Career Talk with Jamaica FM

On the 10th of March, I was contacted by the team at Jamaica FM and was asked to give an interview about career choices, why some go wrong and what can be done to rectify or change career decisions. 

Despite having less than two hours notice, I agreed because Jamaica is a country close to my heart for obvious reasons. 

Despite some nerves, the interview went reasonably well. So much so that there may even be a follow up!

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Thank you so much for keeping it locked to the Big 94 with my brother Kenneth Reed today. And it's Career Tuesday, Kenneth. So, you know, we're gonna talk some careers, and uh, you know what? In today's Career Corner, we're discussing how people choose their career paths and the pressures, Kenneth, that often shape those decisions. You know, some people are still not doing what they would really want to do. Some people don't know. Some people still don't know if what they're doing is actually what they should be doing. That's so true. Well, for many years, certain professions were viewed as the only markers of success, but the modern workforce has expanded, and there are now many, many different ways to build a fulfilling and financially rewarding career. Joining us now is uh a career coach, Ben Green, of my coach Ben, who works with individuals and corporate corporations on personal development, career decision making, and professional growth. We say good afternoon, and thank you so much for joining us, Sir Ben. Sir Ben Green.

SPEAKER_00 1:09

Good afternoon, thank you very much for having me on.

SPEAKER_01 1:12

It is our pleasure. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us today. And I'm I'm gonna start right where Kenneth and I uh started with our banter uh during the introduction. Uh, you know, there are many people out there who are still so unsure about uh what career choice they they they they they're in, or they're still kind of questioning whether or not the career choice they made is the right one for them. Uh yeah, it's it's it's so it's such a big decision. You know, when people think about successful careers, there's certain professions that always seem to come up, especially in this part of the world where we're from, uh in Jamaica, but always the traditional careers, you know, the lawyers, the doctors, the engineers, the yeah, but times have changed, sir Ben. Yes, definitely.

SPEAKER_00 2:01

Um, as you said, I mean, there's a there's a lot of pressure on people um to go into you know the likes of the law, finance, etc., doctors, of course. Um, but over the last 10-15 years, the world has changed a lot. You know, we've seen um a lot of changes technologically, we've seen the emergence of the internet and uh all of the um the possibilities that come with that, you know, the likes of kind of influencers and what have you. Um a profession which is probably still um in a lot of doubt in in uh in many corners. Um but yes, the world of work has changed uh quite substantially, and um a lot of the traditional jobs have also changed as well.

SPEAKER_01 2:46

That's not true, but it seems to me that there's a systematic uh change that needs to happen as well, Ben. I mean, even now I'm I'm having a discussion with my son, he's in third form in high school here, and uh, you know, he's at that point where they they now have to choose the the subjects uh that will that they have to do their um you know their qualification exams on. And uh you're being informed that you know you should try to choose the subjects that best suit you and best suit the career that you're thinking about. But my son is at the age where he doesn't even he's not still not sure you know what the what the career should be. Um it's it's such a difficult thing. But how how where would you put us? What should people do in terms of you know, try to release in some of that pressure in terms of a career choice? If you have a, for instance, a high schooler right now, what what should you be thinking about, Ben?

SPEAKER_00 3:36

Yeah, interesting. I think uh when it comes down to um a profession or a direction that fits, it's important that uh one chooses the direction or the profession that matches their personality, let's say. So historically, a lot of people may have gone into the kind of professions that we've just mentioned, um, mainly out of, let's say, family pressures or expectations. Um, but these days I think there are many more options available. Um, and your son being in in the, you know, at this particular age, which is quite important, uh, well, very important. Um, and there are jobs around now which weren't around um, you know, when you arrived at school. Um, so there are many more options now. There's a lot more information as well, and this is why it's important that when you're embarking on a career, it's important that you do some soul searching. Um, try and find out um, you know, the things that that make you tick as a person, um, and then see if you can if you can match these with uh with a prepared a profession which is uh which is going to be fulfilling going forward.

SPEAKER_01 4:48

Yeah, and that that that's the thing, right? You're not sure what's going to be so fulfilling going forward. But I like what you said about matching it with your personality. Uh, it does mean that that will give you some legs uh in terms of you know uh how much do you like this or or that? What are some of the dangers in in choosing a career mainly because of its reputation rather than whether it's truly it truly suits you? We're just talking about personality. Uh, what are some of the dangers in choosing something that that's just for for the money and the glamour rather than you know be fitting into your personality or what you like to do?

