When people ask me, ‘Where are you from?’ I tend to reply, ‘I am international’.  Maybe it’s good or maybe it’s bad, but there is no country I can really call home. I have lived and worked in five countries and the last (this time maybe final) stop is the UK.

I first came to London many years ago as an international student keen to start a Master’s degree in International Relations. Towards the end of my degree, alarm bells started ringing in my mind that my student visa was going to expire soon meaning that if I wanted to stay in the UK I needed to hurry to secure a job with a company that could sponsor my work permit. And so I did. Not without endless hours spent sending out applications and not without numerous rejections. But I got there – a nice steady post-Master’s job accompanied by my first UK work permit. But it was just the beginning.

A number of years, a couple of great jobs and work permits later, I have come closer to achieving my ultimate dream – of running my own international business & career consultancy. Although I did establish my first company in Prague when I was 19 and completing my first degree (which I had started at the University of New York), it was a language school and therefore, quite far from my consultancy idea.

I completed an MBA from Warwick Business School and set up Career Coaching Ventures here in London.  I have made my dream happen and I am so happy to be able to say I feel content  now that I am leading and managing my own career and business coaching consultancy and that I can help people and other businesses to achieve their potential and succeed in this super-charged competitive world.  

I love working with international students and executives who would like to make UK their home and secure and succeed in their job in this country. I have gone through the whole process myself and understand how difficult it is to compete against such a large pool of qualified candidates in this hirer’s market. If you need to find a company that will sponsor your work permit on top of it all, it gets even more challenging.

But ultimately, all the above goes to prove that it is possible to make your career dreams and aspirations come true – it requires a lot of hard work, time, perseverance and support of others, but it is achievable if you put your mind to it and resolve to make it happen.  

Dasha Amrom

A number of us are faced with a dilemma. Should I quit my secure, well-paid job in order to run my own business with all the risks associated with striking out on your own? Or should I continue working for an employer that guarantees me not only a salary cheque every month but also a constant feeling of dissatisfaction, regret and wonder about what life would be like as my own boss?

A while ago I wrestled with this dilemma myself, and finally decided to hand in my notice at work to concentrate on making a success of Career Coaching Ventures. Having gone through this experience, I would like to share some practical tips on making this crucial decision and smoothing the transition phase as much as possible.  But before I continue, let me tell you – it was one of the most agonising decisions I have ever had to make!

So here are some of my tips:

1. Allocate enough time to have a proper think about the reasons why you would like to leave your employment to start your own venture. This is crucial as you will need to identify the main reasons and then approach your employer to discuss your concerns. You may, for instance, be unhappy as you think you deserve a promotion or you may feel you can’t progress any further in your job. Or you could be plain bored and just need a complete overhaul of your career. If you have brought up your key areas of concern and made sure your employer has had enough time to consider them, but you still feel they have not been addressed – then it may be time to go and start on your own (here we are not discussing the alternative of switching employers). It is also worth considering what life-work balance you would ideally like to have and how running your own business can help (or hinder) you achieve it.
2.  ‘Cover your bases’ ahead of your resignation and have all your business basics in place (better still, though more challenging, would be to find the time to run your business parallel to your day job to prove that the concept works). Test the ground, do your market research to ensure you identify your target audience, how you are planning to reach them and that there is an actual demand for your services. ‘Test drive’ your business for a least a couple of months before you take a step towards quitting your main job. Depending on your line of business, you may want to run surveys to understand the demand among your friends and other networks to test whether the concept is viable and if it is actually going to work. And of course, once you have done this, thank people for their time.
3. Create a strong support network around yourself – your family, close friends, people you trust. Share your thoughts, your business idea, ask for their feedback. This will help you gauge whether you are making the right decision. But ultimately, you are the one who is going to have the last say so make sure you are prepared and well-informed. Difficult decisions become so much easier when people around you support and encourage you to take this important step. Don’t do it in a vacuum – you may regret it later.
4. And finally, once you have gone through steps 1 to 3 and are content and sure it is a right decision (although of course, some doubts are bound to be still lingering at this point) – then just go for it! Be bold, hand in your notice and set yourself going on the path to running a successful business. Don’t look back!

I will be interested to hear about your experience of setting up on your own and having to quit your day jobs to dedicate time to your business.

Today we are talking to an environmental markets analyst at a global asset management firm.

