HAPPY NEW (School) YEAR

Career planning

Happy New (School) Year! It’s September 1st! This week is the week of new beginnings and change and more so than ever in our crazy new covid-19 world. Today it is 165 days since 20th March when my children last went to school, that’s over 23 weeks and 5 months!

This week is the week that children start school for the first time or move from infants to juniors, from juniors to senior school or young people move from GCSE’s to A Levels, or leave school altogether. School leavers might depart on a gap year, set sail for university, an apprenticeship or a job.

For every young person, September means a real sea change from one school year to the next, one milestone to another, or leaving one port for the next. They are equipped with their provisions: new school uniform, shoes, pencil case and haircut seem to indicate a new start.

In September, the carefree summer has come to an abrupt end and school busyness and activity starts: a period where routines change, friendship groups alter, travel itineraries and timetables transform – a new chapter or adventure.
Your empty-nester friends – or friends without school children are jetting off on their special offer holidays or enjoying their staycations. It is at this time of year that different life stages become more apparent and social media really emphasizes this.

And each September your children become more independent and rely on you less and less as the academic years roll by. Although this year is slightly different, they might need more support than usual with the covid-19 rules and regulations and my children both catch the train to school so that means even more anxiety than usual.

Children experience and embrace this change and we sit on the side lines and cross our fingers and hope it all goes OK – feeling slightly out of control …

As a parent, grandparent or carer you will need to help young people navigate these changes and look to the next horizon, be ready for when the conditions change or the course might need to be altered. But what about you?

LET’S FOCUS ON YOU?

There is something about the start of the academic year that remains with us as adults – whether or not we have children. As an adult or parent, buying the new school uniform or pencil case might be replaced by moving from a summer wardrobe to an autumn / winter one and resolving to be more efficient, but it seems like a new start and it is a great time to think about your long term work / career plans.

September seems like a good time to take stock and focus on our own provisions and equipment, take the time to reflect on the new horizon, especially after the last 6 months. September still has warmth, we might even be more rested or rejuvenated from the longer days and perhaps more time in our home environment.

As we drive from the new term school drop-off back into the rhythm of our own working lives we consider how this September compares to last September and what new resolutions, goals or points on the horizon we are setting for ourselves. It can be an ideal time to use this sense of a natural beginning (and perhaps a more conducive season to start a resolution than in January, after the joyous but frenetic and busy Christmas!)

With the New School Year approaching, it is time to think about kick-starting your career. Please come and join us for the informative online Getting Hired CV Workshop on Monday 14th September 2020

Also, you could join us on LinkedIn for our #50days50waystogethired campaign.

If you need some help shifting your career, adjust to new conditions or face a new point on the horizon please contact me 0333 123 0510 for support and inspiration navigating your way into your next adventure.

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