Page 26 - James Caan - Get the Job you Really Want

My daughter studied at LSE, and of course a lot of her friends
ended up in investment banking. That had been their specific
objective in going to LSE. A year or so after graduating she told
me that she had been talking to her friends and they were
telling her how competitive, how aggressive it was, that the

hours were gruelling because of global trading with one market
opening as another closed, that there was huge pressure to
perform and get results. She wondered how many of them had

really thought about the reality – as opposed to the idea and the
image – of going into that business.

Are you considering changing

career?

I am frequently approached by people who do not know what

career they should be in. These are not only graduates, but
people who are already established in one particular business or
profession – a lawyer, a banker, a fashion seller.
If you really feel trapped or demotivated in one sector, you
should examine carefully the key drivers which are pushing

you to consider swapping careers. Is it money; is it lifestyle; is it
the content of the job; is it your fit within that new sector? As
with all new job opportunities, I would like you to define what

it is that you bring to the table, what makes you di≠erent from
people who have been in that sector all of their career. Again,
what value can you prove you will deliver to that new sector –
and for yourself?

14 get the job you really want