From Teaching to Training Teachers

From Teaching to Training Teachers Success Story > From: Job To: Job From Teaching to Training Teachers “When we came to setting targets for where I wanted my career to go, I had nothing to say, except 'somewhere else'.” * From Teaching to Training Teachers When you don't enjoy your job, it can be tempting to drop everything and run full-tilt in the opposite direction. But, as Siobhan Goffee proved, what you're looking for may be closer to home than you think. Find out how she avoided a knee-kerk reaction and, instead, made a values-led shift. What work were you doing previously? I was an Advanced Skills Teacher in a Secondary School. What are you doing now? I work for Teach First at the Institute of Education, as a Professional Tutor training teachers. Why did you change? Although I loved teaching, believed strongly in the importance of educationand really liked my workmates, my workload was taking over my life.A job which I had once loved had become a grind, which was stopping me from pursuing interests in other areas of my life, including my personal life. I realised that whereas I used to talk about my work in a really positive way, I was now constantly complaining to friends and family about it.I was even boring myself! When was the moment you decided to make the change? I walked into the school on the first day of term of my fifteenth year in teaching, and felt a total sense of doom.I knew thatto walk through that door in a year's time was not an option. I had an appraisal meeting shortly afterwards with my line manager.When we came to setting targets for where I wanted my career to go, I had nothing to say except, 'somewhere else'. Are you happy with the change? Very much so.I realised that I was totally institutionalised and find it incredibly refreshing to be working in a different way even though I still work in education.I've moved from having no control over my day, to organising everything about what I do and when I do it myself.A change is most definitely as good as a rest. What do you miss and what don't you miss? I miss the people I worked with, and am sorry not to be working directly with teenagers any more.I don't miss feeling resentful about the amount of time I spend at work, and the restrictions having every part of my day dictated to me by a timetable. How did you go about making the shift? Initially I started looking for a totally different area of work as I was so desperate to make a change. I thought very seriously about going into catering. I asked around, speaking to people who ran similar business and looking a possible outlets where I could sell food.However, it very quickly became obvious that this was not financially viable. I then attended two career-change courses, one of which was theCareershifters London evening workshop. The coaching activities that we did helped me to realise that in terms of values I liked my work, and so I started to look for more manageable ways of staying in education.This led to me signing up for job alerts on a number of websites, on one of which I found my current job. How did you handle your finances to make your change possible? When I started to look at changing career I realised that I was likely to have to take a pay cut.As a single person, this was tough as I had no fall-back income.I went down to fourdays a week in my teaching job, partly to reduce my hours, but partly to see if I could survive on less money.This gave me a more realistic idea about what I could live on. Most importantly I realised that having more money was a lot less important to me than having more time. What was the most difficult thing about changing? The fear of doing it! No matter how much you know it's the right thing to do, the unknown is scary. What help did you get? I took part in career-change courses, including one by Careershifters.I also had a number of sessions with a life coach. I asked around friends, and friends of friends , speaking to a lot of people who were involved in areas of work that I thought I might be interested in.In particular, I made a point of talking to anyone who had changed career. This really helped to encourage me as I could see that it was possible to do. What have you learnt in the process? That it's never too late to change career, and that change is exciting as well as scary.You need to look at your core values to help you find the right career for you.If your job doesn't meet at least some of these, then you will never be happy. What do you wish you'd done differently? I wish I'd done it ten years ago! What would you advise others to do in the same situation? Take the first step, even if it's just telling other people you want to do it, as this helps to force your hand.Once people start asking you how you're doing, you'll feel you need to have something to tell them. Don't feel that you have to change everything immediately. Even small, incremental changes can be satisfying, as they take you one step closer to where you want to be.Also don't let yourself off the hook! Keep moving forwards by taking a small step every week. What resources would you recommend to others? Career change courses are really helpful because you realise how many other people are in the same boat as you.I would also thoroughly recommend any type of coaching. What lessons could you take from Siobhan's story to use in your own career change? Let us know in the comments below.

