From Marketing to Portfolio Career

From Marketing to Portfolio Career Success Story > From: Job To: Portfolio career From Marketing to Portfolio Career “I realised my job was making me truly miserable.” * From Marketing to Portfolio Career Catherine Allison wanted to make a success of her role, but between workload struggles and poor cultural fit, it simply wasn't happening. Here's how she quit without a backup plan and found the headspace she needed to come up with a new, more exciting direction. What work were you doing previously? After graduating, I worked freelance at marketing agencies in account management roles to ensure I had an income while working towards becoming a full-time actress. Eight years later, after dozens of auditions, some limited acting success and many freelance account management roles, I felt I was doing neither job well. I was now married and starting to think about having children, so I made the decision to go permanent as an account director at an agency that I knew and loved, leaving my acting career behind. After having children I was keen to move into part-time work and was supported by the agency to take on a New Business and Marketing role, three days a week. I then moved into my most recent role, Head of Marketing at a creative agency in central London. What are you doing now? Now, I'm running two businesses: Master the Art â€" a training consultancy that helps agencies win more business by training their staff to present and communicate better. Hummy Mummies â€" a daytime choir for mums and carers of young children. Mums get the chance to sing great songs in three- or four-part harmony with their bump, baby or toddler in tow â€" without a nursery rhyme in sight! I've also recently returned to acting â€" performing in summer Shakespeare plays, doing the odd bit of voiceover work and carving out a niche for myself as a compère. Why did you change? While I was desperate for the part-time Head of Marketing role to work, for the first time ever I found myself struggling to fit in and frequently found it difficult to complete my workload in just three days a week. It was at this point that I knew something had to change. When was the moment you decided to make the change? When I realised my jobwas making me truly miserable. I had lost confidence in my abilities and struggled to fit in with the culture of the agency â€" something I'd never experienced before. I wasn't right for the agency, and the agency wasn't right for me. Are you happy with the change? Absolutely! I love running my own businesses, being my own boss and having the flexibility to be more involved in family life. For Master the Art, I draw on both areas of my expertise. I absolutely love helping people in agencies to present and communicate better, giving them more confidence and enabling them to get their voice heard. It satisfies the performer in me and plays to my strengths, giving me true job satisfaction. What do you miss and what don't you miss? I really miss the support network of working in a bigger agency environment. Oh, how I wish I had an IT department to help me out with my IT issues! And, although I miss the camaraderie and banter, I don't miss the endless meetings and office politics. How did you go about making the shift? I left the agency (by mutual agreement) with no job lined up, no guaranteed income, two small children and a pretty hefty mortgage. I knew we could survive for a brief period of time on just my husband's income as we'd managed to scrape by while I was on maternity leave, but it wasn't an ideal situation! However, not working enabled me to have the head space to think about what I really wanted to do next. How could I use my skills to do something that I loved? I had over 20 years' experience working in agencies and eight years' experience of training and working as an actress. Through thinking about how I could combine these skill sets, Master the Art was born. I drew on my network, updated my LinkedIn, met a lot of people for coffee, asked for advice, and told as many people as possible what I was looking to do and achieve. I was able to run a trial training session at my husband's agency which helped me build my confidence and understand which areas I still needed to work on. And yet, when my youngest daughter went to school, I found myself with two days of extra time on my hands and a further business opportunity fell into my lap. While on maternity with my youngest, I started attending Hummy Mummies, a daytime choir for mums that you could take your baby along to. Hummy Mummies was such a breath of fresh air; it gave me the chance to do something for me, without having to worry about childcare. I started collaborating with the founder over corporate training â€" he ran choir workshops for businesses â€" and after a few discussions he mentioned that he was looking for someone to come on board and help turn Hummy Mummies into a franchise business. I jumped at the chance of having a stake in the business and took it on as my 'side-hustle'. So life is busy, and bonkers, but I love having a portfolio career and wouldn't have it any other way. What didn't go well? What wrong turns did you take? I said yes to every single piece of work that came my way. I probably shouldn't have done that â€" I know I didn't do the greatest job for some of them. It would have been better for me to have been single-minded and said no to the things I knew I wasn't suited to. How did you handle your finances to make your shift possible? I was lucky enough to get freelance work very soon after I left my permanent role. This helped me get to a point where I could set up my own business. What was the most difficult thing about changing? Having the confidence to just go for it. Imposter syndrome kicked in big style (and still rears its ugly head from time to time!). I've taught myself to get better at not letting my inner critic take over and to celebrate the small wins as they happen rather than always thinking of my failings. What help did you get? Friends, family and ex-colleagues have all been hugely supportive, for which I am very grateful. What resources would you recommend to others? It seems obvious, but LinkedIn. I get so much business from LinkedIn. It really is a powerful tool. What have you learnt in the process? I've learnt that if you put your mind to something, you CAN do it. I may not be running million-pound businesses (yet!), but oh boy, I am SO much happier than I was. I really do love what I do. Don't chase the money â€" do what you love and the money will follow. What do you wish you'd done differently? I should've been more focused in the early months, only taking on work that I knew I could deliver. What would you advise others to do in the same situation? Have the confidence to go for it â€" don't hold back. It's all too easy to lose confidence in your abilities, especially after having children. You CAN do it. To find out more about Catherine's business, visitwww.hummymummies.com. What lessons could you take from Catherine's story to use in your own career change? Let us know in the comments below. From Marketing to Portfolio Career Success Story > From: Job To: Portfolio career From Marketing to Portfolio Career ?