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Career Analysts is a firm of professional careers advisors helping you to decide what is the best career for YOU.

You may be

• A teenager making A level or degree choices with a view to choosing the right career in the longer term
• In your twenties – you’ve completed your education but are still unsure what to do OR you’ve started along one career path, but realised it wasn’t really what you expected
• Mature – you’ve been in a career for some time – perhaps being successful in it – but your values or circumstances have altered and now you want a career change.

Whatever your circumstances, Career Analysts can help you make the right career choice.

As a firm of Occupational Psychologists, Career Analysts has a tried and tested method to help people make these important career decisions. Each of our career consultants has a minimum of 2 degrees. In one, they learn about what careers there are and what the requirements are for those careers. In the other, they learn how to interpret the results of the psychometric tests we conduct.

So, on the one hand they know about all the careers there are. If they can find out about YOU…

• what are you interested in?
• what are you good at?
• What would suit your personality?
• What is in line with your values and beliefs?
• What is practical for you?

…then they can match you up with the best career for YOU – either for your initial career choice or a career change later in life.

The career tests themselves are in real depth – they take about 5 hours to complete in total, although they don’t all need to be done in one session. Once completed, the results are studied by the career guidance counsellor, who will use them to research possible career options for you.

Then for the important part – the meeting between you and the Occupational Psychologist! In this you will discuss a range of possible career choices, looking at the pro’s and con’s of each, before narrowing down the options and deciding on the ideal career for you.

The meeting is followed up by a written report – not computer-generated but written by the careers advisor. This spells out the results, what they mean for you and what our recommendations are for you going forward. Many keep this report for a lifetime.

This scientific approach takes all the guesswork out of your career choice. It’s a real eye opener. An opportunity not just to change your career but to change your life!

If you are looking for career guidance counsellors London, contact Career Analysts now on 0800 999 7778 or send an email to Leo Soloman- ls@careeranalysts.co.uk.  

This is the time of year when many people are thinking about a career change. But it is very easy to make the wrong career choice and at this stage of your life mistakes can be time-consuming and costly. Good, professional careers advice is strongly advised to avoid falling into the trap of drifting into an unsuitable career path.

Potentially the career pitfalls are destructive. A lot of boxes need to be ticked in order to make the best career change for you. Let’s look first at practicalities. If you are making a career change, then it is assumed that you have already had a career in the past, so you need to look carefully at why you want to change career.

Is it that you have become disinterested in the career that you were doing? Is there a ceiling you can’t break through? Have you fallen out of love with the organisation? Careers advice based on psychology will help you untangle these issues.

Or is more to do with your personal circumstances? Do you want to spend more time with family? Do you have another career in mind or a hobby or project you want to indulge? Maybe you want to travel and see more of the world or maybe you feel you want to give something back to the world and offer yourself more selflessly. Getting serious career advice from a firm of occupational psychologists will do much more than help you pick through these considerations.

There are a lot of other factors to consider and that is where psychometric tests come in. If you are going to make a career change at this stage, you might as well do the job properly. Time is running out to re-address this issue in another couple of years, so you should aim to get it right this time.

Getting good career advice can help you identify several very important aspects other than practicalities. Have you considered how much your own personality impacts your career choice? Or your values and beliefs – maybe they’ve changed over the years? Or your interests. How motivated are you to succeed? How driven are you. Do you know that these personal factors can actually be measured and quantified using psychometric tests?

You must be careful here because only fully qualified occupational psychologists are able to interpret the results of these psychometric tests and give proper career advice based on the results. So, doing an online career test with a computer-generated report will not suffice. The real psychometric tests take up to five hours to complete so don’t take the short cut.

Once you have completed the questionnaires, the occupational psychologist will analyse the results and draw some preliminary conclusions about what careers advice would be most appropriate for you. Then you can sit down together, discuss those career options and formulate a career plan for the rest of your life.

Good luck.

You may feel, with the uncertainty that continues with the Covid pandemic, that now is not the best time to look for a new career, or even a new job.

There is some evidence that suggests it’s a tough economy out there, full of fear and doubt. Inflation is rising rapidly. House prices have increased dramatically. Maybe now is not the time for a career change.

However, don’t feel like you have to put your life on hold. There is still a lot of positivity to be found. So, if you want to change career, now could well be the time to make it happen.   

Lots of businesses are still hiring as normal. In fact, some professions are in very short supply. Also, businesses that may have frozen recruitment during the shutdown period, and even as we come out of it, still need to fill those vacancies now that the economy tries to get back into gear. There are always some winners and some losers.

