Dear Jobs Guru: ‘I want to quit my retail job – I can’t stand coping with the general public!’
Jobs Guru James Innes has some advice for reader Jade, who’s itching to get out of her retail job and into something office-based. But what’s the best way to navigate a career change?
Question:
Dear James,
I’ve been working in retail for the past few years since leaving school but hate it. I would like a change of career, perhaps to something less customer facing, in an office or working for a bigger company or team. I don’t like being stood up all day on the shop floor – and I don’t like dealing with the public!
How do I go about navigating a career change without leaving my current role or retraining as I still have bills to pay so need to maintain my current income?
Are any skills transferrable?
Jade, Lincoln
Answer:
You’re very clearly in the wrong line of work, Jade – and it’s actually very good that you’ve realised this now rather than later. Changing career path obviously becomes more difficult as time goes by.
It’s true that a lot of what you now do will be irrelevant to your new line of work but, of course, there are plenty of transferable skills you will have acquired which will be beneficial in an office environment.
You might not like dealing with the public, but your work will have enabled you to develop your interpersonal skills, your communication skills, your conflict resolution abilities… There’s also your organisational and problem-solving skills, time management, team-working, etc.
Above and beyond this, I’d strongly suggest you look into some reasonably short evening courses to help add a few more concrete skills to your CV; you could look into further developing your computer skills, for example.
It may be hard work but you can undertake these whilst still holding down your current job and, at the very least, putting a few courses like this on your CV will really help to show how keen and enthusiastic you are to make this change – and how serious you are about making a success of it.
Top Tip:
If you’re taking a major change of direction in your career path then the focus in your CV must be on your transferable skills and abilities, rather than getting too bogged down in precise details of your roles.
Spotlight On:
I like garlic. And curry. And spicy, interesting food in general. But… I generally recommend steering clear of such foods before any important meeting – especially something like a job interview – and you should even avoid them the night before.
These sorts of food remain on the breath and, if you sweat when you’re nervous (and most of us do), the organic chemicals that cause these odours are likely to ooze out of your skin and evaporate into the air around you. Best avoided, really!
And if you smoke just before going into an important meeting or job interview, the smell will follow you into the room on your breath, your clothes and in your hair. Sometimes a nicotine patch is an alternative warranting very serious consideration!
Our Jobs Guru, James Innes, is a best-selling careers author and founder of the world’s leading group of professional CV and resume writers .
