I do try to do a blog each month. I think it’s a habit. I’m not kidding myself that anyone is reading them, let alone nodding along sagely at the years of industry ‘knowledge’ that I have soaked up along the way. Each month I wrack my brains for an idea that I haven’t done to death previously or that isn’t just a rant. This month, Mr PMP suggested that perhaps I address the role that luck plays in our careers. I ummed and ahhed a bit first. After all, there is a very short answer to this which is that of course, luck does play a huge role in our careers - our choices, our opportunities and our options but also I guess that fate can also play an equivalent role. I wonder if Shakespeare ever considered a tragedy based on recruitment?
I think that unless you are one of the few in the world who has a true ‘vocation’....to be a Doctor, Dentist, Accountant, Lawyer, Optician, Atomic Scientist, Vet, Hairdresser, Plumber, Electrician etc etc….then a very large number of people rock up at the end of A levels or a degree thinking, what now? In fairness, there are probably a similar number post GCSEs but I do think that if that’s you, it is worth looking at additional educational extensions - if you’re not academic, I get that but I do think continuing for another couple of structured years of learning, particularly on an apprenticeship for example gives the individual time to become more mature, learn the difficulties that are ‘being grown up’ and a bit of time to just grow up in itself. It’s a life lesson that one learns with hindsight - don’t try to grow up too quickly!
Anyway, a typical digression. Luck. I love finding jobs for people. In particular, I get a real kick from helping junior candidates who are on their first trek into the world of work. I think we could all do with remembering our first job post university… Many employers genuinely love those candidates who have a great academic history and those who have completed a good degree at a good university. The irony is that those candidates don’t have a work placement year and that puts them behind the graduates who have maybe gone to the newer universities and done a more specific subject - e.g. business, marketing, media studies etc.
But landing post university. What do you do? Money is obviously a major concern so many individuals are continuing their temporary work - hospitality, customer services etc. I’m currently working with 3 junior candidates who have First class degrees in traditional subjects. Not a lot of experience but they are bright minds. They’ve done the usual university milkround tours of potential graduate recruiters but either not been won over by those schemes or not been selected. If I was ego driven, I’d say that their luck is in finding me! Even if I don’t find them a role, I’ll give them excellent advice as to how to go about finding an employer and a career that they love. Fortunately I’m very self aware so I’m not going to brag about this!
My luck…such as it was - was turning down a CIMA Accountancy graduate placement post completion of my Chemistry Degree. I visualised myself as an Accountant - interesting fact that 80% of Chemists become accountants - something to do with analytical minds and being process driven. I did a Masters in Chemistry to delay the decision of what to do with the future. Whilst I would say this wasn’t a great decision, it did prove the point that a career as a Scientist wasn’t for me. Having done a summer placement with what was Coopers and Lybrand, I think I can also safely say that I would have been a terrible Accountant. But you know…job for life and all that.
I moved to Manchester with the man who is now Mr PMP and I temped for a bit and then found a role - in Runcorn of all places to be a Marketing Assistant in a company who produced chromatography columns. So I secured the role by understanding science whilst not wanting to be a scientist. Had I ever thought about Marketing? Heck no. In those days, my parents would have considered that to be a Mickey Mouse subject (I can confirm that these days, it most certainly isn’t and that many Marketing Graduates are extremely clued up with solid placement years which makes them very hireable!). I guess in those days, I still listened to my parent’s opinion too! I can still remember my luck in securing the role at ‘Hypersil’ (now part of the Thermo Group). I was early for the interview and was sitting in my car in the car park reading some notes I’d printed off the internet. I read that the company had just been acquired by a new owner and saw a few quotes from senior people in the business. At the end of the interview, the HR Manager asked me to write a Press Release for them. I could write about anything - make it up! However, I wrote about the acquisition. They offered me the job on the spot - something about scoring a million brownie points by doing my homework. It is no coincidence that EVERY candidate who I send to an interview, I tell them to do their homework. It can be the marginal gain that secures you the job. That role was unplanned but got me into marketing and got me en route to a career.
So into Marketing. An employer who paid for me and gave me time off to do the CIM Diploma and then a ‘lucky’ shot with an advert in the Manchester Evening News to join a creative agency as an Account Manager. Then a hell of a lot of hard work (and eczema), speedy and stressful promotion to CSD, a stint in-house and then a recruiter who suggested I try recruitment. Had I considered recruitment before? No! Did it turn out to be the best decision I ever made? Yes. Do I love my job? Yes completely. It’s not rocket science but I love communicating with people, I love helping other people to find a job that they love, I love having a job that may not be developing world peace but we all spend so much time at work - it’s a real bonus if we get a kick out of it.
So Luck. Luck or hard work, Luck and hard work. I don’t think you can have one without the other. Time and place. Being made redundant. Often when things are thrown at us, it’s how we react that makes us. When my previous employer closed the Manchester office, I decided that I really didn’t want to work for another recruiter so I’d set up on my own. I don’t think anyone would choose to be made redundant but sometimes it gives us the impetus to do something different that we wouldn’t ordinarily have the courage to do. That ‘nothing to lose’ philosophy is quite significant. So was I lucky to be made redundant? I think so! I’ve had nearly 15 years of running my own business and I wish I’d done it earlier. That said, I wouldn’t have had so much life experience, I wouldn’t have had the same connections and networks, I wouldn’t have had as much experience in different workplaces which I think as a recruiter is invaluable. A lot of recruiters have never actually worked in the industry in which they work - and it shows!
We are also lucky that in this day and age we can have multiple careers. I would never say that the pandemic was a good thing but it did teach us that we can prioritise our lives differently, we can make different choices, we can work to live. Currently, I say ‘Seize the day’ way too frequently. But we get one shot, it’s important to make the most of it.
You make your own luck. But I can also help! Call me. 07976 125963.