Reboot a Sagging Business - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Reboot a Sagging Business - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career I belong to a mastermind group, in which a member recently shared that he was suffering near financial ruin after lagging sales in his business. Business profits ebb and flow and it can be hard to know how much to save during flow times to survive the ebbs. When business slows down, not only do profits plummet, but so can morale and creative thinking. Here are tips to reboot a sagging business when sales are down: 1) Focus on what works. When business is good, you can get involved in new and innovative ideas. But when sales slow, it’s important to analyze what’s been working to make money and focus on doing more of it. 2) Pull together and leverage assets. Sometimes business owners in financial straits look to creating a new product or try a new marketing tactic to fix their declining profits, but that can take time. Instead, inventory the assets you have and find ways to make them start paying off. One idea is to bundle complementary products and services. Another is to offer a fireside sale. 3) Go back to past customers and prospects. It’s harder to get a new customer than it is to generate a repeat sale or convert a prospect to a sale. Contact previous customers and prospects to offer a discount or coupons for your products or services. Offer referral incentives if they send you a new customer. 4) Drop the dead weight. When money is tight, it’s important to tighten the money belt, letting go of expenses that aren’t absolutely necessary to running your business. However, it’s also a good time to let go of clients or customers who create problems and take up more time and energy than they’re worth. Instead, focus on clients and customers who appreciate your value. 5) Harness ideas from others. Stress can paralyze creativity, which is important in coming up with new ideas and strategies. Instead of hoping the solution will pop up in your brain, get feedback and ideas from others, including your employees or sales team, mentors, colleagues, and mastermind group members. They can look at your problem differently and offer solutions you may not have considered. 7) Go viral. The best type of advertising is word-of-mouth, including shares on social media. Develop a unique story and share it across different social media platforms. It doesn’t have to be a marketing message specifically, it just needs to be entertaining or thought-provoking enough that people will want to share it with others. 8) Use Hashtags. One of the challenges of marketing is finding your market. Fortunately, hashtags can help. Search hashtags related to the products and services you sell and reach out to tweeters with an offer to help. You don’t want to be spammy or salesy. Instead you want to offer value and help. The best solution to getting out of a sales slump is action, but it needs to be the right action that leverages your assets, reaches your most likely buyers and can be shared with others.

How to Bring Fitness into Your Routine When You Work 9-5 -

How to Bring Fitness into Your Routine When You Work 9-5 - Whether you want to improve your health by getting fit or you’re dreaming of a beach body, there are so many reasons to up your keep-fit game.   However, in reality, when you’re working 9-5, fitness is often the last thing you have time for. Or so you thought. With a few simple changes to your day-to-day routine, you can bring fitness into your life with ease, reaping all the wonderful benefits without losing out on lots of time.    Here’s how: Keep It Fun A huge factor for people skipping exercise is because they don’t find it fun. Whether you hate going to the gym on your own or you find that fitness class mind-numbingly boring, there are so many reasons why you can lose motivation for your regimen. So that’s why you need to bring the fun factor to your exercise. Find something that you look forward to and that whizzes by because you’re enjoying it so much. What part of exercise is ever fun, though, right? In fact, you may just be surprised how easy it is to find something you enjoy doing. For example, if you hate going to the gym and hate exercising in front of others, a yoga DVD you can do in your living room may be just up your street. Or, if you want to make it more of a social thing, why not join up to a fun dance class with your partner or friend? It may take a while to find something you truly love â€" but once you do, stick with it. Commute to Work You have to travel to work anyway, so why not make this part of your daily fitness? Whether you set off 30 minutes early so you can walk or run there or you cycle longer distances, there are plenty of ways you can incorporate fitness into your commute. Bikes like the Brompton are perfect for this as they also fold away so you can store them in a locker at work. And you can even combine biking with your normal commute if it is a long distance, as they’re easy to get on and off public transport. Make Time While it’s easy to say “I haven’t got time to exercise,” you can always find some time. If you put a plan together, scheduling when you’re going to exercise, you’ll soon have a workable routine that you get used to. Allow up to an hour for exercising and allocate time to get changed and showered afterwards too. Then, set up reminders in your diary or on your phone as these will push you to get on with it. Ultimately, you can’t wave a magic wand to create some extra time for exercise, but by incorporating it into your 9-5 workday, you’ll soon wonder why you couldn’t find time to exercise before.

Serenity in the City Pamper Yourself at Chicagos Le Méridien

Serenity in the City Pamper Yourself at Chicagos Le Méridien Do you ever have that moment where you’ve got to get away but you don’t have time to take a full vacay or can’t escape work for more than just a few hours? I know I’ve been there. It’s time to raise the curtain on Le Méridien Chicago â€" Oakbrook Center and bring this amazing urban retreat into the spotlight. Located a short ride outside the city, Chicagos Le Méridien offers plush accommodations, two chic restaurants, a spa that rivals all others, and is just a short stroll from the luxury boutiques at Oakbrook Shopping Center. Having undergone a $25 million renovation last year by parent company Starwood, no amenity was overlooked. Whether you’re looking for a stay in Chicago with the calmness of the suburbs or a quick departure from a hectic schedule, look no further: Le Méridien has got you covered. As someone who admittedly works too much and still squeezes in time for fitness every day, I have a tendency to push my body to its limits. I recently had the pleasure of escaping for a few hours to one of the hotel’s spa suites for a rejuvenating deep tissue massage. Needless to say, I was rejuvenated by my massage, which incorporated some Thai stretching techniques into the session, and left my muscles more relaxed than they’d been in weeks (in addition to a pretty strict fitness regimen I also bartend a few days a week and put a lot of stress on my legs). Next time you’re in Chicago, hit me up for a girls’ day out. We can relax at Le Méridien’s spa and then hit up Longitude 87 for some craft cocktails. I mean, what else is pampering yourself about?