So, what to do if you want a career change post-Covid?

Prepare and Research

It’s always good to start your job search by preparing as much as possible. Ensure that you know what career is right for you and why. If you are not sure, then see a career analyst and make sure. Research the organisation – will you fit in? Know what you are talking about and impress recruiters with your knowledge and views.

Be Proactive

If companies in your chosen industry don’t seem to be recruiting, or if you’ve found the business you want to work for and they don’t have any vacancies, then don’t be afraid to reach out to them. Get the name of the manager in charge of recruitment, or the department you want to work for, and contact them directly. You can impress them with your determination.

Invest in Yourself

Get your CV up to date, brush up on your interview skills, and perhaps look into training courses that may enhance your standing with possible employers.  If you’re thinking about following a new career, perhaps it’s time to talk to a careers advisor to find out more about yourself and the industry that you want to be in.

There are many reasons people seek careers advice at different stages in their career.

15 and 16 year olds may need help with A level and degree choices. Even if they have an idea of what career would suit them best, the question remains: How to get there. What degree would be most useful for my future career? What A levels are needed to get into that degree? How to choose my career?

For older teenagers the question becomes even more pressing: What career path should I take? For those who have already left school and want to go straight to work, they need to urgently ask what career should I do?

Those in their twenties may have just left university and still don’t know what career is right for them. Or they may have thought they knew what career is best, but on entering that career path, they find it is not what they expected. They might start to wonder is this the right career for me after all.

Then there are those considering a career change at 30. When you reach 30, you have reached a level of maturity where you can look at the bigger picture of your career and life. Perhaps you now have a young family to consider? If so, that’s the most important thing in your life now. There’s a pressing need to provide for them and a deep desire to spend more time with them.

A career change at 40 or 50+? For such age groups the driving forces can are different once again. Perhaps your values have changed, and you no longer desire the same things that you did as a younger adult. Perhaps you now have a level of security and want to indulge other interests. Maybe you just want a better work/life balance?

A large proportion of those seeking a career change will fall into one of these categories. Perhaps 90%. Yet still there is another 10% whose motivations are very varied. For some, a change in career has been forced upon them. For those competing in sports, retirement can be forced upon you in your thirties. An injury or other medical condition may prevent you from continuing in your chosen career.

There are myriads of reasons why people think about changing career. The question for most is: What career path should I take at this stage? The answer for many is: see a career analyst to help you decide on the right career for you.

More than 6 million people in the UK now choose to work part time in their career. A flexible, yet high-earning role is much easier to achieve these days.

Overturning traditional employment concepts, CEO’s, senior lawyers, directors of finance and others are choosing to go part time. It is becoming more normal for senior management to expect flexibility. Although often the extent of that flexibility is not publicised to their colleagues or outside the organisation.

Flexible working for mums has been evident in the economy for many years. But the shift in working patterns is not just working mums these days. Karen Mattison MBE, the founder of Timewise, a recruitment service specialising in part-time skilled jobs, says: “More than a third of our candidates are not mothers, and that figure is growing. Many are fathers; high-earning individuals who can survive comfortably with a reduction in salary”.

“Having children is just one of the reasons people may decide to work part-time. Some want to start their own business, go freelance, or need time to care for elderly relatives. For some, it is a lifestyle choice,” says Ms Mattison. “People are willing to forego the extra 25 per cent of salary. They would prefer to enjoy the time.”

The Covid 19 pandemic has also had an effect. Senior workers have been asked to go part time by employers trying to reduce costs. This has made it easier for these workers to make the change they were already considering. And it has allowed businesses to reap the benefits of cost reductions.

Ms Mattison expands: “It enables employers to retain their senior staff in tough times. Growing or cost-cutting businesses can still access high-level talent on a part-time basis, which otherwise would be unaffordable.”

However, those part-timers might prefer that their colleagues do not know their situation. According to a recent study, around a third would not use the word “part-time” to describe their work and 15% prefer to let their fellow workers believe that they are still full time, working from home. Employees can feel that they are not taken as seriously as full-timers, and this has negative connotations. The suggestion of ‘part time’ can also mean that clients feel that their needs aren’t being met 24/7.

But times are changing, and businesses are seeing the benefits of part time roles, particularly in senior positions. This creates opportunities for some to pursue a career change. They can reflect on their lifestyle and work/life balance or mentor young ones and school leavers. At the same time, they can allow businesses to benefit from their knowledge and experience whilst reducing costs.

