Career Advisor

Burned Out

By Career Advisor

Question: I have been in the retail grocery business for the past 20 years, the last 10 as a salaried assistant manager.  I am looking to change careers because of the amount of hours I work and give myself a better work-life balance, my wife and kids have an absent father and husband.  This environment is a real pressure cooker and makes you sweat the small things, whether it the secret shoppers, in-stock conditions and fundraising.  I’m a salaried manager, and can’t manage people because I am spending more than half of my time doing checking, filling shelfs most of the time.  I am doing the work of an hourly employee and my job as a manager is suffering.  I have been on several job interviews the past few months to no avail.  I have 3 years of college with no degree and pushing 40.  Is it to late to start over?  I need help as with all the stress the past 6 months has affected my Blood Pressure, stress levels as well as sleepless nights.

Answer: First, calm down.You can let your job effect your life so much. You’re taking it to seriously. Your job is not who you are, it’s what you do.

Second, I understand how hard it is being in a job that your not happy with. If can eat you up. In order to make a change you need to plan for it.

Here are the things that I recommend you do:

• Make a list of 3 or 4 skills that you have and enjoy doing. Examples of these may be: Managing People, Microsoft Excel, Managing a P&L, Inventory Management, etc…
• Take that list to the Job Boards and search by those Key Words: Here is a search that I did for the Key Words: “Inventory Management” http://career-advisor.jobamatic.com/a/jobs/find-jobs/q-”Inventory+Management”    Here is a search that I did on “Fly Fishing” http://career-advisor.jobamatic.com/a/jobs/find-jobs/q-”Fly+Fishing”  And yes, there were jobs that came up:)
• Look at the jobs that come up on your search. Make a list of the job titles, Skills Needed, and Education. Are there any Job Titles and Descriptions that look interesting to you?
• More Education may be needed to progress into a position that you’re interested in. Depending on what is needed, you may be able to take some courses at your local community college. Community Colleges are the best way to update skills and acquire new ones. It’s usually the lowest cost option also. There are many financing options for Community Colleges, someone there should be able to point you in the right direction.
• The last step in the process is to use a Functional Resume vs. a Chronological Resume in your new job search.

 

A functional résumé lists work experience and skills sorted by skill area or job function.

The functional résumé is used to assert a focus to skills that are specific to the type of position being sought. This format directly emphasizes specific professional capabilities and utilizes experience summaries as its primary means of communicating professional competency. In contrast, the chronological résumé format will briefly highlight these competencies prior to presenting a comprehensive timeline of career growth via reverse-chronological listing with most recent experience listed first. The functional resume works well for those making a career change, having a varied work history and with little work experience. A functional résumé is also preferred for applications to jobs that require a very specific skill set or clearly defined personality traits…

Use this guide to make your change to your new career, and stop taking you job so seriously.