How to not feel old as a final year student

How to not feel old as a final year student This article was written by an external contributor. Lucy Pegg reveals her plan to beat final-year blues Final year students face a lot of pressures. There’s the work, the job applications, the constant anxiety that you aren’t actually built to survive in the post-university world. On top of all that is a nagging feeling that you’ve been kicking around your university for a long while now; you just feel a bit old, the peppy enthusiasm of freshers not quite catching on. Realising you’re a final year might leave you feeling funny, but there’s no need to let the doom and gloom overwhelm you. Pull yourself out of that rut and inject some vigour into your year with our plan to beat the finalist blues. Take the lead You know what’s a better word than old? Experienced. And if you’re in your last year of uni that’s exactly what you are now. Being a final year means you have the opportunity to take on leadership roles within your university, whether that be in a society, in student media, in your student’s union, or something more academic like being a student rep for your course. Not only does this stuff look good on your CV, but it’ll bring you into contact with a new circle of people and give you a fresh and shiny new thing to do on campus. Let yourself have a social life It can feel like there’s a pressure in final year to be working all the time. Your dissertation is a looming presence and it feels as though every spare moment must be used productively. Whilst you should certainly aim to ace your courses, that doesn’t mean there isn’t time for fun, too. Make sure you still have a big night out once in a while or, if you want to stay hangover free, gather your friends for a meal at a restaurant. This might be your last year of student life so embrace it â€" it’s not just freshers who get to have all the fun. Escape your campus Whether you’re at a campus university or not, the buildings, streets and squares that make up your institution can quickly become claustrophobic. They’ve got a tendency to not change too much and are probably saturated with memories of stupidity and stress from your first and second years. You’ll feel much fresher if you let yourself get away from it all; do some work in a café in town as a treat, or have a go at using the public library rather than the university library for a change. If you’re feeling really crazy, you could even go on a day trip in the local area. If you’re anything like me it’ll surprise you how little you’ve travelled outside your student bubble since you started studying. Put the nostalgia on hold Don’t live in the past. Just because Facebook wants to remind you that its been three years since that epic party in second year, that doesn’t mean you have to be constantly looking backwards. Hold on to your fond memories, but live in the present too. Maybe they have redesigned your favourite haunts, but perhaps they now have a cool menu or some hip decor. It might be final year, but you can still make new friends, embrace changes to your university and find some new favourites. Embrace your wisdom Finally, why not just embrace the fact that you’re a finalist? After all, there are some perks to having been around for a while. You know where the comfiest seats in the library are and the best tactics to beating the lunch time queues at the campus café. You’ve got a strategy for making your student loan last all term and for ploughing your way strategically through that reading list. With all that wisdom in place, it doesn’t matter if a few perky freshers make you feel old when you overhear them discussing which halls they live in. Connect with Debut on  Facebook,  Twitter,  and  LinkedIn  for more careers insights.

A tale of two airlines - Or why every company needs a Chief Apology Officer - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