“I wanted to make a difference. But all I was doing was making rich companies richer.” * From Marketing to Portfolio Career Kiran Gill's career looked great on paper, but left her feeling hollow. So, in a bold leap, she quit her job and started to bring to life ideas she'd been thinking about for almost a decade. Here, she shares how taking a portfolio approach to work has allowed her to pursue all her passions. What work were you doing previously? I was Group Managing Director of a brand agency in Dubai. I'd worked in marketing and advertising for my whole career â€" about half of that was in the UK and then I moved abroad with my work. In India I did both agency and in-house roles. I preferred the collaboration of agency work and eventually set up my own training consultancy helping agencies with client and creative services and people management. I moved to Dubai when a role came up for an agency that wanted to grow into India. I started as Head of Client Services and then I just worked, worked, worked for over three years. Ultimately, I got promoted to Group Managing Director, overseeing offices in five countries. What are you doing now? I run my own online accessories business â€" bloomandgrace.com. All of our products are ethical and vegan, we follow an artisan model, and we give back to education projects in the countries where we source our products. I'm also working towards executive coaching for women in leadership. I know how isolating their experiences can be. It's a personal mission for me to do something about that. The other opportunity I'm pursuing is property investment to add some passive income. Why did you change? On paper I was successful and I should have been happy. Instead I felt hollow. I started to question what I was doing. All I'd done for so long was work. My personal life was a mess;my dog was literally the only thing that brought me joy. I wanted to make a difference. But all I was doing was supporting consumerism and making rich companies richer. When was the moment you decided to make the change? I was in a meeting one day and I just quit. Then I left everything â€" my job, my relationship, the country. I had three months' gardening leave at least but it wasn't planned at all. I thought: “What am I going to do?” I started Googling for ideas. That's when I came across Careershifters. Are you happy with the change? Yes! I think I'm happier than I've ever been. I'd become a fraction of myself before; now I'm not even the old me â€" I'm Kiran 2.0. There is so much that I'm passionate about. I don't feel like I work. Every day I wake up excited to do things. Every day is different: I've got freedom, I'm learning, I'm using old skills and acquiring new ones. I'm making a positive impact. I'm contributing. What do you miss and what don't you miss? I miss the salary. But that salary came at a price for me. I'd never take the money again for the pain that it brought me. I'd much rather be where I am now. I don't miss the environment or the culture that I was working in. How did you go about making the shift? With the support of Careershifters I began to dig down and discover what was truly important to me. I'd had all these threads in my life for such a long time â€" sustainability, fashion, empowerment for women â€" but I'd never been able to really see them or bring them together before. I became vegan. That really personal step launched me into a whole other world. I found new people, interests and ideas. At a vegan fashion event I met someone who'd set up an e-commerce business. I started to consult for him on brand and marketing. I began to build up consultancy work in that way, based on my old skills whilst working in a new space that I loved. Ultimately, though, I wanted to be my own boss. So, when the chance came to buy and revamp an ethical online accessories business, I jumped at it. What didn't go well? What wrong turns did you take? I don't remember anything being a wrong turn, as such. I did look back and wonder if I should have explored other areas, but no, I'm happy where I am. All the steps I took were about learning; some were like bumpers on a bowling alley that nudged me onto a different course. How did you handle your finances to make your shift possible? I'm still working on the money to be honest but I'm doing OK. I was on gardening leave initially, so that helped. Then, I built up some consultancy work that allowed me to test new areas of interest while using my old skills. I'm going to need to work really hard over the next 18 months or so but I love the path that I'm on. I've been surprised to realise that you actually don't need much to live well. What was the most difficult thing about changing? Changing my mindset and letting go of the way I'd always done things. I'm the kind of person who's always looking six steps ahead. So I didn't like it when I couldn't see where the process was heading. When I finally managed to stop worrying about finding the answer and just religiously went through all of the steps I started to get breakthroughs. I realised it wasn't about being on one path. I can be on three! Having a portfolio career driven by my passions wasn't something that I'd really considered or even knew existed before. What help did you get? I got so much out of working with the Careershifters coaches and the other people in my group. I would never have learnt as much or have been so supported if I'd tried to go it alone. Outside of the programme, I had conversations with friends and family, I went to as many events as I could, and I also read a lot of biographies for inspiration! What have you learnt in the process? I've learnt what being open minded really means and what a difference that can make. I used to think that all the travel and work I'd done overseas gave me a broad perspective but the reality was that I was very blinkered. My work and life had become so narrow in focus and so empty as a result. I'd been vaguely thinking about other options for the best part of a decade. I'd chat about them over a drink but then dismiss them in the cold light of day. I realised that I wasn't incapable or an idiot. I just needed help to get me there. I alsolearnt to take action, one step at a time, rather than trying to think ahead and see the outcome before I even did anything. What do you wish you'd done differently? Although it didn’t always feel like it, every step I've taken has been critical in getting me to where I am now, so I don't regret any of them. Except, maybe, not having done it sooner. What would you advise others to do in the same situation? Take the first step. You don't have to run. You don't need to know where you're going. Take it one step at a time. What lessons could you take from Kiran's story to use in your own career change? Let us know in the comments below.

