Career Consultancy

If you are looking at what you can do, what you would be most suited to, and how you can get that perfect job, a career consultant can help.

Career consultants look specifically at your career future - what you want to be doing, what you're best suited to and how to get there.

If you want a slightly broader approach, a Life Coach can also help. They will not only look at your career options, but also your personal motivations and how the career choices fit into your life, and perhaps what needs to change to accommodate them.

A number of the recruitment agencies have a department that looks at career options, but there are also specialists products and services you can use.

Finding a Career expert

Career Consultants/Career Coaches

I have listed a few examples below. If you have any recommendations, please email me at contact@athomemums.com

Career Clarity (www.careerclarity.com.au) provide individual career counseling and coaching to help you reach your career potential.

Katie Roberts Career Consulting (www.katieroberts.com.au) provides career assessments using an Interests Assessment or Myers-Briggs analysis and also looks ar resumes and interview training. There is a face to face option, but there are also assessment options on line.

Resumes

Having had some time out of the work force with the children, it might be as simple as updating your resume and making sure you market yourself well to get that new job.

Resume by Design (www.resumebydesign.com.au) specialise in resume design and strategy, career guidance and direction, job search skills and application and interview coaching and mentoring.

Resumes for Results (www.resumes.net.au) provide resume writing services, help with application letters and response to interview questions. They also provide career coaching and interview coaching.

(Interestingly, they also provide franchise opportunities and advertise them as flexible, work from home. If you have experience in HR and recruitment, maybe this is an opportunity...)

Specific Advice for Mums

Personally, if I was looking for a career consultant at this stage in life, I would look for one who specialises in mums returning to work, or women in the workforce, so the focus is on the work life balance as opposed to just your career.

One website I have found that has some useful resources, is Mums at Work (www.mumsatwork.com.au) The focus of this site is balancing a rewarding career with having a family. The consultants themselves are working parents, so they have first hand experience. They can provide career guidance, help with job hunting, and resume preparation. They also have links to online recruitment agents.

Personal Experience with Career Consultants

Even before having the kids, I knew I was not in the right career, but I had no real idea of what I wanted to do, or how to go about making a change. I tried two different types of career consultants.

- The first offered a standard approach which involved computer assisted testing to analyse my personality and preferences and what would best suit me. Personally I found this to be a bit of a waste of time, as I think I know myself pretty well and felt at the end of the process, the consultant also knew me fairly well, but it didn’t go any further. I paid A$900 to ultimately get to the point where someone else knew as much about my preferences and skills as I do. To go any further with this information would have cost a lot more, and I chose to complain, got my money back and went elsewhere.

I guess I’m saying the tests were fairly accurate, so if you’ve not done much self analysis, it’d be worth giving it a go, but don’t expect a full solution without a lot more expense.

- The second approach was more personal and involved a one on one brain storming session in which we talked through various options and the practicalities of each. This required me to have an idea or two as to which direction I wanted to go in.

If you are going in to a career consultant with a blank bit of paper, I’d suggest the analysis first.

And it doesn't have to cost as much as I originally paid!

You can now find career consultants or career coaches who work online or over the phone with you, reducing the cost considerably.