Five top tips for career explorers
Two-thirds of UK workers want to change careers, according to a 2019 study by JobRapido. But how?
In our post-pandemic, early-AI economy, job searching can feel chaotic. Candidates often feel themselves caught between two poles of bad advice. On one hand, traditional job hunting advice that can be hopelessly outdated - “Just walk into a business and see if they have any jobs going!” “Call the HR department directly to ask about your application!” On the other, TikTok workfluencers telling people to cover gaps in their resume by lying about signing an NDA. Add to that the fact that most Gen Z workers only see themselves staying in their current job for four years or less, and it seems that every jobseeker is floating in a sea of resumes and confusion.
I recently left teaching and began the long, sometimes frustrating process of job searching. Since July, my life has been an endless grind of cover letters, interview prep and late-night phone calls with friends in the same situation. But our pain is your gain. I have collected the wisdom of our ‘unemployed girl summer’, and distilled them into the five top tips below:
Your cover letter is invaluable (and should not be written by AI)
“If they just gave me an interview, I could explain why I’d be good for the job!” It’s a common refrain, particularly amongst career changers. Your CV is lacking in all the experience required for the role; you can’t prove that you have any of the skills needed – but if only you could talk to them in person, explain your passion and skills, then you know that you’d win someone over.
That passion and skill? That’s what you need to put in your cover letter.
I know, I know. Writing five paragraphs about how great you are can feel deeply unnatural. No wonder some people give up, using their cover letter to reiterate their CV without any elaboration about why they’d be good. There’s a tendency to fall back on empty, unprovable hyperbole - “I know I’m the best person for the job” (No you don’t), “I’m confident I could fill this position well” (So is everyone). The panic can make some people resort to gimmicks, like the candidate who wrote an acrostic poem with the letters of his name, or the candidate who tried to hypnotise the hiring manager with talk of their “sensual” wrists. Though at least those candidates actually put in some effort. TikTok and Twitter are full of ‘job search experts’ encouraging candidates to use AI to write their cover letters, despite the results being universally awful.
But rather than viewing a cover letter as a pointless chore to be automated (or a showcase for your poetry skills), try and see it as an opportunity. This is your chance to say all those things you wish you could say in an interview. If you’re having trouble writing, think of the top three questions you would want the hiring managers to ask, questions where you know you could absolutely blow them away. Then write down those answers.
Speaking of cover letters...
2. Stop apologising for who you aren’t; start selling who you are.
When I first started applying for jobs outside teaching, I noticed that almost all my cover letters contained some sort of admission. While I know that I lack some of the experience needed for this role... Despite never having worked in publishing before... I am merely a lowly, humble teacher – please, hiring manager, have mercy on me!
Once I noticed this pattern, I put a stop to it. My four years of teaching weren’t something that needed to be explained away; they were the source of all the skills I was bringing to the job. Three years of bartending during university weren’t irrelevant, they were proof of strong sales skills. Using Ikigai Data’s skill-mapping feature was really useful to me here; while I could already talk about the interpersonal skills that teaching had given me, my Ikigai skill map also suggested that I talk about the planning and supervisory skills I gained wrangling twenty year sevens through a trip to Go Ape!
Working on the Ikigai Data roadshow in London, I was lucky enough to meet many brilliant students. Sometimes I’d see a look of panic that I recognised from my own third year – Oh gosh, what kind of jobs can I get with a philosophy/fine arts/ancient languages degree?
It’s true that there are few jobs going that require a working knowledge of Linear B or Kant. But there are plenty of jobs for the smart, analytical, curious people that those degrees produce. Stop worrying about what you haven’t done; start championing what you have.
3. An interview is about more than your competency.
Interviews can feel like a terrifying oral exam standing between you and paid employment. But Sam, 27, who switched from sales to audit accounting, says that an interview is more about feeling out how you would be to work with. “Just be their mate and have a good chat,” he advises. Once you’ve reached the interview stage, hiring managers already know you’re a career changer and have decided it’s a point in your favour – what they’re interested in is how you would fit into the team.