Resume Writing - Pros and Cons of the Active Voice Or Passive Voice

Resume Writing - Pros and Cons of the Active Voice Or Passive VoiceWhile using the active voice, more emphasis is put on the sentence and the content of the sentence. This kind of voice is one of the most common in the English language. This article will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the active voice.One advantage of the active voice is that it focuses on the content of the sentence. The sentences are used to make a statement about what the person is trying to say. For example, if a candidate asks you for a job, you could write in the active voice: 'We are looking for a sales representative with a strong sales background.' In this sentence, the sentence structure focuses on the statement.By using the active voice in your resume, you are stating a fact about the candidate's resume. In other words, you are stating what the candidate has done. To express this, the first part of the sentence focuses on the candidate's performance. The sentence may include the name of the in dividual, a short biography, and contact information.The second part of the resume is composed of facts and statements about the candidate's resume. For example, you might write, 'She has held executive positions at several of the leading, publicly traded companies.'The disadvantage of the active voice is that it focuses on the content of the sentence. If the resume focuses on the candidate's performance, the writing will be dull. It is also less effective if the person is using an informal style in the writing. The active voice can become tedious and boring for the reader.In order to use the passive voice effectively, you should use more adjectives and verbs. The best way to do this is to keep the sentence short. Try to include the relevant information in the first paragraph and then give the reader more information in the next paragraph. For example, instead of writing, 'She is a strong communicator,' you could write, 'She is a very good communicator.'The passive voice is not bad, however, if the resume writer is trying to be professional. This is the better way to write a resume because the resume writer can focus on the facts and not the content. One disadvantage is that it can be hard to read in resume letters. The passive voice can also make the resume seem dated and unimaginative.Resume writing does not have to be difficult. By using the active voice, you can write a resume that is both formal and concise. It is important, however, to avoid the passive voice when possible.