SPEAKER_00 5:20

Yeah, that's a that's a great question. It's something that uh comes up a lot in terms of uh coaching discussions. And what I find is when people um you know, you go through life, you you go to school, you study, you finish, and you you follow whichever um course you you may have felt you go in. And what I found in late 30s, um early to mid-40s, you know, they say life begins at 40. Um, and then people begin to kind of say, um, you know, maybe I'm not really cut out for this profession. And this is something that I see um on a fairly regular basis. There's there's a lot of discussions I have around career changes. Um and for example, there are people that have gone into maybe finance or law with a certain expectation. Um, and a lot of professions come with their own challenges, and sometimes, as I said before, I find a lot of people then they're maybe not cut out for the particular profession that they've chosen. And yeah, fortune favors the brave. Often you need to take a leap of faith, obviously, with uh with a certain plan. Um but yeah, this this happens quite often that uh that people find themselves stuck in a rut, let's say, um, and it can lead to other pressures as well, yeah. Personally and family-wise, etc. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:46

What are you advising um you know, folks in terms of you know young professionals these days? Uh we see that the of course the the needs are changing out there, and they're new their skills that are uh some traditional skills that are that are in demand now more than ever, you know. Uh skilled uh professionals like electricians, plumbers, uh those people seem to be doing quite fine now. Um, skilled trades and and technical careers are increasingly in demand. Why are these types of skills becoming so valuable in today's workforce?

SPEAKER_00 7:22

Um, yeah, it's interesting because what we've found over the last, I don't know, I'd say maybe 20 years without showing my age, uh, is that there's been a move towards, um, for example, if you take the UK, over the last 20 to 25 years, there's been an explosion in the people going to university, for example. Um, whereas before people would have gone to maybe a technical college and learnt the trade, whereas now people go to university and they follow whether they sort of marketing or something which is a bit more kind of sexy, let's say. Right. Um, but you and I both know that if you if you try to find a plumber these days, um, you know, especially late at night, or you you need um some electrical work done at short notice, you know, good luck. Um, and that's what's happened over the last, I would say, in the last 15 to 20 years. A lot of the skilled trades have actually fallen out of fashion, if you like. And people have maybe tended to to head towards more um professional or maybe things which are perceived as being a bit more lucrative. Um I can tell you I I don't know a poor plumber.

SPEAKER_01 8:36

Yeah, I was just about to say it might just be a perception because I these, you know. Exactly. Yeah, yeah. How can someone, Ben, um, how can someone identify, feel, uh, I mean, what is it that they should do to choose the right career for them? What parts of their characteristics, character traits, how should they be, you know, evaluating themselves? What I or themselves, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

Yeah, themselves. What I usually do is when when people approach me with it with very this particular question is um to to say, well, look, you need to you need some self-awareness. And we've all heard the expression where people say um, you know, yeah, Kenneth is he's driven. And this is very nice. Um, but as I often mention on my podcast, the question actually that follows up is what am I driven by? Driven by what? And this is the key. You know, if you're driven by you can be driven by money, you can be driven by recognition, you could be somebody who likes working with numbers, or somebody who likes um working in in the sort of crafts or or in the more um traditional, let's say, skilled work, be it plumbing or what have you, carpentry, etc. So it's essential to undergo a period of discovery, let's say. And there are many tools online where you can put in your preferences, you asked certain questions about what you would do in certain situations, and at the end of it you would come up with a result which would kind of give you an indication as to the kind of person you are, because you'll be surprised how many people can't really list maybe five, six, seven strengths that they have. And this would be the first bit of advice I would give to anyone. Uh I have a son who is who is um, you know, he's been working for some years now, he's in his early 30s, and the thing with him has always been know what you're good at. You know, you you can focus on weaknesses and what have you, but if you do that, you become mediocre. So focus on the strengths, the things that you're good at, the things which interest you. And this is this is essentially the way to go. You know, you you have to be aware of of what floats your boat, let's say. You you you have to know what lights your fire.

