career change or finding one in the first place!

rjh090384

hey

i need some help!! i have just realised i am 22 and have no career path set out at all.

i have hopped form customer service job to another customer service job for the past 2 and a half years mostly call centres. I had a brief 4 month stint as a team lead in one but left for a better paying job. i have had 5 jobs since mid 2004 and really need to get into a career.

i love customer service but not call centres so much. i would love to be in a managerial position but in call centres this is still quite low pay.

i want to go to uni but have a large mortgage now and could never afford it. i am willing to go to night classes to train in something. problem is i dont know what i want to do.

thought about paralegal training but not sure about career options in northern ireland. tried a few job websites and didnt see anything! anybody any experience of this?


i need some advice.
thanks

liz545

Hi RJ,
Afraid I don't have any knowledge of paralegal work, but just wanted to reassure you a bit. I graduated nearly 3 years ago now, and I'm looking for my third job post graduation. I'm 24, I don't have a plan, as such, and I'm hoping it will gradually become clearer to me, as I work. The one thing I would advise is to look objectively at the skills you've developed over the past years, what you enjoy about work, and what you hate about it. Try and work out what you're really good at, and how that can translate into different jobs. Customer Services can be a low-pay trap, so it may be worth thinking laterally about your skills (Exec PA maybe, or legal secretary?)
A good recruitment agent is worth their weight in gold, because they can look at your skills objectively, and suggest things you hadn'y thought of. Speak to people you know who have jobs they enjoy, and ask how they got there. It's also worth bearing in mind that a lot of larger employers support staff through courses, if it's relevant to what you're doing, and you can show how it will benefit them. Maybe you should get some prospectuses, and see if there's anything on offer that interests you?

rjh090384

thanks liz!! thats relaly good advice.
about my job i like dealing with customers. i dont mind dealing with complaints but i would like to be in a position to actually sort them out rathern tahtn pass them onto our customer service manager who is ancient and cant do his job!!
i am good communicator, fast typist so maybe this could talk me in a pa direction . i love helping people!
i wish i could find a good recruitment agency all the ones i have beentoo try to shove me in a call centre or never ever call me!

my company is very small and stingy so no chance of sponsorship there. have been looking at local prospectuses adn the only thing thats jumping out at me is paralegal but my friend is a solicitor and says they do all the work for no thanks so im doubtful there.

im relaly not sure what i want to do!!

freelancemermaid

rather than rushing too quickly to fix on a job title or industry sector, i think it's very important to find out what motivates YOU (examples - money? changing the world?) and what sort of skills you'd like to use (exaples - communicating? achieving targets?).

might be well worth looking for careers advisers (local college, connexions, local uni) or life coaches to help you discover that.

there are of course tons of websites with career quizzes, personality typing tests, etc. these might be a good starting point, there are free ones available (tho of course their level of detail isn't too deep)

recuruitment agencies can help, but remember they make their money from putting people in jobs and the less good ones aren't too worried if the job's not ideal...

informational interviews, placements and work shadowing might give you some more ideas - but do your research first, that'll help people be more motivated to help you

volunteering - gives you great skills and contacts