1. What does your average day at work look like?

8 till 530 is the typical day at our firm. I tend to leave before 5 on a Friday though. I write internal investment notes discussing catalysts, downside risks and news, which affect our holdings. I also produce external notes on a variety of issues for clients and potential clients, attend conferences and carry out company-level diligence on environmental risks faced by companies.

2. What are the main positives and negatives of your job?

I would say that the main positives are: the environment of the firm is intellectually stimulating. And there is plenty of freedom in terms of which topics to research.
With regard to negatives – I don’t get to pull the trigger… Fund managers have more pressure but more excitement than analysts.

3. Are the hours as bad as in investment banking (M&A)?

Clearly not… However, the hours at my firm are part of the old school – don’t work all hours, take your full leave entitlement – although boozy lunches are no longer the norm. Other asset management firms work much harder. I used to do over 12 hours, day in day out, in a previous job.

4. What would you say is the most challenging part of your job?

There is a lot happening in the world on any given day. So distillation is the hardest part. Gauging what research is relevant and likely to drive investment decisions. So if there is new regulation relating to pollution from the auto sector, for instance, the key is to understand whether it can move share prices and catalyse certain companies above others. Or when there is an oil spill – is this symptomatic of bad practice at the company, or in the industry or was it a random event and what costs might it bring?

5. What is the culture of your company like?

Collegiate (sharing and little internal competition). Not too aggressive. No face time – just get your work done. So a good culture. Having said that, it is dominated by the old school tie.

6. What one key piece of advice would you give to aspiring candidates for an analyst position within asset management?

It is very competitive these days. Internships, IMC before leaving university, start CFA shortly afterwards, languages. Don’t rule out starting as an analyst on the sell side. If you are good, you should get an opportunity to cross the street.

This week we are talking to Zoe Gruhn, executive coach and leadership development expert with over 30 years’ experience in developing senior leaders and politicians in both the private and public sectors.

1. What key piece of advice would you give to someone feeling ‘stuck’ in their present job and wanting to change career path?

First of all, you need to understand what exactly is driving you to change your career path. Is it your personal circumstances that make you feel a change in direction is in order? Or perhaps you have worked for your organisation for too long and now need a different challenge.

Once you have determined your main reasons for wanting to change path, you should aim to flush out your knowledge, skills, experiences and achievements that match closely your new career aspirations. If you are pursuing a completely different career direction, you would want to understand the details of the new role and try to talk to people who are already working in that area to learn from their experiences.

2. In your experience, what are the main ways that career coaching can help people to succeed in their professional life?

Career coaching can help in a number of ways. It can sharpen your self-awareness, highlight your professional strengths and weaknesses and the unique value you can bring to a role. It can help job candidates understand in more detail what kinds of work they actually enjoy – through Edgar Schein’s Career Anchors methodology for instance. Furthermore, career coaching can assit you with conquering psychometric tests. Plus, working with someone with wide knowledge of your target sectors and recruitment practices within them is an added advantage.

3. What are the main differences in leadership style that you have noticed between senior managers in the public and private sectors in the UK?

Generally speaking, leadership styles in public and private sectors have a lot of similarities. However, I would say that managers in the private sector in the UK tend to be less averse to risk taking than those in the public sector. They also tend to be more agile as they are faced with less bureaucracy than in the public sector.

More senior public service leaders are much more cautious and not prone to taking risks as they are under a lot of scrutiny, being responsible to a large number of stakeholders. Leaders in the private sector focus heavily on profitability, processes and targets, whilst their counterparts in the public sector put heavy emphasis on procurement and project management.

4. What are the three most important characteristics that you look for in a candidate when you are recruiting at your organisation?

It depends on the particular role, but for leadership and development positions, I look for capacity to adapt and respond quickly, knowledge of team management and psychology, experience in leading and facilitation. I would also stress the importance of analytical skills and creativity.

5. What are the most common mistakes that people make in writing CVs and cover letters?

Too long, too detailed, failure to emphasise specific results and achievements relevant to the position in question. Another common mistake is sending out CVs and cover letters not tailored to a particular job.

6. What are some of the best ways to prepare for a competency-based interview for a job in the public sector?

Specific competencies required for a position are normally spelt out in the job description so you should study them carefully before your interview. Understanding the level of importance of each competency to an employer is crucial and you should then examine your own career and select specific examples that can demonstrate that you are at the higher end of that competence.

