1. 1. Evaluate the reasons you want to change? Working out the reasons for wanting to change will help you understand what you will need from a future career.  Highlighting the tasks you dislike in your current job will help you find a job you enjoy.
2. 2. Are you in the position to change career? No one wants to be in a position of uncertainty about their future. Leaving a good job with a good wage for something fun, might be a nice idea but it could be impractical and far from being financially rewarding.
3. 3. Talk to your friends: Ask your friends for their thoughts. What would they do if they were in your position? A second opinion is always useful
4. 4. Examine your personal skill set: What are you good at? Draw up a list of your strengths and skills and then examine how you could use them effectively in a different job.
5. 5. What are you capable of? How ambitious are you and do you have family or other restraints to think about? Not everyone can commit 50 hours a week to a career. Be realistic with what you can achieve in changing your job.
6. 6. What are your interests? Enjoying your job is essential! If your job fits in with one or more of your interests you will appreciate the time you spend working and look forward to going into work.
7. 7. Research what’s available and best suited to you? A career change is a huge decision so researching what’s available and ensuring you are suited to your new career choice is a must.
8. 8. Be Strategic and plan for Success: Get an understanding of how you can achieve success. Speak to people who are in the industry that you are interested in and ask them how they got to the positions they are in.
9. 9. Put your strategy in practise: Utilize your resources and networks. Don’t be afraid to ask friends and family if they know of any jobs going as a high percentage of job opportunities will come from someone you know.
10. 10. Start your dream job!

If you are unsure of what to do next in pursuing your career change and need career advice, contact Career Analysts.

Public sector workers were among a minority of workers who enjoyed averages rises in salary of up to 3% to £554 a week, up from £528. This brings the average annual salary for women working in the public sector to £28,808.

The data compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows the occupation which saw the biggest rise in pay were authors and writers, with a 15.2% rise to £25,522 per year.

Although these figures show a decrease in annual salary, for many industries, managers and senior officials along with directors and chief executives remain the best paid positions in Britain. These job roles remain a remote dream and data shows that when beginning their career, only half of women expected to become managers, compared with almost two thirds of men.

Confidence is crucial if women are to ultimately reach their goals in their chosen profession, according to Alison Platt, a former senior manager at British Airways and now managing director of health insurer Bupa. Alison believes confidence is the most important tool that she has been equipped with during her career, proving even more beneficial than experience and qualifications.

If you would like more information on the careers for women or any other careers advice, contact Career Analysts.

In recent years there has been a significant rise in the number of UK employers offering unpaid internships, especially within the fashion industry, including major fashion retailers with billionaire owners.  Some of these companies are advertising for interns to work unpaid for up to a year.

Because of the current economic crisis, many people are willing to work unpaid if they believe it will be a job that gives them valuable experience in an industry they want to progress in, but there is a problem with this. The problem is that these people are being exploited. Unpaid internships should never last longer than a month, never mind working unpaid for a year. In many cases interns don’t even have their travel expenses covered.

Revenue & Customs will soon begin targeting a range of firms, including small design houses and the very big retailers who are cheating the system.

If you are an unpaid intern and would like to talk to a careers advisor about your next step in the job market, contact Career Analysts.

It seems that many students are being starved of good career advice and it has been suggested that half of the people who go to university are going because “it’s just the logical next step”.

Without good careers advice, students are unable to make well informed decisions and decisions are made that could negatively affect the careers they want to pursuit.

Recent figures show that one in five new graduates are not employed and have a hefty student loan to pay back. We need to ensure that young people are getting good quality advice. We need to educate students on what options they have as many are unaware of the vocational courses and apprenticeships that are available to them as an alternative to university.

If you would like more information on student career advice, contact Career Analysts.

1)      Before you make any decisions regarding your career, you need to learn about yourself. Self assessment is crucial to discovering the right career choice. Two important questions you should ask yourself are:

• What are my interests & hobbies?
• What are my skills & achievements?

2)       Once you have found a job (or jobs) that you would have the right skills for and that you would enjoy, you can do some exploring of it. Get in touch with someone who is working in this type of job and ask them some questions.

• What’s it like to work in that particular job?
• What qualifications and skills you would need?
• How to go about starting in this career?

The more things you ask, the better your understanding of what a job will involve and you will learn if you would like this type of career.

3)      Now that you understand what is involved with a specific job you can determine how realistic it is as a career choice for you personally. Ask yourself a few questions. How many hours will you have to work? and what will your pay be like? You need to make sure you know what to expect before pursuing a career and you need to ensure that the job you want will match the lifestyle you want.

If you would like to know more about choosing the right career choice, you can take a career test with Career Analysts.

Your personal statement should relate directly to the specifications of the job or course you are applying for. It is important that you address all the points in the job specification in the order in which they appear. Imagine this being used as a checklist by the person short-listing.

Address each point on the job specification in a clearly themed paragraph:

• In your first sentence you might make a short statement summarizing how you meet or relate to the requirement.
• The next few sentences should provide a concrete example of the assertion(s) you have just made.
• A final sentence that shows reflection will add depth to the point you’re making.

The first sentence is the statement, the second and third sentences describe the example, and the last sentence is your reflection.
Avoid simply repeating the words used in the job specification in your responses (e.g. ‘I am committed to Equal Opportunities’). Make a personal interpretation of the criteria and quantify with clear examples.

You will often be asked to provide a personal statement, giving your ‘reasons for applying for this post’. You may choose to introduce or conclude your statement with a summary of why you are applying for the job and what attracted you to the organization.

Make sure your statement:

• uses language and phrasing that show enthusiasm for both the role and the company;
• provides a brief summary of how your set of skills matches the post advertised;
• shows that you have done your research on the company;
• highlights their strengths as an employer.

If you want more advice on how to fill in application forms effectively, contact Career Analysts. Career Analysts can provide you with expert career advice.

If you can’t say everything you need to in one page, two pages are ideal. Get your message across succinctly. If your work is technical, you may need to include an appendix. If you are a Senior Director and your last three roles had many relevant responsibilities, you may need to go to three pages. But do consider the reader.

If your CV is longer than two pages, it’s probably because you’ve been adding more information at the top without removing out of date details from the end.

Career Analysts are a careers advice company that can help you with career development and discovery.

The changes would mean that students would take their exams earlier in the year and would then apply for places over the summer. UCAS has talked about implementing this scheme by 2016, but many students are holding their breaths.

As a career advisor we would welcome any changes that benefited A level students and gave them a better and more rounded view of what they were going to do after their A levels. If you want to talk to a career advisor, contact Career Analysts.

Contact Details
It’s obviously very important that these are accurate. And make sure you list the best way to contact you. For example, don’t put your mobile phone number if you don’t always carry it with you. Or better still get in the habit of having it with you!
Profile
This is a short statement about you at the top of the CV. It helps the reader understand who you are quickly, and hopefully will make them want to spend more time reading the rest of your CV.
Skills and Achievements
This is essential to a successful CV. You can either list them separately to your career details, include a short section of around six key skills to highlight at the top, or include them within the relevant sections of your career history.
Career History
Your most recent role comes at the top, and the others in order below. Breaking up long periods with one employer into different job roles can help explain your work more clearly. If adding to an existing CV, ensure the style is consistent, and edit and cut back on early work to make it relevant.
Qualifications
List your relevant academic qualifications. Don’t include too much detail unless the qualification was gained in the last five years. You can also include training courses and can then entitle the section ‘Professional Qualifications and Training’.

Visit the Career Analysts Website if you are interested in discovering more ways to improve your CV or if you would like any other careers advice.