For most people, careers advice at school wasn’t the most interesting of subjects.  If you lived in a town where there was a large local employer you’d probably be propelled towards that specific company, regardless of your interests.

 

 

 

Economics

 Unfortunately the economic downturn has led to many people having to take any old job in order to just pay the bills.  Try and explain to your child the sad fact that they may sometimes have to take a job as a stopgap before moving on to their chosen career.  Call centres across the UK are full of a whole variety of people who come from diverse and different backgrounds.  It’s not uncommon to talk to an unemployed archaeologist one day and then on the next occasion you may have a conversation from a school leaver who doesn’t know what to do with the rest of their life.  Even if you have to take a job that you really don’t like then try and find a way of getting work in the future that will stimulate you.  The idea of 40 years of paid drudgery is too depressing for words.

 

 

 

Advice

 Most teachers these days are burdened with paperwork, baffled constant curriculum changes and probably don’t have the time to assess some of the more interesting jobs that may be on offer.  It’s never too early to suggest that your children think about their future and perhaps interested parents who really know their child’s interests and strengths may be the best advisors.

 

 

 

Motivation

 One very good place to start motivating your child about their future is to spend some time trawling the internet – believe it or not but the web does exist for purposes other than Facebook and You Tube!  Marketing and sales company websites are interesting because they give lots of information on their company as well as publishing interesting specialist articles that offer useful advice.  Many of these companies try and promote change – cirrus-connect.com is one such company, and advertise work through their websites rather than using traditional job agencies.  If you show your child how to use the internet for their own research and employment purposes, you’ll be teaching them a valuable lesson.

 

 

 

Sales

 Job agencies are excellent for temporary or contract work but many of their clients don’t appreciate that agencies are driven by a sales and commissioned based workforce.  The top agencies will try and find the best jobs that are on their books for their clients but some of them don’t really seem to be that interested in their client’s talents and are more concerned about filling an advertised position in order to get their commission.

 

 

 

Unusual

If you can teach your child how to evaluate their personality and skills at an early age they will interview well and impress any future employer.  Employers don’t just want academic qualifications; they help, but an engaging personality and the ability to hold an interesting interview conversation are also important.  Increasingly employers are interested in after school activities as well as scholastic achievement. Volunteering has recently become a growth industry in the UK and a reference from a volunteer organisation will at least give your child a start for their CV.