Many HIV+ve people are ready to climb out of the benefits trap and get back to work or study but one of the things that holds them back is deciding what to do. Andy Hilton guides you through the first steps back into the world of career and education...
Are you thinking about changing jobs, starting work again or going back to college? If so, you might want to spend some time thinking about exactly what it is you want to do that will be fulfilling in the long term. Working or studying can bring a great sense of fulfilment and self satisfaction. However, it can also be draining and stressful if it is not something that you really want to do.
What is it that you want out of your life? If you allow yourself to dream a little about what you would really like to happen (and not to happen) it will give you the vision of how you want to structure your life. If your vision of your future is “a stable family life and a secure job” you will be looking for something quite different to someone who wants “personal freedom and excitement”. Think about what you really want for yourself not what everyone else wants. It’s easy to say “big house, big car, etc.”, but do you really want these things along with all of the responsibilities that go with them (like earning the money to pay for them)?
You may think that your perfect life could never happen and so why waste time dreaming about it. However, by identifying what you want will set you off in the right direction and, who knows, you might just get exactly what you want.
Unless you know exactly what it is you want, you will not know that you have got it!
You will tend to feel most content when you are doing things that fit well with your view of the world. Conversely, if you find yourself doing things that do not fit well with your personal values then it can feel tremendously uncomfortable. Think through the things that are most important to you and try to identify your core values. This will help you to decide on what you want to do in the future. For example, if you decide that you really value “nature and the outdoors”, you might choose not to go back to being a bank clerk but instead to find something that allows you to work outdoors. If you value “quality time with the kids”, you might choose not to take a well paid job as a chief executive working 50+ hours a week but instead chose a lower paid 35 hour week.
The values assessment tries to uncover what are the important drivers in your life, for example; honesty, serving others, wealth, family, power and so on. People are only happy when their life fits well with their values. Once you have identified your key values it can help you to make decisions about your future.
What skills and knowledge do you already have that you could continue to use in your new venture? You might have learned a skill in a particular role but it may be transferable to something quite different. For example, if you learned computer skills in one job these will be equally useful in a completely different place. Similarly, experience in working with other people is important in many jobs and the skills learned in one job may be easily transferred to another.
Think through exactly what you have done in previous employment and training courses. If you want to go back into a similar field, it will be obvious how your existing skills and knowledge are applicable. If you want to branch off in a different direction, then you will have to think more laterally about how your existing skills and knowledge would be applicable.
If you are not already fully qualified in the area that you want to work in, then you need to identify exactly what extra learning you need to enable you to do the new job. You might gain this experience by:
> self study
> going back to college
> working as a volunteer
> taking a lower job to “learn the ropes”
Many colleges have a reduced fee, or even no fee, for people on benefits or who have a low income. You might want to check out your local schools and colleges for adult education classes. The Open University has a wide range of courses from introductory level to post graduate level. Remember that HIV is counted as a disability and may entitle you to additional financial and practical help. +
Andy Hilton is a professional life coach who specialises in working with people affected by HIV. He helps people clarify where they are today and to get to where they want to be tomorrow.
Andy can be contacted at Andy@HIVcoach.co.uk or 01931 716735 and you
can visit his website at www.hivcoach.co.uk.
