I truely feel for you mate, what a waste if the unmentionable does happen. Due to your post, i appear to be having a change of heart, i am merely Tech IOSH and am the named Safety Advisor for a Demolition company, i have been in the trade for almost 30 years now and have worked my way through the ranks.

It is immensly busy down South mate and of late, i have been getting very depressed as a result of my additional work load, i work far too many hours and also at home at the weekend, (all overtime at no additional pay) and i have personally been of the opinnion that i need to look elsewhere for employment. But by reading posts such as yours, well i feel that i should think myself lucky and get on with it.

Hope things change for the better for you soon!

Also and just a thought have you criticaly reviewed your CV? Maybe this has had an impact on selection for interview?

Clairel,

A loss to the industry and a reflection of the termoil our country is in right now. Look at previous SHP job pages (2007) and you'll se page after page of jobs with salaries possibly higher than those of late. I know going back a while you suggested changing your career focus, maybe it was a difficult spot you were going through, maybe your soul really is in H&S? With a decade 'time served', any change is a daunting prospect!

I understand you were working for a consultancy recently, surely you have a large portfolio of Clients', many of which were returning their business to you specifically?!

Have you got any mates that are better placed to market you as freelance? Maybe agencies? Some consultancies are still using freelance support I understand!
Have you got any Project Management experience / Quals?
Could you use construction / design experience to tap into CDMC work?

I wish you all the best, hopefully we'll still get the benefit of your honest opinions and stimulative debates in the future.

Simon

Hi Simon, yes I was contemplating getting out of this troubled profession a while ago but having weighed up my options I realised I was better off staying put. How ironic that I now can't get work in H&S!!!

Consultancies have an exclusion on contacting any of their clients for 12 months after leaving employment and so I wasn't able to. I could now but all the clients are bound into a contract with my ex-employer (most of them for 3 years) and times are tough. I got a bit of ad hoc work but that has dried up. I couldn't compete with the H&S / Personnel service that my ex-employer and many consultancies provide.

I have tried getting into CDM Roles, Mg't roles etc. I've even had interviews I know I could do the job but when you're up against others with more experience in those specific fields of work my expereince in general H&S takes second place. I'm always told that I interviewed well, nothing wrong, could do the job but someone else had exactly the right experience they were looking for.

M - I'm not keen on getting clients by cold calling, it's a not a practice I'm a fan of, whether I do it myself or get someone else to do it for me.

Thanks for all the responses. I'll keep looking but I have to cut my losses at some point and start again. Think I may have found a little franchise business I could do from home with minimal start up costs. Who knows, if I leave H&S maybe I'll revert back to being a less grumpy individual and more of a laugh like I used to be 10 years ago!!

My reommendation is to keep trying. Economic climate is very poor and Health and Safety especially has took a battering.

I fI was to look at bolt on training I think I would aim at Management Systems and the assessment standards i.e. 18001, 9001 and 14001 or the PAS 99. Consider linking with awarding bodies of certification to offer your service and theirs additionally at discount.

I was lucky enough to be offered a position before the end of my redundancy notice although does not pay well. In addition I have been there with all the interviews and told I could do the job and interviewed well etc.

Had the recruitment agencies sales patter of we should get you a position, your quals etc are great and experience is what clients require.

My own consultancy in Safety has slowed to a halt but I have re-invented it and expanded with a Sister company in event management and safety.

Keep your chin up keep chipping away and although you do not like cold calling people (I hate it!) it does work. When cold calling be honest and admit pretty quickly why you are on the phone.

Look for any companies locally that may have had increased work orders and in house teams can't cope. I may be going in as a consutlant for training to my last employer of 5 years that made me redundant as they do not have the resources and I understand their business.

Best of luck

Regards

TSC

Clairel I fully understand how you feel, how fruastrated you are and the pressure & support you must be going through from family and friends, as the end of the day you have to put bread on the table. I was made redundant last Christmas (great present) as H&S Manager and was out of work for 6 months.
Going to interviews and infact actual turning down a lower paid job as H&S Manager not because of the money but morales and what they wanted me to put my name to, the director said when can start and I said you will have to look else where as just 1 instance was to put my name to RAMS for skywalking along a roof.
I many times contemplated leaving H&S as I have many of the nuts and bolts employers are looking for Contract Management,Surveying,Supervising etc and still not being successful, but I was told by many agencies and friends remove some of your qualifications and experiences to get your foot in the door but I refused as I would not delete whole sections of my Career to suit some employers.
I stuck with it and now contract, on my second contract again no certainties from week to week but pennies come in although I do commute 150 miles round trip a day.


