From Insurance to Personal Training

From Insurance to Personal Training Success Story > From: Job To: Freelance From Insurance to Personal Training “I felt no value in what I was doing every day. It felt soulless.” * From Insurance to Personal Training Caroline Edis decided to do something completely different when she hit rock-bottom in her city job. A solid, step-by-step plan kept her moving forward, and now she says she couldn't be happier. Here's how she did it. What work were you doing previously? I was working in the City as an Insurance Broker. What are you doing now? Training to become a Personal Trainer. I qualify in two weeks from today. Why did you change? Where do I start?! I managed nine years in the insurance industry but it felt soulless to me. I didn't find it rewarding or satisfying in any way. I like to feel that I am doing some good or helping people somehow. Insurance and the office environment just made me feel empty. I felt no value in what I was doing every day. When was the moment you decided to make the change? The day I felt at my lowest point. I had thought about changing, researched it, but never did anything about it. I was scared. It was 'safe' to stay where I was. But after my worst day at work, I never wanted to feel that low again and decided that life is too short â€" what's the worst that can happen? Are you happy with the change? I'm very happy. I haven't looked back. I don't miss anything about my old job or the city way of life. I'm in the right industry. It just feels right. What do you miss and what don't you miss? I don't miss anything so far! I would only say having a set salary every month would be nice, but I feel confident that I have the potential to match or even improve my previous earnings if I want to. I don't miss the office environment and 'Groundhog Day' feeling. I don't miss feeling so miserable and the day going so slowly! How did you go about making the shift? I researched courses including durations, costs, and locations, and I spoke to people and friends that are Personal Trainers. How did you handle your finances to make your change possible? I put some savings aside by considering how much I would need each month without income. I also considered what small things I could do without, like cutting down on buying lunches and coffees â€" the small things that add up. What was the most difficult thing about changing? Believing that it would work out. For that, you need a plan. Don't be scared. Also making sure the financial back up was there for the change and feeling comfortable with that. What help did you get? Mainly a leap of faith! The support of a loved one in your decision helps a lot so that when you doubt it in any way, they can encourage you and remind you of why you are doing it. What have you learnt in the process? To be strong in maintaining your belief. Don't let other people's opinions put you off. You know what you want, it's your life and you have a plan. Ignore them! What do you wish you'd done differently? I wish I had realised sooner and not stayed in the same industry for so long feeling sad. I feel like I wasted those years but then again maybe it was supposed to happen now. What would you advise others to do in the same situation? To save beforehand, make a good solid plan, and stick to it. To talk to people in the career that you want. To keep the faith and visualize your goal! Any recommended resources? Careershifters! What lessons could you take from Caroline's story to use in your own career change? Let us know in the comments below.

Getting Back to Work After a Vacation - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Getting Back to Work After a Vacation - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career After the much deserved vacation that is full of fun and joy, returning back to the regular routine can distress many of us. While almost everyone doesn’t like going back to work especially after a relaxing and peaceful vacation, you should face the reality and do your best to adjust and be productive again. In order to prevent the post-vacation syndrome, you have to do a little bit of planning and accept that the vacation is over so that you can get back to the right mindset. Below are some helpful tips which will help you to resume your regular routine. Return Home One Day Early: Rather than using your vacation time until the last minute, return back home one day early and rest at home. This will help you recover from your journey and run regular vacation errands such as unpacking your luggage, doing laundry and buying groceries. If you return on Sunday, you can also take Monday off so you only work for 4 days during your first week after vacation. Scan Your Emails before Going Back to the Office: Many people spend almost their whole day going through their inbox after coming back from vacation. However, it would be more productive for you if you check your inbox the night before work and delete the spam emails plus mark the ones that need your attention. When you arrive at the office in the morning, since you know which emails you need to reply, you can make an action plan to address them. Take Care of Your Eating Habits: During vacation, you eat out every day so preparing a home cooked meal for your lunch will help you feel that you actually returned back. A home cooked meal will also be good for your diet and prevent you from gaining weight. Some people gain weight during vacation due to the food they eat in restaurants so paying attention to what you eat in the office after vacation will help you go back to your regular weight. Remember that This Is Not Your Last Vacation: If you have more time off and are able financially, planning another trip is the best way to overcome your post vacation distress. This way you have something to look forward to. If you don’t have enough money for another trip, you can start saving some instead of spending it here and there.

CareerCamLive - New Online Careers Advice Show

CareerCamLive - New Online Careers Advice Show As someone who follows a lot of careers traffic on social networks and constantly on the lookout for new things, one thing has always bored me about everything taking place online. Its impersonal. And robotic. There are millions of careers chats on Twitter. And a billion tweeters about it. But I dont have time for it all. Thankfully, now I can be sending in my questions and getting answers whilst I am doing something else! Yes, thanks to Webrecruit and careercake.tv, oh and the hashtag #askcareercam. Webrecruit and CareerCake.tv have teamed up to bring you CareerCamLive a new, interactive feature aimed to provide you with top career advice. You can send your careers questions to Aimee from careercake.tv via the hashtag #askcareercam or post on the facebook page of Web Recruit LTD. Aimee will answer these questions via video on CareerCamLive channel. This real time chat provides a unique way of evolving the texty twitter chats. Plus, Aimee has built up her reputation as one of the best personal careers video producer through her videos on careercake.tv We ourselves share her videos on our blog and did it way back in 2011. Since then, shes had a meteoric rise, whilst we ahem I will let it be ?? So, if you want to view her first CareerCamLive show, it is available recorded here as a 30 minute video (note: there is an ad after 16 secs) We will tweet about her next show as soon as we get to know of it. But for now, lets thank Web Recruit and careercake.tv for this video show! 0