Are you looking for job ideas? Are you still trying to answer the question “what am I going to be when I grow up?”. If so you are not alone.

Do you feel that somewhere out there there is something that you were simply born to do? Well the chances are, there is and you owe it to yourself to discover what it is.

Are you making this mistake?

Are you restricting your job search to the job adverts? Are you only looking at job boards to find job ideas?

Here’s what you need to understand about job adverts. The best jobs rarely advertise. The most interesting jobs never advertise – they don’t need to.

The boring, unimaginative, mundane and routine jobs HAVE to advertise. So if you are relying on job adverts for your job ideas then you are going to be very disappointed.

The last place to look for interesting job ideas is in the job boards.

Where to find job ideas?

The starting point is to look more closely at your own personality. You need to discover what it is you were simply born to do naturally. This is all about personality and nothing to do with skills or qualifications.

The mistake most people make is that they limit themselves to the past. They limit themselves to their existing qualifications and work experience. Let’s face it you made those decisions when you were a teenager. Would you ask a spotty youth for advice about your career? Of course not.

Your starting point is to take the free career test. This has been completed by 1.4 million people over the last ten years and is the starting point to discovering some great job ideas.

It will take less than five minutes to complete but you will be amazed at what you discover in there. Go try it now and discover what you were simply born to do.

I have just received an email in from Reed.co.uk You have probably seen their TV adverts recently. (Daft annoying adverts at that).

They have proudly announced that this campaign alone has added 580,000 new CVs to their database. So what’s that to you?

Well that’s 580,000 more competitors when you are applying for jobs.

When there are more candidates than jobs then;

580,000 CVs may be good news to employers but it’s really bad news for job seekers.

This is why you cannot rely upon CV based job hunting. If you job hunting consists of trawling through job boards and battering out CVs to strangers, then you are doomed. You may be better saving your money for lottery tickets.

Once the hermit is out the bottle it’s never going to go back in.

So even though jobs are hard to come by, the number of people who want make a significant career change has never been higher.

The desire to change career overrides common sense and practicalities. It comes from a deep down human need, driven either from hating your existing work or a desire to do something new.

It’s not driven by common sense. There is no place for common sense here. Chances are it was common sense that landed you in a job you hate in the first place.

The trouble is that the recruitment system is stacked against you. It doesn’t let you change careers. It’s all about delivering more of the same.

So when you demand something new and different it has a fit and with thwart you at every turn.

The trouble is you may start to thing it’s you that’s the problem – it’s not. It’s the system.

This is why I wrote Career Change as it explains how to approach job hunting when you are making a change. You need an entirely different approach.

Dont give up on your dream. Chase it for all you are worth. Don’t give up.

I’m at the hospital today with a friend. It’s a day of “hinging aboot” however it’s not a wasted day.

I have decided to make this a creative day.

What do you think of when we talk about creativity? Would it surprise you to know that we are all creative? It’s true. It is also essential that you tap into your own creativity as it’s a big part of being human.

One are that demands more creativity is job hunting. This is particularly the case if you want to change careers.

Get creative when thinking about what kind of career you want. Get creative when trying to get interviews

I regularly give myself creative days. I recommend you do the same. The only way you can increase your perceived value is to be creative. Remove creativity from your work and it is only a matter of time before you will be replaced with a machine.

If you have a look at the dozens of comments on this blog you will see that many people are asking some version of the question

“Can you change careers if you are over 40?”

Well the short answer is “yes”.

The challenge you face is the same as everyone else who is trying to change careers. Traditional CV based recruitment doesn’t work, so you have to approach it differently.

In addition you have another challenge to face which is ageism.

However ageism can also be overcome using the same techniques I teach on Career Change. If you haven’t got a copy of the Career Change eBook then do so now as it will save you years of frustration.

It usually takes people till they are about 40 to realise they have been in the wrong career for a while. THis is either because they were always in the wrong career but took a while to figure it out OR because their needs have changed and what was good for them a while ago is no longer good for them.

Truth is most people just get to a point where they need a career change. They get bored and suddenly realise that life is too short.

Career Change at 40 is not only possible, it is probably essential and healthy. Embrace it and go for it. Take some guidance so that you don’t go in the wrong direction or go from the frying pan into the fire.

It’s really starting to heat up. The career change eBook is developing a life of it’s own and I am getting dragged along with it.

I have had a bunch of book reviews back and they have been very cool. They even looked beyond the typos, which have now been fixed – well most of them. I dare say a few more will creep in there.

I was also interviewed by the daily express this week, so we may even see some national press.

As launch day approaches things appear to be hotting up. I just hope the systems can cope. I hope that I can cope.

So I asked if anyone was interested I writing a book review of my new eBook “career change”.

I have been blown away by the response and extremely grateful to the many, many people that volunteered.

Although I can’t give a free copy to everyone that offered, I will ensure you are all rewarded for your generosity of spirit.

I made a few breakthrough discoveries over the last few years including why traditional job search simply does not work, when trying to change careers.

Don’t worry I spill the beans in the book and I show you exactly what you should be doing.

Read all about the personality-centric Career Change eBook

I’ve been locked in a room for weeks writing the Career Change Personality eBook.

If you are thinking of changing career then you will love this new report.

I have crammed it full of all the tricks I’ve learned on how to beat the recruitment system and make a successful career change.

Keep watching for the release date.

Big thanks to everyone that participated in today’s workshop in London.

I enjoyed the contributions and was impressed by the people attending.

We mostly involved ourself with how to land your dream job, everything from what to do and how to persuade people to let you do it.

We also touched on how to get headhunted.

Everyone shared their experience and ideas which really made this a dynamic event.

I wish I had his words, for he certainly has my thoughts. Seth Godin is bloody brilliant and you should read him every day.

Today he talks about what the system is trying to do to you and why. He also explains why you have to stand against it.

Go read Seth’s article about Emerging now.