Question About Houston Executive Jobs - VocationVillage

Question About Houston Executive Jobs - VocationVillage Dear VocationVillage.com, My husband is looking for an executive level job in Houston for a multinational company, either in Finance or Consulting. He has been in touch with several headhunters, but also with a Career Placement Services Office (that wanted to charge $10K). The former have not been as helpful as when we used them in Chicago, the latter insisted that no one gets jobs by just applying off websites. How would a finance guy with 11 years of experience go about looking for a job? Is it necessary to pay a Career Placement Office, is it better to do a ton of networking, or is it possible to search company websites and apply directly?Signed, Concerned WifeDear Concerned Wife, First of all, RUN rather than walk from any company that claims to be a Career Placement Office and wants to charge you $10K. Before you do anything else, please read the Executive Marketing/Employment Services section of the Riley Guide (scroll down to find the section with this name). Youll learn from other peoples experiences that it is a ripoff to pay $10K for career advice that you can easily purchase from much more credible career experts at a fraction of that cost.Second, contact the career services office of any university from which he has earned degrees and find out what services are available to alumni. Often, universities subsidize the services to alumni so your total cost will be less than if you hired a private practice career counselor. After exploring the university-based services, if your husband wants additional assistance through a private practice career counselor or coach, do some research via Google or asking friends for names of referrals. One way to see if the style of a particular career expert fits with what your husband is seeking is to read a career experts blog, follow them on social media (especially LinkedIn as that is the most work-focused social media platform), or go hear them speak.To answer your last question, job seekers can be successful either via networking or through direct contact. People land jobs through both of these approaches and since you cant know in advance which one will work for your husband, he should do both.Before launching a networking or direct contact job search campaign, your husband should ask some trusted colleagues to critique his resume for him. It is fine if the colleagues live in a different city (like Chicago). He just needs to find out if his resume is competitive and if it isnt, what needs to be changed.Next, your husband needs to become more of an insider in the Houston business community. By looking at the bios or LinkedIn profiles of professionals who have jobs like the ones he wants, he can determine which professional associations and trade conferences are the ones where top executives from his field can be found. Then he needs to find a way to get involved and become known. He can serve on a leadership committee, speak, write articles for the newsletter, whatever it takes to increase his visibility and become a colleague rather than a job-hunting stranger.Speaking of LinkedIn, recruiters are telling me that they are increasingly using LinkedIn and reducing their reliance on job boards where they have to pay an average of $500 per ad. They recommend that job seekers complete their LinkedIn profile 100%, get 70+ connections, and 3+ recommendations.Direct contact to CEOs is another way to meet prospective employers, although your husbands traction will be better if he can get third-party introductions via networking rather than cold calling. Recruiters, too, are usually more interested in candidates when they are introduced to them through trusted colleagues rather tha n through cold calls.If your husband isnt comfortable with describing his career goal and the ways in which he can contribute to a companys success, thats one area where a few hours of practice with a career coach can make a tremendous difference. Thats the type of investment that can really pay off. A career coach can also provide emotional support through the frustration of a job search that might take longer than expected.If your husbands skills are up-to-date, he develops and implements a strategic job search plan, and he persists until he finds the right match between what he offers and what a company needs, he can definitely land in the best job for him.Hope this helps!

Warnings You are About to be Laid Off - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Warnings You are About to be Laid Off - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Unfortunately, there is no job as a secure job nowadays. Layoffs are a reality in the corporate world. Thus, everybody can face a lay-off at some point in their careers. Don’t worry, though! There are ways to notice the lay-off before it happens. If you don’t regret the signs and act quickly, you can change your job and avoid being laid-off. Your Company Lost an Important Business/Client: If your company loses an already existent major client or business, it means it will lose most of its revenues. It also means that the employees working for that client will now be unassigned unless the company assigns them to another project. When an employee is unassigned, s/he won’t bring value and revenue to the company. Therefore, this employee will probably be laid-off. If you are one of those employees who is unassigned, make sure to find yourself another project within the company and make yourself assigned. Otherwise, start updating your resume and LinkedIn profile. Reorganization Within the Firm: You start hearing the term “Restructuring” or “Reorganization” within the company and as a result of this reorganization, your company will downsize or merge with another company and some departments will vanish from the organizational chart. Be careful! If you are working in one of these departments which will vanish after the reorganization, try to change your job within the company or start looking for another job. All of a Sudden Your Manager is Changing Jobs: If one day your manager comes to you and out of the blue says that s/he is leaving the company at the end of the week for another job and if this new position is a lateral move with similar responsibilities, you need to start getting worried. This may mean that financial charts are not looking good or top management is changing and they are going for reorganization. Immediately, start talking to your coworkers who may know what is going on around. You Have Fewer Responsibilities: The new project that you expect to work in is suddenly outsourced to offshore employees. As a result, you find yourself with projects which will finish soon and you don’t have anything to do afterwards. This is a sign that your employer is trying to change you with a cheaper alternative and is in the trial phase. That is why they give the new project to offshore employees and not to you. If the offshore employees do a good job, then your employer may no longer need to keep you.

