Jean Ottley

Ko Parihaka te maunga te rū nei taku ngākau. Ko Hātea te awa e mahea nei aku māharahara. Nō Whangārei ahau. E mihi ana ki ngā tohu o nehe o Te Tai Tokerau e noho nei au. I've been a Career Development Consultant for the best part of 20 years. I initially trained as a counsellor, then discovered careers work and chose to specialise. At Work Connect I worked with new New Zealanders: skilled migrants, partners of skilled migrants, and international students. This work was funded through the immigration levy. I was part of a team of diverse and talented career coaches, working throughout Aotearoa. I ran group workshops and also met with clients individually. Our team worked continuously to promote and improve the programme and engage with clients and stakeholders. I collaborated to develop and refresh resources, and regularly posted on social media. I've also worked with parents returning to paid work, career changers, young people, mature workers, students, professionals, and those returning to paid work after injury or illness. I also run 'train the trainer' workshops on career theory and how to have career conversations, how to recognise that teachable moment when a person is curious and questioning and open to change. An important part of my work is supporting people to develop their job application skills so that they can write a targeted CV and cover letter, find job vacancies, and answer interview questions accurately and in a positive and interesting way. I've learnt that if we put time into understanding and describing our skills, interests and values, and what motivates us, then we can write a good CV and feel comfortable to talk about our skills and ambitions to employers and in our networks. The excellent Careers NZ website www.careers.govt.nz continues to be a valuable resource. I'm a Professional Member of CDANZ - the Career Development Association of New Zealand. I think we all have careers ... Whether we call them a 'career' or something else, and whether we plan them or not.