A tale of two airlines - Or why every company needs a Chief Apology Officer - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog When your company screws up majorly what do you do? You can play hardball and stick to the rules, only apologizing and compensating your customers as a very last resort. For a wonderful example, check out this story of a Continental flight that was delayed 32 hours while plane toilets malfunctioned so sewage was running down the aisles. What compensation did Continental offer? 32 hours into the whole ordeal, we are in Newark, ready for the fun of customs and immigration, and on our way out of the gate Continental issues the final slap in the face?a voucher for one free drink the next time we fly with them! I wanted to tear it up and tell them where they could shove that drink, those bastards. Continental HAS since apologized but I suspect that its just too little too late. Alternatively, you can do what Southwest Airlines does and have a person in charge of apologizing: No airline accepts blame quite like Southwest Airlines, which employs Fred Taylor Jr. in a job that could be called chief apology officer. His formal title is senior manager of proactive customer communications. But Mr. Taylor ? 37, rail thin and mildly compulsive, by his own admission ? spends his 12-hour work days finding out how Southwest disappointed its customers and then firing off homespun letters of apology. He composes about 180 letters a year explaining what went wrong on particular flights and, with about 110 passengers per flight, he mails off roughly 20,000 mea culpas. Each one bears his direct phone line. I think thats incredibly cool for a couple of reasons: Taylor writes homespun letters that carry his direct phone number. No pre-written form letters with the companys 1-800 number onem. Direct responsibility and accountability. These cases arent handled by lowly customer service reps who stick slavishly to company regulations and scripts these are individual decisions based on whats right and wrong in the given situation. Theres also a Business Week podcast featuring Fred Taylor and heres a story of how this works out in practice, from a traveler stuck on a Southwest flight that got delayed for 5 1/2 hours: Bob Emig was flying home from St. Louis on Southwest Airlines this past December when an all-too-familiar travel nightmare began to unfold. After his airplane backed away from the gate, he and his fellow passengers were told the plane would need to be de-iced. When the aircraft was ready to fly two and a half hours later, the pilot had reached the hour limit set by the Federal Aviation Administration, and a new pilot was required. By that time, the plane had to be de-iced again. Five hours after the scheduled departure time, Emigs flight was finally ready for takeoff. A customer service disaster, right? Not to hear Emig tell it. The pilot walked the aisles, answering questions and offering constant updates. Flight attendants, who Emig says really seemed like they cared, kept up with the news on connecting flights. And within a couple of days of arriving home, Emig, who travels frequently, received a letter from Southwest that included two free round-trip ticket vouchers. I could not believe they acknowledged the situation and apologized, says Emig. Then they gave me a gift, for all intents and purposes, to make up for the time spent sitting on the runway. I suspect that what really mattered here is both the formal apology and compensation that arrived a few days after the event, but especially the fact that the Southwest employees present handled the situation well. In Emigs words the seemed like they cared. Contrast this with the Continental sewage flight story above: At one point I went up to the gate and one of the crew happened to be there. He was either the pilot or the co-pilot. I was trying to speak to the women behind the counter, telling them that wed been waiting for hours and people were getting really upset about the lack of communication. This pilot stepped in and snottily told me that they were working on and I should just go sit back down. When I told him they needed to keep the passengers better informed of the situation he literally screamed at me, yelling Dont tell me how to do my job! and then he stormed away. From that point on he earned the nickname Captain Customer Service. There are two major points Id like to make here: 1: Apologizing is good business. Studies show, that a well-timed, honest apology from the company makes customers more understanding of the situation, less likely to cause problems and more likely to remain customers. Studies from hospitals show that when doctors honestly apologize for medical mistakes, people are also much less likely to sue: Colorados largest malpractice insurer, COPIC, for example, has enrolled 1,800 physicians in a disclosure program under which they immediately express remorse to patients when medical care goes wrong and describe in detail what happened. The insurer compensates patients for related expenses, including insurance deductibles for follow-up medical care; lost time at work; and baby sitters Buckley said malpractice claims against these 1,800 doctors have dropped 50 percent since 2000, while the cost of settling these doctors claims has fallen 23 percent. The University of Michigan Health System has cut claims in half and reduced settlements to $1.25 million from $3 million a year since developing a disclosure policy in 2002, said Richard Boothman, chief risk officer. This runs counter to traditional thinking: Doctors worry that if they talk to the patient, theyre more likely to be sued, Hanscom said. Our feeling is just the opposite. Its the shutting down that angers patients. Weve heard from patients in this situation that everyone almost shuns them. 2: Employees who care handle these kinds of situations much better This is crucial, because you can only care what happens if youre happy at work. If people hate their jobs, dislike their coworkers and loathe their managers, there is no way in hell you can make them care about the job and about the customers. When employees feel good at work, when they like their coworkers and, indeed, the company, they will go to extraordinary lengths to make customers happy. This means that any problems that do occur become nothing more than another chance to demonstrate good customer relations and make your customers even more loyal to your business. Related: Top 5 reasons why The Customer is Always Right is wrong Create a culture of forgiveness in the workplace Monday Tip: Make an apology Four Fantastic Phrases at Work Btw: I cant believe Im the first to suggest that after a flight where the toilets malfunction so sewage is leaking down the aisles, maybe its time Continental changed their name to Incontinental airlines. Ba-da-boom. Thank you, thank you, Ill be here all week! Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Resume writing tip - Dont get too personal - Hallie Crawford

Resume writing tip - Dont get too personal Our career coaching clients often ask us about having a personal brand and not being too personal. I thought this article spoke to that well, How to tweet, blog and network your way to a new job. BE PERSONAL, BUT NOT TOO PERSONAL I Really liked this section in the article. It’s much better to be personal on social media than on your resume. This doesnt mean you cant have information on your resume. You may choose to include it on your resume if it gives you more depth as a candidate, or if its related to your industry.  You can list personal activities that are either for a good social cause, or relevant to your industry. You can have a list under a heading such as Achievements and Associations or Relatable Interests. If appropriate, this can show that you are well rounded. Give people a sense of who you are as a person, without being too personal and make sure its somewhat related to your career path. It should show that you are motivated, disciplined, or related to your industry. You can be too personal online as well â€" read the article for some more tips. If you’d like more help with your career path, please contact us today for a complimentary consultation. Job Search Coach P.S. Are you frustrated with your job search? Check out our  FREE REPORT:  â€Take Control of Your Career Transition: Uncover Hidden Opportunities”.