Take stock of your values and motivators and research job options before taking the plunge, writes Tanya Ryan-Segger.

The age-old question of “what are you going to do when you grow up?” is almost irrelevant, according to some career development professionals.

Driven by technologically generated change, workplaces are altering beyond recognition, creating jobs, occupations and entire sectors that previously did not exist – making it more difficult to plan a career with accuracy.

“In many ways it's impossible to predict the future and therefore plan for a particular occupation that may not exist or, if it does, will almost certainly be very different,” says Carole Brown, national president of the Career Development Association of Australia.

Set against such variable employment conditions and the fact that most people now change careers several times during their working lifetime, an event arming individuals with the know-how to alter direction sounds like a good idea – making this weekend's Reinvent Your Career Expo at Darling Harbour timely.

The brainchild of managing director of Everybody's Career Company, Nicholas Ricciuti, the expo is targeted at people over 22 looking for a career change, to upgrade skills or to re-enter the workforce.

Attendees will gain access to expert seminars on career change issues and professional counselling services, which organisers hope will help facilitate informed decisions. Ricciuti says the event focuses on mature or what he calls “real age” career people, not just the youth market.

“They [mature-aged people] may ask questions in relation to adult pathways and training and receive mixed messages from organisations that are caught off guard or simply geared for generation Y responses," he says.

Despite sectors hard-hit by the global financial crisis being forced to downsize, many employers are still desperate to attract staff to help overcome skill shortages.

The Australian Water Association earlier this week launched H2Oz, an initiative designed to raise awareness of existing employment opportunities in the sector.

A participant at the expo, the association believes people looking to change careers or alter existing skills are attractive. “People who have reinvented or changed their careers provide a great addition to an organisation. They bring a fresh enthusiasm, a new perspective and unique or unusual skill sets to their new employer,” says H2Oz program manager Fiona MacKenzie.

Although the reasons for choosing to upgrade, re-skill or change career direction can vary – including boredom, stagnation and a desire for more job flexibility – the concept is no longer unusual. But before taking the plunge into vocational change, people should think the process through.

Carole Brown advises people to take the time to get to know personal values and motivators, strengths and weaknesses as well as the options and job networks open to them and, vitally, to speak to a career development professional.


Reinvent Your Career Expo, Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, today from 10am-5pm and tomorrow from 10am-4pm. Tickets $10, under 18s free.

Software seller turns puppy wrangler

By Nina Hendy

Sue Dingwall was earning a six-figure salary setting up British companies in the Australian market and selling software; but she was desperately unhappy.

She was commuting into the centre of Sydney every day and was often exhausted from the huge responsibility that rested on her shoulders.

Then a year ago, she made a life-changing decision. “I just decided that I just couldn't do it any more. I was always up against deadlines; I was getting no support and it was excruciatingly hard work,” Dingwall says.

With her husband's support, she breathed a sigh of relief when she quit her job. She had no job to go to, but felt confident that she could easily pick up work that would be far more rewarding when she was ready.

Dingwall decided to take a couple of months off and made it her mission to train her eight-month-old labrador. She called Sydney dog trainer Barbara Wright from Positive Puppies, who showed her how to get the mischievous pup under control.

Three months had passed and by now the global financial crisis had set in, making the job search more difficult.

She called Positive Puppies back and offered to do some volunteer work until she could find a job. What she didn't expect was to be offered the chance to set up a dog-walking arm of the business.

Dingwall says it was the perfect chance to reinvent her career. So she jumped at the offer, having always wanted her own business. In January, she bought a van and began a marketing campaign, creating flyers and other promotional activities.

Today, business is booming. She walks dogs 30 hours a week, runs a puppy training class in Lane Cove and is halfway through an 18-month animal companion course.

She has earned about $60,000 in the past nine months and believes the money will follow now she has found her passion.