Saturday 13th January 2024 • Promotional Content
Richard Corse as he embarked on a journey that, he hoped, would help him start a new career. After managing pubs for a decade,
Taking the leap “Y
ou’re standing on the edge of a cliff, deciding whether or not to jump.”
Tat’s what a career coach said to
Richard decided in his late 20s that he wanted something more flexible to fit around his work as a musician. He then spent seven years working as a private hire and taxi driver. Now 36 and a father, Richard no longer works as a musician and, for the past 12 months, has been tiptoeing along the career cliff, peering over the edge. At the end of 2023, he began
working with a specialist from career consultancy firm City CV (
citycv.com) in a process that looked at his skills, interests, passions and areas in need of some improvement, as well as teaching him how to write a CV, navigate the job market, create worthy applications and stand out on LinkedIn. Richard says the process was
entirely “unexpected”. He explains: “Te process made me think about job satisfaction in a completely new way. I learned a lot about myself,
Education, Careers & Personal Development New Year, Fresh Start 25
Have you been toying with the idea of applying for a new role or embarking on a new career? With expert help, doors could be opened for you that you didn’t even know were there. Words: Mattie Lacey-Davidson
and what I do and don’t want.” When he first began considering
a career change, the prospect of starting from the bottom on a salary much less than he was used to was extremely off-putting. But Richard’s career coach helped him discover a wide and impressive skillset he hadn’t previously recognised — meaning he wouldn’t be starting from the bottom. Now that he’s nearing the end of the
career coaching process, Richard is applying for jobs in areas where his skills and interests overlap, such as event management and live events production — and his professionally written CV and curated LinkedIn profile are ready for potential employers to look through. “I definitely wouldn’t have thought
I’d be able to go for these jobs,” says Richard. “A lot of the language used in job descriptions would have put me off applying, especially because I don’t have a corporate background. Te process has made me more confident when looking at job roles, and more familiar with job descriptions.” Richard and his career coach
identified transferable skills from previous job roles, as well as from his work as a musician. “Tey’ve elevated me to a completely different
person — but it’s still me,” he says. “I now have the confidence in myself to see that person and put forward those skills that I didn’t even realise were there. “Even something like arranging
tours and booking all the travel for the band I was in — it didn’t seem like a valuable career skill, but now I see how that transfers to event production and logistics. I wouldn’t ever have made those connections.” Richard is now in the midst
of interview preperation, with a training app provided by City CV, and he would already highly recommend the process to others.“It narrows down your job search and it’ll leave you in a much better place,” he says. “But you have to want to do it — if you don’t really commit, you won’t get anywhere.” Not only do you have to put the
work in with with your coach, but in on your own time too, he explains. “Tey helped me set up my LinkedIn profile, but the next step was to message people and make connections in my industry.” So, where is Richard now? “I’m
still on the edge of the cliff. But I’m strapping on my parachute, and I anticipate a safe landing.”
Updating your CV is key PHOTOGRAPH: GETTY
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