Insight-full career change tips

I was thinking the other day that I must make time to do an analysis of the different customers from my career change workshop over the last 6 months. It’s easy not to this, as there’s plenty of other tasks to do, but investing the time can create some really useful insights for better targeting and making the product even better and more relevant to their needs.

Historically, most of my customers have been people wanting career change – planned purchase, whereas now, because of unemployment and shrinking sectors, it’s mostly people having to change – emergency purchase.

I think that one segment would be people experiencing ageism, another rusty re how to market and differentiate themselves in challenging market conditions, a third wanting to become self employed but feeling daunted about it having always been in full time employment.  As a former account planner, I love this kind of insight mining exercise! 

Before I specialised in career strategy, I did a segmentation of my coaching clients, and I thought I’d share them with you to get your thoughts on any needs I might have missed:

1. 
   
   I ‘have it all’, so why am I so tired and dispirited?


2. 
   
   I “I know what I want, but I’m not sure how to best achieve it. “


3. 
   
   “I don’t know what I want, but I know it’s not this for much longer!”


4. 
   
   “I know/I’ve been told that I need to acquire a new skill/adapt my behaviour or habits, but show me how to fast!”


5. 
   
   “I need someone confidential/objective to talk to and bounce ideas off who I trust”

What do you think – any other groups for people wanting change? How are you feeling about your career at the moment?

The next Energise Steer your career workshop is Monday 5 October and the one after that is Tues 20 October. Anyone registered at JobCentrePlus as ‘an Unemployed Professional’ can get their workshop place funded by the government. (Energise supplier reference is STL 67302 – spread the word)  We have had enquiries from as far afield as Leicester and Plymouth which shows that our product is a bit different as there are suppliers in all regions and we do the workshop near Oxford.

More info re the workshop at this link:

http://www.liberateyourtalent.com/cms/more/events-energise