The only advise I can give mate is dont give in keep your head up and cliche it might be but "The cream always comes to the top"

Bob,

Oddly I do have quite a lot of experience of giving H&S advice to undertakers. Nicer bunch of people you couldn't wish to meet. And yes there are plently of H&S issues to deal with.

The trouble is I am fairly confident in my transferable skills but with so many people going for one job it's difficult to get employers to take that chance when they don't have to take the chance on someone else.

Equally I did admit that I am not good at selling myself as a self employed consultant and that's why it hasn't worked for me. Must be a confidence problem (honestly!!!).. Oddly I can sell a product or service but not myself.

Thanks for all the kind words everyone.

So sorry to hear your news Clairel, I've really appreciated your input and views on this forum and you will no doubt also be a sad loss to the industry if you decide to leave. Only one thing I can suggest, have you tried any local industrial estate(s) to see if any small businesses want you to be their H&S person and charge them on a lower than average yearly retainer?.......it worked for me when I started and as I developed the business I now have someone working for me to look after that side of things. Other than that I cannot add to anything already provided above. All the best in your endeavours.

December SHP, Jobs: two councils- three jobs, one university-two jobs, one private company- one job. Three agencies with allegedly 20 jobs between them.

The rest of the magazine is pretty thin as well with articles stretching small points e.g. Downstream Reach.

ClaireL

It is a very difficult climate at present for jobs even for those like me working in the SE/London area with good qualifications and experience. I have applied for a few jobs recently but no joy, at best an interview. Employers can be so choosy due to many applicants I presume. I am currently freelancing via a consultancy and it is not necessarily by choice. Luckily I can survive with a modest income for the time being, but I appreciate that for others it is a precarious situation. Outside of h&s I suspect it is just as difficult with low pay being the result. Good luck and best wishes.

Clairel,

If you see any Haggis, bag a few - could be worth a few quid this time of year ;)

All the best

Simon

Try schools, clubs and similar as they do have issues and you may be able to provide a sensible 'price' for short periods as you are using common sense and living mainly on your partners income

The 1 big hurdle to get over is the marketing and selling of yourself and only U can do that - try marketing etc a little bit at a time

Trust: Another thing to note is that unfortunately trust is lacking so be wary and make sure your agreements re pay etc are written down; even in a short friendly email

Hello Claire,it looks as though you are doing all the righr things.
You say that the agencies think your CV is good. Are they actually working hard on your behalf in securing you a position ? Have you considered short term contract work?

Best of luck in your endevours.

Iain Duncan Smith said it best, "get on your bike". It may not be what you want to hear but whats the point of reversing 10 years of a career for lower pay just to stay in the same area where "there is virtually nothing doing up here".

That sounds a bit bonkers to me.

Hally, they did!!!!!

Hello!! Just popped on to the IOSH site the last few days to update my contact details and update my CPD, while I remember (....and just in case!!).

Suprised to see this thread resurrected.

Speirsy, I think you have a bit of a cheek actually by telling me that I should up sticks and move and for me not to is bonkers. Even if I wanted to, and I don't at this moment in time, it's actually not possible - or perhaps you think I should dump my daughter out of her home, as she is living at home while she is at Uni??

I work to live and not the other way round and so why should I give up where I live - my friends, family, recreational activities (I do a lot of outdoor sports) - just to get a job? Why destroy my current lifestyle just to get a job, that makes no sense to me? I have a different perspective than that on life. It's called quality of life, which I determine in happiness not the size of my bank account. What's the point in having money if I'm so unhappy with the rest of my life??

Yep I'm broke at the moment but actually at my least stressed, and therefore happiest, for a long time. About to start my new businesses (unrelated to H&S) and have a few irons in the fire for some other (H&S related) work on the side to keep me going until then. I donlt know what the future holds, whether it be in H&S or not. I'm just living for today and taking the opportunities that arise today. Instead of sitting brooding at all the closed doors in my face I decided to do something different. Does that make me bonkers?????????

Ah well. That's enough of that. I won't be back on for a while again as I have no need at the moment (I'm all updated!).

Hope everyone is well and good luck for 2011!!! :-)

Hi Cairel,
I live in Manchester area,just passed Diploma and over 20 years experience in roofing and your right theres nothing in safety work,trying my own website at the moment but I think I am wasting my time.
Hope you get some luck.
Brian