Kris, 25, agrees. Of his interview for a law firm, he says, “I just emphasised that I was a really, really nice guy to work with.” Carrie, 26, who works in film, also spoke about how well she and her interviewers got on - “I asked them out for a glass of wine after!” (While Carrie did get the job, we do not recommend this technique.)
It’s easy to let an interview make you feel small and insecure. If you approach it as a conversation rather than a test, you’re more likely to make a good impression. During my TeachFirst interview (a all-day, multi-step marathon), I made friends, discussed my plans for growth and showed genuine interest in my interviewers’ stories. I left smiling, even though I didn’t know if I’d passed that hurdle.
Passion is also important. But be careful – if you’re trying to break into an idealised field, like publishing or film, everyone interviewing will be passionate about the industry. Make sure that you’re passionate about the role itself.
I recently attended a Society of Young Publishers’ “career speed dating” event, where I was lucky enough to talk to people from all parts of the publishing industry, from marketing and design to production and business management. A common refrain I heard, over and over, was how irritating it was to interview someone who was clearly only interested in using this role to jump to editorial. Everyone loves books – you need to talk about why you’re passionate about sales/administration/whatever your position is.
4. Network, network, network.
Finding professional connections has never been easier. Job searching sites like Eric (specifically for creative industries) and Otta (specifically for start-ups and tech jobs) are hosting frequent meet-up events. LinkedIn makes learning about your interviewers as simple as a click. Even Twitter (RIP) can be used to connect with people in your ideal industry. Look out for opportunities for unpaid or collaborative work – I've found editing and copywriting opportunities from social media, while Carrie recently participated in a 48-hour film festival after reconnecting with some university friends.
As a lifelong introvert, networking can sometimes be my idea of a nightmare. Sam, 27, gave some tips. “Find common interests,” he says. “As long as you’re actually interested in your industry and can ask them sensible questions about their work, it won’t be hard.”
And remember, peer-to-peer networking can be just as important. While meeting the speakers at the SYP event was invaluable, it was also great to meet other people trying to break into the industry who could share tips and advice, from joining the Publishing Hopefuls Facebook page to writing articles for the Publishing Post. Walking into that event, I felt anxious; walking out, I was newly energised for my job search.
These peer connections can also be useful for future job opportunities. “I don’t vouch for anyone I haven’t worked with and I wouldn’t expect them to vouch for me,” says Carrie. “But once I know someone’s good, I do everything I can to get them on my team.”
5. Know what you want (beyond the industry)
There were lots of reasons I quit teaching – a readiness for a new challenge, increasing behaviour management problems since COVID lockdowns, pay so bad that I joined forty thousand other teachers on the streets of London back in March – but the main one was this: I didn’t want a job where I was on display all day anymore.
Teaching is always part performance. As a recovering theatre kid, this wasn’t completely out of my wheelhouse. But six hours a day in front of a crowd of unforgiving teenagers tested my ability to stay fun and sparkly to the limit. Add to that the three years of being sympathetic and charming to customers during my bartending years, and I’d spent seven years doing something that I found more exhausting than energising.
But there were things about teaching I loved, particularly the independence. I had a brilliant boss and was part of a brilliant team, but when push came to shove it was just me, in my classroom, largely alone.
I’m keeping my options open in my job search. Publishing, marketing, journalism, consulting – I'll try them all. But more important than the industry is what I want from the role: a job that’s more about being efficient than being engaging, and one where I have responsibility for my own work. I’m probably not cut out for, say, a trading floor.
For you, these answers might be completely different. You might long to be in front of a crowd all day (in which case, have you considered teaching?). You might want to work in a small team, or in an international team of thousands. Some people love wearing a suit every day; others wilt if their office doesn’t have a casual Friday.
Whatever your jam is, make sure you know it and that you look for it. It might be your dream industry, but you’re going to have to be doing this role every day. Burnout is real. Be prepared.
Know your red flags as well, both personal and general.
Start-up culture is real, and some people aren’t cut out for it. I have friends who won’t work for family businesses because they think the risk of nepotism and messy drama is too high. And please, please learn from my mistakes and don’t work anywhere that claims they’re “like a family.” They mean it in the Anna Karenina sense.
