Co-founder and Director, Tricia Velthuizen compares a regular career check-up to an annual skin check…
Each year, I get an annual skin check.
Head to toe and back up again.
In my family, my mother and sister have both had close encounters with skin cancers.
I chose my dermatologist, Dr Laura Wheller, because she has been the treating doctor for my sister, Catherine.
Dr Wheller is thorough, skilled and knowledgeable.
I trust her.
Getting the once over each year is only part of my strategy though. The other component is managing my sun exposure – hats, long sleeves, sunscreen all come into the mix too.
I headed in for my annual check a couple of weeks ago. Dr Wheller said to me, “I can see you have been taking really good care of your skin – which is particularly important for someone so fair, like you.”
I asked out loud the question that had been circling my thoughts, “is it really only a matter of time until every Australian develops skin cancer?”
Her answer was clear, “well, in our lifetimes, two out of three Australians are going to develop skin cancer.”
At those odds, it is worth attending to skin checks regularly.
There are other aspects of our lives that we prioritise to attend to regularly – particularly if we have felt the pain of the experience strike closer to our lives.
Relationship breakdowns, chronic illness, sudden loss of a loved one, career hits, money problems.
We see it a lot at Churchill.
Have an annual Career Check-Up…
People who come to us at a career crossroads, having let qualifications pass them by. Who have parted ways with an employer but hold none of the workplace examples of the work they did so well. Companies who have restructured and jobs that have been lost.
And then we have some Churchill Alumni who are back in touch every year, without fail.
They treat an annual Recognition of Prior Learning assessment with Churchill, with the same importance as I treat my annual skin check with Dr Wheller.
They bank some more workplace examples in their RPL Evidence Bank with us just in case they need it down the track.
It doesn’t take a lot of time but that head to toe and back again look at their qualifications and experience, it is all part of keeping their professional well-being a priority. And they trust us to take care of them.
The data is on their side: Seek’s research says that in their working lives, 26% of Australians will face redundancy. Think about it, you probably know someone who has been through redundancy – 58% of Australians do.
So, when you are booking your next annual skin check, make time to look at your professional check-up too.
You can book a free qualification appraisal on any of the below methods. It’s a no cost, no obligation look at your career success signs – how your skills and experience measure up to national qualifications.
Take care and chat soon,
Tricia
