gravitate towards these strategies as they are easier. If they are not working you can approach them differently or look at proactive strategies. Proactive strategies include networking and speculative approaches to companies. Remember 50% of jobs are never advertised so proactive strategies will help you unearth these gems!!