As the public sector shrinks under the swingeing government cuts many unemployed government workers have turned to freelance and contract work in the search for an alternative livelihood. Contrary to reports that point to the commercial sector’s reluctance to employ ‘ex-bureaucrats’ – recruitment experts blame poor self belief as the key obstacle to new careers in enterprise.
A recent survey conducted by people4business.com (a leading online recruitment company) has confirmed the poor outlook for public sector employees. 62% of ex government workers predicted a worse year ahead, in contrast to 75% of private sector employees who forecast an improvement in their fortunes. However, with the prospect of flexible career paths for all - many experts wish to reassure and encourage those facing the corporate world for the first time.
“We have many examples of successful transition from public to private sector.” Claims Duncan Taylor MD of people4business.com. “Many of our freelancers are selling their key skills learned in local and central government to a wider commercial world. Often we come across a nervousness on the part of the candidates that is based upon assumed not real factors.”
Top Tips for Ex-Public Sector Workers
In an attempt to redress this negative perception Jill Mytton a leading careers consultant and strategic partner with people4business.com has provided some key advice to ex-public sector personnel.
These are Jill’s tips for ensuring the transition is as painless as possible:
Face your Fears - You can only handle fears by dealing with them so put down all the feelings that you are experiencing before you rush to draft your C.V. or hit the job sites. You might have a list saying, “too old”, “too tired”, “wrong skills”, whatever you are feeling put it down uncensored and let it go. This baggage will only hold you back and subconsciously sabotage all your efforts to move forward.
List your Achievements - Once you have faced and written down your fears you can file it under F for fear and you will know when you are ready to let go of those emotions. Now write down all the things you have achieved in your life- caring for children, parents, re-furbishing a house as well as the more job related achievements. Keep going until you run out of space; believe me there will be a lot more achievements there than you ever realised. Too often we confine our skills and experience to tiny boxes, whereas our potential is huge and we sometimes get a sense of this more acutely in the activities we do outside work rather than inside. Now try and put your achievements in order of the level of satisfaction they gave you. Which achievement are you most proud of and why? What skills did you need to make it happen?
Make the career connection - Now you have a real idea of what you might like to do you have to join the dots to see the connection with the real world. For example, if your number one achievement was raising your family what did you particularly like about doing it? Was it using your nurturing skills? If so that could make you a great foster carer. Alternatively, it may have been teaching your family new skills like a particular sport or activity. Would you like the chance of teaching those skills to others? If you loved your last job what did you achieve there that you are proud of and what skills did you use? Try and tease out your top two or three achievements and the skills you needed to have success in them.
Understand the market - Now you have defined two or three potential career opportunities you have to identify if there is a market for those skills. The best way to do this is to type into Google loads of keywords around what you want to do and see what comes up. Loads of information may indicate a need for those skills, less information might mean there is little demand, or perhaps you are operating in a niche area with a specialist skill that you will need to market carefully to the right people. This will also give you ideas on whether you need to upgrade your skills. You will also see from this what key skills have value and that is great information for the preparation of your C.V. as you can use your skills and experience to show how you can add value to a new employer or client.
Re-invent your career - Madonna does this all the time so now it is your chance! You may have been Senior Grade Administrator, now face the fear, mourn the loss and become a highly paid virtual assistant. This is your time to focus on the skills you enjoy and for which there is a need in the marketplace- the next step is to decide how best you can market those skills. Remember one size does not fit all so rushing to get a conventional job could be wrong for you. There is the private sector but also the third sector, including not for profit and social enterprises, also self employment or a portfolio career where you have a part time job plus some freelance work. This stage is all about working smarter not harder.