Are you damaging your own career?

A recent survey showed that over 80% of us have made a serious blunder that had adverse repercussions on our career.  

It doesn’t have to be one big mistake. A few small ones over a period, or a poor attitude, can seriously affect your chances of a future promotion, an increase in pay or achieving the next step up in your career.

So, are you in danger of harming your own career? Here are some of the common ways you can damage your career prospects without realising.

Promises, Promises…

If you are promising big but essentially unachievable results, you are piling additional pressure on yourself for the future.

You may think that you’re going beyond the call of duty in your career, but if you don’t deliver on your promises, you are going to disappoint your manager, yourself and those around you.

So, set realistic career goals and you’ll end up looking better than if you promise more and deliver less. The art of career management is knowing how much you can do within a set time – and then delivering it successfully. Failure to achieve it will disappoint your managers, your peers and you. Ultimately it will cost you the progress you want in your career.

Complacency

When did you last learn a new relevant skill? Or think about making your work more efficient? Or look for a way to progress your career? Are you resting on your laurels?

If you let life pass you by, trudging on with your everyday routine, not thinking about your career progression, then don’t be surprised when you start to wonder ‘what am I doing here?’

Career opportunities do not fall into your lap. You have to go out and get them. Be proactive. If you’ve already been in your career for some time, waiting for a promotion but regularly being passed over, it may be because you’re not showing the initiative your company expects from you. Make your career development a priority and see what happens!

Fear of change

Are you afraid to move on in your career? You may be restraining yourself by being too scared to move forward in your career. It can be worrying, applying for a new role or making the frightening leap of a complete career change. Even learning a new skill requires some courage.

It’s normal to be hesitant when considering a career change. You may doubt your abilities or experience anxiety about making the right career choice. Fear of failure or the unknown can hold you back in your career. However, knowing your personality, skills and motivations can give you the confidence to make the right career choices now.

Your 20’s are a formative point in your career. New career choices made now will have a profound effect on how the rest of your career will evolve. Those in the first decade of their careers will face alternatives that will affect the rest of their lives.

In this changeable economy, it is ever more complicated to know what career is right for you, let alone achieve it. Yet, with many facing student loan repayments soon, it is crucial that you make your career choice as soon as possible.

Like many people in their 20’s, you’re probably wondering ‘how to choose my career? The question is complex, but the process to answer it is relatively straightforward. A career analyst can provide career guidance to direct you to the right career for you.

Career analysts focus on constructing a psychological profile of you. What are you interested in? what would suit your personality? what would be in line with you values and beliefs and what would you be good at? These are the important factors to consider when choosing your career. They uncover these using psychometric tests.

Psychometric tests are mostly multiple-choice questionnaires. When the results are analysed by a qualified career analyst, they reveal a profile of you which can then be matched to success and fulfilment in your ideal career.

Are you considering a Career Change? Do you feel that your present career doesn’t really achieve what you want? Maybe your values or circumstances have changed.

As you move into your thirties and beyond, it is important to re-evaluate your career path and ensure you are still on course in your career.

Ask yourself these questions to understand if your present career is still the right career for you.

• Am I really happy in my career?
• Am I doing as well as I expected to?
• Is my career fulfilling my needs?
• Am I working at the level that’s right for me at this stage?
• Are new opportunities coming my way?
• Have I got the right work/life balance? Is my quality of life good?
• Am I making the most of my talents, abilities, experience and qualifications?
• Have I gained the respect of my colleagues and bosses?
• Is my career progressing as it should?

If you answer NO to some of these, then maybe the time has come to think seriously about whether you are in the right job. Consider this carefully as you don’t want to end up in another career which is no better than the one you’ve got!

A Career Analyst using psychometric tests will help you find your ideal career

A career analyst using psychometric tests will help you find your ideal career

Sometimes you may think your job is boring; that’s not uncommon. However, that’s just transitory. More importantly, is your career path the right one for the rest of your life?

So, the big question that follows is: If this isn’t the best career path for me, then what is? How do you figure out what career is right for you?

A career guidance counsellor using psychometric tests is a good start. They are called career analysts and they are usually qualified Occupational Psychologists. They use career tests to understand what makes you up. They look at your personality, values, interests, motivations and abilities so they can match you up with the best career for you.

So, if you are seriously thinking about changing careers at this stage of your life, find a good career analyst. They can point you in the right direction.