Why is this important?

So many people I know feel stuck in their jobs. There are many reasons for this: the familiar complaints about bosses, colleagues, pay, hours; and a more deep seated fear that no job is safe, no company is immune from the vagaries of a globalised economic system. 

Some of these fears go back to the dawn of the industrial revolution when jobs had none of the legal protections we take for granted today, and workers could be fired on a whim. Other worries are new, like the threat of AI taking over office jobs. 

As I’ve managed to overcome these fears, it would be easy for me to dismiss them. But that would be arrogant and my aim in life is to help people — to change jobs, overcome fear and travel independently. I spent the last 40 years working freelance, from project to project, in many different countries, and having built a reputation for honesty and hard work I went easily from one short term job (or project) to the next. All this gave me a sense of job security.

I know what it’s like to feel trapped by a mortgage, I have experienced the way that HR departments treat applicants (like cattle), and I sympathise with anyone who just can’t face these demons. 

My message isn’t for everyone. It’s for students who need to know the lay of the land before throwing themselves on the mercy of the job market. It’s also for retired people who are wondering what they can do with the tremendous skills and energy they built up over 40 years; and I want to offer a lifeline for anyone who can’t stand their job and is ready to jump. 

Two Approaches to Getting a Job

It’s clear to me there are two approaches to getting a job: the formal, traditional way of approaching big organisations, joining thousands of others, filling in endless forms, being evaluated by an algorithm and probably getting rejected.

The other approach, my way, is to simply ask people if they need any help with their house. Many people complain they can’t find anyone to paint rooms, fix walls, clear gardens, garages and attics. It may start out at just a few hours work and a good way to learn is to do the first few jobs unpaid — treat it as a training session. 

I charge a low fee of £15 an hour, plus expenses, and can make enough to get by. I find that one job leads to another, one happy client becomes an advocate and people contact me out of the blue asking me to fix this, clear that, or paint their house. In my book I squeezed 12 jobs into a year and there’s a certain amount of comedy involved — constantly hustling for work, getting fired, and doing some quite bizarre jobs — as well as moments of doubt (“will I be able to get a job next month?”)

Doing building work is only one option: a retired person could do consultancy; anyone can do creative work, or casual work; all that’s needed is courage and determination. The main thing to know is that there’s plenty of work out there and by taking a job you will be doing the employer a favour. Another option is to write a book, and if you’d like to find out how to do it check out this article: 5 Reasons to Publish an Ebook.

For me, the key to getting work like this is humility, in other words I need to come off my high horse about being a successful project manager and EU consultant in the past, and embrace a future as a simple labourer.  This results in a great feeling of satisfaction. In fact, this whole experience results in a general feeling of liberation.

I’m sure many of you reading this article are not convinced; those short term jobs sound flaky, you may be worried about a lack of experience and qualifications, and I doubt you’ll believe that you can learn most of these skills “on the job.”

A more secure and profitable way into a new job is to learn a trade. The market is crying out for joiners, plumbers, electricians, plasterers and brickies — look at how we’ve soaked up so many tradesmen from abroad — and courses are available everywhere. Once you’ve learned the trade you can charge up to £350 a day, and that’s enough to sustain the most expensive lifestyle. I looked for an article about this in the media but couldn’t find anything useful in what Trump calls “The Lamestream Media”, but I did find this article from a training agency which is worth looking at: How Learning a Trade is Helping Disillusioned Young People Get Back on Track.

If you want to move on but you feel a lack of courage, just get in touch and I’ll try to help you. I love talking to people who want to change their life. It’s something we can all do, it’s never too late and I’m inspired by helping people bridge that gap. 

Contact me via this article — just leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you

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In case you’re wondering: none of this article is written with AI. Also, you may be wondering who’s in the photo: it’s my son Luca and his cousin Rares Boboc.