Case Study 2: Making your own career opportunities

Alan has worked in a variety of roles in a variety of states without really having a clear career structure. He left school early to follow his dream of being a punk musician, which he did for many years. In his early 30s Alan started working with a manufacturing company and in his own time completed a project management qualification.

He felt the company he was working for was not giving him every opportunity to succeed in his role as Project Manager. The role, responsibilities and accountabilities were changing on a weekly basis which lead to a high level of job dissatisfaction.

The key issue for Alan was, while he loved his job as a senior project manager, he had fallen “out of love” with his employer. Alan, was exasperated and ready to move.

“Not many roles turn up on Seek or Linkedin that are at my level or with a business that’s bigger than my current employer,” said Alan.

Alan asked Future U Coaching to help him find a similar role within the same industry.

He recognised he had neglected his professional network. He had been so busy working within the business, he hadn’t made time to build professional relationships in the industry.

The first part of the coaching program focused on. Alan’s strengths and skills so he could talk about them with confidence and conviction. Using Future U Coaching’s personalised career guide and career audit process, Alan was able to identify the skills and strengths quickly and accurately he possessed that would be attractive to an employer.

Once Alan was armed with this information, we created a very specific job search networking strategy, to systematically reach out to decision makers within businesses who could benefit from his skillsets. The strategy combined online outreach and face to face conversations structured in such a way that allowed Alan to ask about job opportunities (without looking desperate or betraying his current employer).

Within eight weeks Alan was offered employment by a rival firm he met via his networking. Indeed, he was told “you are the sort of person we want in our business, we will find a project management role for you”. He was offered a position before a role was available because of his effective networking and because he was able to speak about himself with authenticity and conviction.