My name is Helen Roberts, a Career Development expert with 17 years experience in the industry. I've never seen a market quite like this one.

In today's economic climate many people are 'hurting' like never before, financially & emotionally. We have record numbers unemployed across the length and breadth of the UK, US and Ireland. It is my passion to help as many people as I can, help themselves, move forward in their career.

Here are some top tips to help you through your career transition.

1) Think Positively! Easier said than done, I know! Try to look at this career transition as an opportunity for personal growth. Look at what you have achieved and prepare and get excited for the next chapter.

2) Know What You Want, Not What You Don't Want! During my career I have worked with over 50,000 individuals, assisting them moving forward in the career. Most people know what they don't want however are not clear on what they do want. If you're not clear on what you want, how can you ever expect to achieve it? Take some time out and work out what it is you want and how you can create for yourself in the next chapter of your life.

3) Brainstorm & Have a Plan, A, Plan B & Plan C. Plan A should be the absolute ideal scenario for you, Plan B could be the stepping stone to get you closer to your ideal, Plan C again a stepping stone, the more options that you have in this current market, the more successful you will be.

4) Set Goals. Many people in life never set goals. If you don't set goals how do you know where you're heading? Get in to the habit of setting goals on a daily basis. Set short, medium, and long term goals. And feel the sense of achievement when you tick them off when you have achieved what you set out to do. Make sure you use the SMART tool to ensure you set goals effectively.

Specific - make sure you are clear on the goal set
Measurable - capable of being measured
Achievable - is it achievable
Realistic - be realistic, what's realistic for you?
Time bound - always set a date on your goal, if you don't reach it, set another date and make sure you do

* Write your goals down, and look at them often, be clear on what it is you setting out to achieve & why.
5) Make Job Hunting Your Full Time Job. Identify some key Recruitment partners to work with, aim to work with niche specialists in the locations you are considering. Register your CV online on Job Boards. Create a profile and actively use Linked In (there are 80 million people on that business networking portal) and other business networking portals. Make a list of everyone you have in your network and reach out to them and let them know you are looking.

6) Create a cutting edge; best practice CV that gets results. Make sure it is tailored to each job that you apply for. Access advertised and unadvertised jobs. When looking at jobs, be objective, make sure you shortlist your CV to the role appropriately. I would use this rule of thumb; if you can do 80% of the job outlined on the job profile apply for it, if it's anything less, save yourself and the employer time.

7) Interviews - put in the preparation, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Champions are made in training. Use the job profile, company information & your CV as your road map for interview.

8) Personal Development. Use this time for personal growth. Many of us get so wrapped up in our career we sometimes forget about who we are and what we're all about. We don't give ourselves quiet time. Use this time to rediscover who you really are and what you really want. I would highly recommend you make time to read - check out The Law of Attraction (Esther & Gerry Hicks) or the movie The Secret based on the Law of Attraction, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kyosaki.

9) Get Happy! Be grateful for everything you have in your life. Spend time with people that make you happy. Do things that you love every single day, make that time. Play golf, go running, tennis, horse riding, cooking, movies, theatre, socializing whatever it is for you; build it in to your day.

10) Dare to Dream Again. When did you stop dreaming and why?

It is absolutely my passion to help as many people as I can, help themselves, move forward in their career. If I can be of any assistance to you now or in the future, please feel free to get in touch.

Helen Roberts
Career Development Expert
0207 193 5885 London
01 442 9503 Dublin & 518 882 4064 US

Email: coachhelenroberts@gmail.com www.helenrobertsblog.com

Author's Bio: 

Helen is a Career Development Expert, Executive Search Consultant, Coach, Mentor, Entrepreneur and Outplacement Executive with over 15 years experience. She has assisted companies and individuals Worldwide and has worked out of the UK, Ireland, France, Australia, US and Singapore.

Her philosophy is simple - she always encourages her clients to Find and Do something that they love. She encourages people to strive to be the best that they can be and achieve far greater success doing something that they love as opposed to working, doing something they hate, for a pay check.

Helen has assisted many of the world's leading investment banks, & other fortune 500 businesses & over 50,000 individuals throughout her career. She worked in house managing large scale recruitment contracts with JP Morgan, Citigroup and KPMG. She has helped people at all levels in their career. She worked with people and moved them on in the corporate world and identify business opportunities for people that wanted to go in to business for themselves and helped entrepreneurs develop their ideas to go in to business for themsleves. Her service is tailored to her client's specific needs to ensure she delivers on any task at hand.

Helen has a track record of success. She has risen to the top in every company she worked with. She is passionate about being the best that she can be and in turn driven by achieiving results. She was always the top performing consultant achieving above and beyond what was expected. She was headhunted to CPG in 1995. and was hired to build the Temp & Contract business and establish a Permament desk in the city in London. When she joined there were 5 employees and the company turnover was 1 million. In 3 years she built the temp desk from 37 to over 650 temps per week, she established a permanent desk which turned over 3 million per year and increased the staff to 65 employees. She drove the company results to over 15 million. Helen is truly an inspirational leader.

Being the Entrepreneur that she is, in 1998 at 25, she set up a business from scratch in Ireland. With one other assistant she built the business to a turnover 1 million in her first 14 months. The business grew from strength to stength where she now has offices and alliances around the globe. The services she offers have increased and now include:

Career Development, Executive Search, Coaching, Mentoring, Entrepreneurial Development and Outplacement. HR Services, Response Handling, Outsourcing, Psychometric Evaluation & Competency measurement.

Helen is currently the CEO of Entrepreneurs Worldwide which was born to provide aspiring Entrepreneurs the opportunity to go in to business for themselves and not be by themselves. At EW they teach Entrepreneurial Development, Leadership Skills and Personal Development. At EW they encourage people to take control of their own destiny, create time and financial freedom. Anyone can be successful in business providing they follow a winning formula. Helen is passionate about empowering people. Being a successful entrepreneur herself, she encourages people to push out the boundaries, to help them realise their true potential and that they too can be a successful entrepreneur and take control of their destiny.

Helen is Managing Director at CPG Executive who provide Recruitment Solutions across Banking & Finance, Accountancy, IT, Legal and Sales. CPG is a boutique providing Executive Search, Contingency Recruitment and a broad range of HR services. They work with many global fortune 500 businesses. The cornerstone of their success is building successful, long lasting client relationships without becoming complacent. They realise they are only as good as the last piece of business they execute. They constantly deliver high quality, calibre, individuals to their clients, time and time again. They enjoy tremendous success delivering on business critical roles, in a short time frame with 0% fallout. Their mission is to be the number one choice for customers requiring recruitment solutions.