Careers in this day and age are not as clear cut as they were in our grandparents, parents and even older siblings time. The reason? Recession.

Learning what you are good at, and often what you enjoy, comes about in our school years, and we then focus our higher education towards attaining the skills and qualifications to get the job we would love to do.

But will this job be around in 10 years? Will it be a job to take to retirement? These sorts of questions haven’t really occurred to most 16 to 18 year olds, but this generation is struggling to find a first job, let alone a job to take them through the rest of their lives.

So, do we follow our dream job, or do we find a job that will last and always pay the bills?

These basic skills are vital in any job and with the current state of the education system we are finding more and more young people lacking in these basic skills. This is not the end of the world but it does require some action.

Are you finding yourself struggling with reading, writing and numeracy? If so then there are lot of options out there to help you. You could take a course or work towards a recognised qualification. First of though you need to know the best way for you to learn. Are you happy with classroom situations or would you rather self? Speak to your local careers advisor or jobcentre who may be able to send you in the right direction.
It is worth considering improving your skills as the benefits could be immense, like a better job or you may find yourself wanting to study further.

In the current climate redundancy is becoming more and more common. So what happens when you are faced with this and what’s the best way to deal with it?

First off you may feel that this was your fault or that it is the end of the world. Don’t worry this is not the case and it is not down to you it is the company that has suffered along with the hundreds of companies out there. Think positive as there are still a lot of opportunities out there.

Within this period you will need to learn about how this affects you and your normal life, especially as your main source of income has stopped. You will need to look into the benefits system to help tide you over at this point. Cut unnecessary spending and get yourself job hunting. If you are able to enjoy the time off then do so, it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom.

If you have been living under a tree for the last few years then you will have no need to read this article. However if you haven’t and you have been keeping up with the times then there are some things to consider here. Do you have a Facebook, Bebo or MySpace profile?

If so then you need to be aware that this is being used widely now by employers and employment agencies to help vet the applicants they receive. If you are currently looking for a job ensure your profiles are clean, non offensive and puts you in good light if an employer was to find your profile.

This seems to be a rather popular subject for a lot of people. There are some serious misconceptions when it comes to what apparel to wear for job interviews. A safe bet is to always dress smart for an interview meaning suit, shirt, smart tie and clean shoes. Even if you are told the interview is very much informal the best advice to treat it as a formal interview.

Dressing smart shows that you care and goes towards presenting yourself in an interview. Remember your interviewer only has a little amount of time in which to judge you don’t give them the slightest bit of ammo to do this negatively. Also your interviewer will have taken the time to smarten themselves up and taken the time to interview you so it also shows a little respect.

One thing to remember if you are in a job and you do not like what you are doing or you are fed up with it, is that you can always go back to College and do something else, you could go in the night time while you retain a full time job or just go back to College full time.

Open University is an option but they are more expensive than normal University generally because they are open to anyone, hence the name.

I wouldn’t recommend staying in a career if you are not getting out of it what you want, or you are just bored of it, have a think about what you want to do and just do it.

1. Promotion

Don’t be afraid to seek out those promotion opportunities. It’s not easy but if you are determined you will see the fruits of your labour. There are hidden opportunities within companies for promotion which can include other departments. Sometime volunteering yourself for new projects or certain tasks can put you ahead of the rest.

2. Movement and timing

This is difficult for anyone. If you leave your company will you miss out on that big bonus? Is your industry surviving in the current economic climate?

3. Taking a step back is OK

Taking a step back in your career is not always a bad thing. Sure it may well be less money but some companies do offer fast tracking which means you could be where you want to be in not time.

4. Relocating

Think this through properly. You find yourself focusing on just the negatives. What about the positives, more money, better prospects or maybe your company is just relocating. A willingness to move will go down quite well.

5. Career changing

This is down to you. If you hate getting up and going to a place you hate then it’s time to move before things get worse. Motivation is the key here.