"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle."  Steve Jobs

Whilst simply walking out of our jobs is not an option many of us can afford to take, few of us are exploring all of the options that are available.

Even fewer are actually investing in ourselves to gain a better chance of getting a job that is more suited to our skills.

Though many are happy to splash out on the latest smartphone or tablet to make both our personal and professional lives easier, there aren’t many of us that will actually invest in the most important thing of all: ourselves and our careers.

Whether you lack confidence, are unsure if you’re in the right position or want to take the next step-up in your career, it makes sense for you to seek the support you need to ensure that you’re fulfilling your potential.

And it makes sense to seek it now.

Many people who have had a change of career forced on them by redundancy often say that being made redundant was turned into a positive, because it meant they were able to switch to something that they enjoyed whilst using their skills more appropriately.

But why not seek training while you have the security – and finance – to do so?

Here at Recrion, we facilitate the Peak Performance Mentoring Programme (PPMP), which addresses all of the concerns you may have with your current working life.

Want to build your confidence, develop a positive mindset and, perhaps most importantly, find  the career that is best suited to your skills?

It’s all covered.

By taking the PPMP, you are not only taking the first step to progressing your career to the next level, you are also giving yourself the best possible chance of being happy at the prospect of going to work.

Wouldn't that be nice?

Find out more about the Peak Performance Mentoring Programme and see what it can do for your career.

Recrion is a specialist in career and people management helping you to move away from uncertainty towards clarity in your career - www.recrion.co.uk; +44 (0)1780 484910

I would recommend Recrion as a great place to start exploring the various avenues of future employment.  The friendly coaching style helped me to reflect on my previous work experience and recognize my own strengths and areas of potential.  Katherine helped harness my reflections by making suggestions for alternative careers that I had not previously considered myself.

This was a very insightful process as it encouraged me to think more broadly about how I could transfer my current skills and interests into other fields of employment.  The process also helped me to acknowledge my talents and experience which in turn has helped raise the self-esteem and confidence required to look for future work and possibly make changes in the direction I take.  All in all, attending the career advice session with Katherine  was  extremely worthwhile and one that I am sure will help me take my next steps towards my future career.  Thank you.

Debbie Roberts, Roche

There is a great story about Steven DeMaio who left his publishing job for this very reason.  Steven didn't quit his job in a blaze of glory to achieve some ideal.  He just wanted to find something more meaningful to do and have more variety in his working life.  He now teaches English and Maths to adults at the Community Learning Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

His blogs chronicle his life and are well worth reading if you are facing a similar dilemma.  His first post in Harvard Review on the topic, “I Just Quit My Job…Am I Crazy?” still brings in new comments every week, many months after it first appeared.

Whilst there is no ideal time for a re-evaulation of your career, the economic downturn might just be a good one as there are so many training and career support programmes out there.  Take a look at the Career Evaluation Workshop Doug Shaw attended in January – he has now left his former employer and is starting his own business.  After 12 years he was looking for a change and needed a little guidance along the way.

The world is your oyster – make the most of it!

If you would like to chat through your career options you can contact Katherine Wiid, Career Management Professional at Recrion on 01780 484910.

A lot of my clients say that so much has been written about the do's and don'ts of CV writing that it makes their heads spin.  They are understandably uncertain about whose advice to follow.

I recently read a useful article in Harvard Review with 9 top tips on "How to write a resume that doesn't annoy people" – interesting title.  And useful advice.

What is missing in that list is the most overlooked fact of all.  The name "Curriculum Vitae" translates from the Latin into English as "Book of Life".  It is therefore a personal reflection of a unique individual's career history.

Let me give you an example.

One of my clients was amazed when I said I felt his CV needed to come to life and that he should use everyday language to express himself.  With fluent German and English, he admitted to having "rusty" French and Spanish.  He wasn't sure about using "rusty" to indicate his level of skill as he felt it wasn't formal enough.  Once he relaxed and realised how important it was to let his personality come through on his CV rather than just listing his numerous qualifications and achievements, he also started to feel more confident about how he would express himself in an interview.

My advice on CV writing is to use the vast amount of material out there as a guideline to keep up with modern trends, but put your personal stamp on it to make it unique.

Recrion is a people and career management consultancy and is actively helping individuals affected by redundancy to consider their career options and build on their skills and experience.

Some of the people we advise are fortunate to be part of the R2R scheme and find our practical and insightful one-to-one career coaching sessions helpful.  R2R provides up to £1000 per employee to cover career guidance, skills assessment, explore career options, training funding, vocational qualifications and workshops to help candidates match and market themselves to new and hidden opportunities.  See if you qualify.

If you don't qualify, we are still able to help by offering Career Evolution Workshops and one-to-one career coaching sessions.  Call us on 01780 484910 for more information.

Read the full story in Peterborough Today.

If you want to find out more about how we can help you through the redundancy minefield, contact us on 01780 484910 or www.recrion.co.uk

I am seeing the psychological trauma that the huge wave of redundancies is having on people's identity.  We all dream of having more leisure time, winning the lottery etc.  But even a payout of a year's salary and voluntary redundancy has a longer term negative impact on people once the euphoria has worn off.