SPEAKER_01 11:06

Um is there a step-by-step guide to help you discover that? Uh, maybe some something practical that you need to do, maybe some questions you need to ask yourself. I I'm sure you've you've been in this situation so many times that you're able to give us that kind of advice as well.

SPEAKER_00 11:23

Absolutely, absolutely. What I would say to anyone embarking on such a journey is to say, write down in between five and ten things that you like, ten things that uh that let's say interest you greatly. So it could be sport, it could be something to do with, I don't know, physics, engineering, what have you. It could be work things to do with numbers, or it could be something more creative like art. List the things that that really uh that really intrigue you, the things that that make you uh yeah, you know, they're all things that that we like a lot, you know. Yeah, there may be people that like cooking and things like that. Things that you might call your hobbies, things that you like to do, yeah. Exactly, things that you like to do, because what happens ultimately is that the situation that I've mentioned before where people get into their late 30s, early forties, they tend to go into a direction which they would have previously thought is only hobby-like.

SPEAKER_01 12:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:26

And then they can probably make more of a success actually like this, because you're more likely to work harder at the things that you love to do.

SPEAKER_01 12:34

That's so true.

SPEAKER_00 12:35

That's all true. Yeah, and and this is uh, you know, if if you take if you took a footballer, for example, most premiership footballers they would probably play for half of the money that they earn, believe it or not, because they love football.

SPEAKER_01 12:49

Right.

SPEAKER_00 12:50

You know, um being a being a coach or mentor or helping people develop is something I I can and have often done for nothing because I I like to help people and and to see people develop. This is my thing.

SPEAKER_01 13:05

Yes, and I think it's important to let people know that you're also an attorney. That's right, that is you've been an attorney, you've also been in finance, and now you're doing a coaching, so it's clearly something that you've you've decided to do.

SPEAKER_00 13:19

Yeah, definitely, definitely. Yeah, and the thing is, my my journey, I left school with a certain expectation, and I worked in the law for some years, and again, it's not uh to say it's the um it's the fault or pressure of my uh of my parents, um, because it was an interest that I had, but then once I actually got into the profession, then I thought it's not really my bag, and then I kind of developed into more litigation and credit and finance and what have you. Yeah. Um but the my day job, I've been doing that for the last 20-25 years, and it was something that I actually wanted to do many years before, but I thought, well, I'm not qualified to do this. It was more of a confidence thing.

SPEAKER_01 14:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:10

And then over the years I've I've just kind of taken opportunities, I've focused on certain things to to improve my own skill set, my own interest as well, and and it's it's worked out, uh, it's worked out pretty well.

SPEAKER_01 14:23

You know what's interesting, Ben? I was just telling my producer off air that we're gonna have to call you back to have a personal interview with you because you do have an interesting story. Um uh, and I think that would be nice for us to to talk about as well. As we close this one with uh less than a minute to go, uh Ben tried to wrap this one up. Somebody's listening right now and they're unsure, still unsure whether they've chosen the right career. You know, where where can they go to get even more advice uh from you?

SPEAKER_00 14:52

Well, I have uh I can give you uh the link to my website or on social media, my coach Ben, if you put that in Instagram or YouTube, it should come up, all been well. Um and you should see my face come up, fairly unmistakable. Um, and I'm always I'm always open to a discussion. You know, I I'm not somebody who's gonna say, oh my fees are X, Y, and Z. It's just for me, it's about it's about helping people first. Yeah. And uh that's what people can do. Get in touch, drop me an email, uh, drop me a DM on on Instagram or um you know contact me via Facebook. Um, and I and I'm happy to have a chat. Happy to have a chat. Because there is a process to go through.

SPEAKER_01 15:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:37

Um, but like most things, if you if you stick to it, you can get there. If you absolutely if you've got the ambition, if you've got the want, then where there's a will, there's a way.

SPEAKER_01 15:48

There is a way. Thank you so much, Ben Green, a personal and career coach, mentor, and a diversity champion, for taking the time to speak with us all the way uh from Europe. We really appreciate that, sir.

SPEAKER_00 16:00

You're welcome. Thanks very much for the time and for the opportunity to come on.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

This is the two life crew.

SPEAKER_00 16:06

This is 94.5.