Resume Writing Services Reviews - Find Out How to Get the Best Resume

Resume Writing Services Reviews - Find Out How to Get the Best ResumeResume writing services are the largest industry on the internet, as well as the biggest source of free labor. People looking for a job need to keep their resumes up to date, and they want to be sure that they're not wasting their time and their employer's time by just throwing them away. The best way to ensure that you get all of your hard work noticed is to get professional help.With the competition for any and all resumes, it is more important than ever to have one that stands out. So, it is no wonder that people would want to read reviews and evaluate which resume writing services are going to provide the best service. Reviews of these services will give you a good idea of which ones are legitimate and which ones are not.Because there are so many people looking for work these days, there are more people who are looking for companies to hire and small business owners are often in high demand. However, some of the se businesses might not know where to find good professionals to hire for their resumes. This is where the need for the best resume writing services comes in. Many of these services are listed on the internet, but a few are not.When a person is in need of help in this situation, they will check out the sites that are listed on the internet first. The reason for this is that they need to be sure that they can trust the company that they are checking out. There may be just one service that is really reputable and that is all that they need. However, there are many companies that are not so reputable and this is where these services come in.It is also smart to look at online reviews of these services. While many of these sites are not reliable, some of them are and this is where it is a good idea to take the time to check out the experiences of other people. You can read these online reviews and see if there are any complaints or negative things that other people have to say about the services that they have used. You will have to exercise a bit of caution when it comes to these reviews, but if you really want to make sure that you are hiring the best services, then you will be better off reading a few online reviews rather than nothing at all.Finally, it is also a good idea to consult with a recruiter about which of the resume writing services might be the best for you. A recruiter will be able to tell you what you need to know about hiring the best resume writing services. A recruiter will have an extensive knowledge of this field and will be able to give you the proper information about all of the different kinds of services that are available to you.The professionals who provide professional resume writing services will do all of the work for you. It will be up to you to get your resumes finished the way that you want them to be. If you need a little extra time, a professional can help with that too. They can also help you build up your skills in the areas th at you need the most help with.A good resume should be unique and professional, but it should also reflect your personality and your business goals. With all of the resources that are available to you on the internet, finding the best resume writing services is easy, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding what you need.