As a people and career management specialist, the majority of my time is spent trying to initially understand how redundancy has affected an individual before than advising them on their next career move.

If a job involved a lot of socialising, redundancy can mean losing not only a daily structure but also a social life. High-level executives tend to be driven, strong-willed and highly critical of their own performance.  They define their self-worth by work and if you take away their job, their self-esteem goes too.

For women who have risen to senior positions losing a job may make them question the personal sacrifices they have made because to attain such seniority they may have had to work harder and give up more.

The behaivour that is consistent with all of these reactions is the euphoria/denial/anger/depression/acceptance phases of humans responding to change.  The Buddhists have a wonderful way of summarising it:  To change takes a minute, yet we spend most of our lives preparing for that change.

If you are affected by redundancy and would like some practical advice, contact Recrion www.recrion.co.uk or call Katherine on 01780 484910.

We are facilitating a government scheme to help people affected by redundancy by offering free advice and access to training.  Visit www.recrion.co.uk/free to see if you are eligible.

After living in the UK for a year, I decided to pursue a different career path and didn't know how to begin. Katherine proved to be a refreshingly experienced and compassionate career counselor. She helped me develop a strong CV that focused on my experience and catered toward my career goals. She also assisted me with my networking efforts.

Due to Katherine's caring attitude and unrelenting knowledge of the current job market, she has helped me develop the tools and confidence necessary to move forward with my job search. She truly is very skilled in her profession – I would recommend Katherine's services at Recrion very strongly."

Jennifer Tenenbaum, dog walker and trainer, self-employed

Since spending time with Jennifer defining her career goals and passions, she has gone back to her love of writing and is now freelancing for various online journals.

Are you looking for renewed motivation in your career?  Why not attend one of our Career Evolution Workshops and unleash your potential.  Call Katherine on 01780 484910 for a confidential discussion.

Peter Bregman is starting to see a new trend in the US.  Since Lehmans, AIG and the long list of big companies have gone to the wall he has found that we simply don't trust companies anymore. We trust people. And in big companies, it's hard to even find a person to trust as we scream "operator" into our telephones only to get transferred to another menu whose options have changed.

That gives small companies a huge advantage.

He uses the example of John Drummond, who started Unicycle.com after getting laid off from IBM during the last downturn. Once he got the hang of it, he started Banjo.com, his other childhood passion. Both are doing well and he's about to launch more sites.

There are hundreds of thousands of businesses like John's. Small companies that aren't making millions but provide a good living for the people who work in them. Niche companies whose owners are trying to build sustainable businesses they love rather than fast-growing companies they can flip. They have no intention of retiring. They like working in them. And their clients know that. Which is why they have a loyal customer base willing to invest in the relationship.

Big investment banks are burning – but lots of small boutique firms, each with ten to twelve people, are opening up. And they're doing well. They've gone back to the fundamentals. Finding a niche in which they have value to add and deals in which they are experts, building the relationship, making reasonable commitments, and most importantly following through.

Small companies with low overheads, reliable owners, a small number of committed employees, personal client relationships, and sustainable business models that drive a reasonable profit are the great opportunity of our time.

As a careers advisor to the many individuals being made redundant from companies both big and small, we explore their passions and transferable skills which often results in that Eureka moment – "I'll start my own business".  Why not?  There is so much support out there in terms of grants and business advice for budding entrepreneurs.

The new slogans to take away with you are: "Small is the new big", "Sustainable is the new growth", "Trust is the new competitive advantage".

If you are thinking about a change in your career, why not give us a call on 01780 484910 or visit our website.  As facilitators for government funding we might be able to help you realise your dreams.

For those of you who haven't ever visited Stamford, it is an historic market town and to all intents "well heeled".  The shocking news announced at the meeting was that Stamford's unemployment is double that of the local towns that are traditionally less affluent.  The reason?  Stamford has no manufacturing and is predominantly a leisure and retail centre – both of which have been hard hit in the downturn.

I was spurred on to see what we could do with our collective HR skills in interviewing, training and coaching.  After a lot of digging, I came across some ESF funding being delivered through an initiative called R2R … have you ever heard of it?

Well… that is the biggest problem the fund administrators at the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) are facing. You see, for businesses making more than 20 people redundant, there is an automatic notification process through the Job Centres. But if you are one of the businesses making less than 20 people redundant, there is no mechanism to let you know about the help and funding available.

Somewhat worryingly, the Job Centres are so overloaded they are not able to meaningfully help unless there are over 80 redundancies!

What would it be like to take the emotional burden off your shoulders and arrange an hour-long meeting for each employee at risk of redundancy to discuss their career and prospects? Discussion with an independent career adviser appointed by R2R who has the experience and expertise to give practical, helpful advice on how to go about finding their next job?  The R2R fund has been set up specifically to reduce the financial burden of this kind of service, and your employees could be eligible.

As with all funding, only some employees will qualify. To see if your employees qualify for arguably the best advice they can get (at no cost to you), go to www.recrion.co.uk/FREE

If you have any questions we would be happy to help – call an independent career adviser at Recrion on 01780 484910.