As you may have guessed based on my previous articles and posts, I tend to write about career and business-related issues. This post, however, is only indirectly related to work, careers and professional coaching.

This post is about a book. Yes, my first novel – “So Incredibly Far Away”. In a nutshell, it is a story of an ordinary Belarusian girl with high dreams and aspirations who is actively engaged in anti-government activities and protests against the dictatorial regime in Belarus. And one day, on her way to a job interview, Sveta’s whole life turns upside down…

Yes, you may say – you have managed to tie in job interviews even in your book. So it is connected to my business in this subtle way I guess, but most importantly, this novel and its publication at this specific point in my life is a testament to the fact that setting up my own company and doing things I am passionate about have unleashed a wave of creativity that has eventually led to publication of my novel.

I believe that if I was still working for somebody else, doing the job I wasn’t necessarily inspired by, I wouldn’t be in position to be writing this post now. Running the business I love has liberated my creativity and passion for writing and I am proud to say that the book has now been published by me on Amazon and can be accessed here.

I would love to hear your comments once you have read it – keep them coming!

This week we are talking to Akash Paun, a fellow at a major London-based think tank, with over 8 years experience in government and political research.

1. Can you describe the best prepared job applicant who you met during your career?

It is hard to pick a specific individual… When recruiting for junior researchers, the most important factor I look for is for whether the candidate has a clear understanding of the organisation they are applying to. Some candidates I have interviewed are strong in many respects, but don’t seem to fully grasp the specific approach and culture of the organisation. The best applicants spend the time to learn what drives the organisation they are applying to and think about how their interests and skills can contribute to that.

2. What are the three most important characteristics that you look for in a candidate?

In my industry (research), a sharp brain and an analytical mind are first and foremost what we are looking for in researchers.  Secondly, we want people who can apply their skills to potentially quite different types of research project or policy question so we need people who are intellectually adaptable rather than subject experts. Thirdly, my organisation depends upon strong teamwork and collaboration across the research and other teams so personality and approach are also very important. So we would seek to make a judgement as to how well a candidate would fit within the organisation.

3. In your opinion, what are the three key characteristics of a successful CV?

First of all, of course, the substance has to be there. We look for strong academic credentials –  some relevant professional experience as well but academic achievements are crucial. One thing I don’t like is when people don’t put their exact grades on their CV as it makes me suspicious that they are covering up poor performance.

Secondly, I like to see the relevant employment and other experience presented in a clear and logical manner without huge amounts of unnecessary detail. Just a few bullet points setting out the main tasks and responsibilities of each job in a way that makes clear the relevance to us.

Third, I am quite a stickler for proofreading, so spelling mistakes and poor grammar put me off very quickly.

4. What is the most difficult interview question you have ever asked a candidate?

I personally don’t tend to have tricky leftfield questions for candidates. But what I will try to do is to really test the applicant’s thinking so if they give a straightforward answer to a question about a research project they have worked on, I will try to test exactly why they approached the problem in that particular way, what assumptions they made and so on. A colleague of mine, however, had a slightly ‘nasty’ question he used to ask people, including me, when I was first recruited. It was ‘Why do we have in this country a national health service but not a national food service?’

5. Can you tell us the most embarrassing situation you have encountered while conducting an interview?

Well, I had a couple of candidates who were so nervous that they couldn’t stop shaking or coherently answer almost any question. It is tough because you feel bad for them and in some ways you just want to cut an interview short for their benefit, but on the other hand, that would be embarrassing too so you tend to push on no matter how badly it’s going.

6. How would you recommend answering the question ‘What is your major weakness?’

I hate that question! And I have never asked it to the candidate as I doubt you will get an honest answer to it. But if asked that question, then obviously pick something that is not absolutely crucial to the job. So if you are going for a research job, don’t say ‘I don’t much like reading or writing but I can make a great cup of coffee!’

Akash Paun can be contacted at  https://twitter.com/AkashPaun

Each week I am posting and replying to a career-related question. This week…

These are some of the key questions you may be asked at an interview for a sales position.

• What is the average value of the sales you have made in your career?
• What sales tools have you used and which ones do you prefer?
• Have you ever lost any potential clients to competitors?
• How would you work with our marketing function? In your opinion, how should sales and marketing work together?
• How would you handle possible objections from a client with regard to our product/service?
• If we miss our target this quarter, how would you deliver the news to the board?