The perks and benefits to look for in a job - Margaret Buj - Interview Coach

The perks and benefits to look for in a job When you’re trying to choose a job, there is a lot to think about, and it can sometimes become a little overwhelming. How are you supposed to make the right choice when you haven’t worked for that business, or done that job? Well, this is one of the reasons why starting a new job can be such a lottery. In fact, there are a lot of jobs out there that might seem like dream jobs for so many people, but can actually turn into a nightmare if you dont have the right perks and benefits to go with it. Over 20% of businesses don’t offer their employees any kind of perks or bonuses, and that shows they aren’t going the extra mile to ensure employee retention. Throw in the fact that 38% of employees want to receive rewards for good work, and it’s not hard to see that perks matter a lot to us. These are some of the perks you should be looking for when trying to choose your next job. Parental Workplace benefits in 2017 showed that one of the key considerations for a lot of employees was parental perks. Notably things like shared parental leave for fathers, and flexible working schedules. Being a parent is not easy, and you have to make sure you put your kids first as often as possible. So, it’s time to start getting involved with businesses that also recognize that, and this is a perk that needs to be a major factor for you in your decision-making. Pension You need to think about your long-term future, and that means considering a healthy pension benefit. There will be some businesses out there offering pension re-enrolment services that are really useful for helping you get the best possible pension outcome you can. Your pension is not something you might think you need to concern yourself with right now, but it matters more than you think. Its best if the pension scheme the new employer uses has a five star Defacto rating and is MAF accredited, so you know your future livelihood will be in the best hands possible. This is an important consideration and one that could well be a decisive factor when you are applying for jobs. Health Insurance Health insurance is an excellent way of looking after yourself and protecting your long-term health. It’s important to try to look after yourself, especially when you are working in a high-pressure business environment. This is why 60% of employees claim that health coverage is extremely importantin helping them decide whether or not to remain in a job. So, you should look for employment with businesses that offer attractive and competitive health and well-being benefits. Signing Bonus Not all companies offer this, but the ones that do are definitely worth considering. Signing bonuses are generally paid out to an employee when they join a company, and this will often occur among high-end businesses in a bid to secure talent instead of their rivals. A good example of this is the software company Huddle, which pays employees a signing bonus of £5,000 when they join! And, as if that weren’t enough, it also pays them £500 as an annual gift! If you can find employment with a company like this, you know the perks are going to be stunning! Discounts Discounts are a common employee perk, but they are something we would all expect. It’s nice to be able to save money on purchases, whether they be holidays, groceries, or entertainment. So, you should do some research and try to find out some of the best employee discounts out there, and who offers them. And you need to make sure you avoid any companies out there that don’t offer employee discounts of any kind! Flexibility The work-life balance is so important, but so few of us seem to be able to get this adequately these days. You have to look at what businesses out there offer flexible working terms and conditions. Now, this might be unlimited holiday time, which companies like Visualsoft offer, allowing employees to take time off when they need. Or, and this is a big one, the ability to work from home. More and more Millennials are prizing this as an important perk of the job, and businesses are wising up, with an average of 8 out of 10 employers offering this. As you can see, there are loads of excellent bonuses and perks that are offered, it’s just a case of finding the businesses that offer them. Decide what is most important to you, and try to secure employment somewhere that provides some of the best perks around. What benefits are most important to you? Let us know in the comments!

Karoshi vs. arbejdsgl - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Karoshi vs. arbejdsgl - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog The Employee Factor blog has a great post about the Japanese word Karoshi: ?Death by overwork? or karoshi (Kah-roe-she) is killing the Japanese Manager in his prime. How? Marathon hours at work lead to heart failure and brain bleeds. We?re talking a lot of overtime. Maybe 100 hours of overtime as estimated by an expert on karoshi. Take a moment to take that in. Imagine death from overwork being so common in Japan, that there is actually a word for it. From the Wikipedia entry on Karoshi: The first case of kar?shi was reported in 1969 with the death from a stroke of a 29-year-old male worker in the shipping department of Japans largest newspaper company. It was not until the latter part of the 1980s, during the Bubble Economy, however, when several high-ranking business executives who were still in their prime years suddenly died without any previous sign of illness, that the media began picking up on what appeared to be a new phenomenon. This new phenomenon was quickly labeled kar?shi and was immediately seen as a new and serious menace for people in the work force. In 1987, as public concern increased, the Japanese Ministry of Labour began to publish statistics on kar?shi. As you may know Im Danish, and I take pride in the fact that there is no word for Karoshi in Danish. Instead we have a very different word: arbejdsgl?de. Arbejde means work, gl?de means happiness so arbejdsgl?de simply means happiness at work. And in case youre wondering how that little sucker of a tongue-twister is pronounced, you can hear me explain it a little more here: The word arbejdsgl?de and how to pronounce it. (2 Mb mp3 file, 2 minutes). This word exists only in the Scandinavian languages (Ive checked!) and this is not a coincidence. Nordic business culture has a decades-long tradition of focusing on the well-being of employees. UPDATE: Apparently it exists in Dutch as well. Thank you to Virgil for pointing that out. Vocabulary matters. It says something about Japanese vs. Scandinavian business cultures that we have arbejdsgl?de and they have karoshi. And I have absolutely no doubt which culture is more likely to make people happy and to create great workplaces. Related posts The Cult of Overwork Get your Karoshi T-shirts here Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related