APPRENTICE star and West Ham United vice-chair Karren Brady answers your careers questions and meets an inspirational CEO.
Here she gives a reader advice on what job her skills would be best matched to after growing bored of career.
Q) I really don’t feel I’m being used to my full potential in my current role.
I enjoy my job, but I want to progress in my career and I’ve not been given the opportunity to grow. I’ve offered to help in other teams at work, but I am limited as I don’t have training or experience in those fields – though I would love to learn.
I’ve raised it with my manager, but they just made empty promises.
My lack of skills outside my specific role also makes it hard for me to get a job elsewhere. The situation is really getting me down. Do you have any advice?
Name and address withheld
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A) Employee development is vital. Employers who invest in their staff reap the rewards of a more talented workforce.
Not only do employees feel valued, but their skills directly benefit the business.
You mustn’t give up on your development – you know you have more to offer, so persevere.
Write yourself a plan – identify where your gaps are and what training you need in order to fulfil the job you want to do.
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Talk to your HR manager to find out what support you can receive – most companies have some training budget – and discuss how this would work around your existing role.
Once you have gathered all the information you need, request a meeting with your manager to present your plan. If you don’t think they’ll take you seriously, ask for your HR manager to be present too.
If they still don’t invest in you after this, it’s time to find another company that values its staff, where you can work your way up the ladder and feel fulfilled.
- Got a careers question for Karren? Email [email protected].
A day in the life of…
Alex Goyal, 33, is the founder of Bump & Milk maternity and breastfeeding clothing company.
She lives in Toronto, Canada, with her GP husband Vik, 34, and their sons Paul, six, and Leo, three.
I wake up at…
5.30am. I take a cold shower, which is torture but wakes me up! After getting dressed, I make coffee and catch up with my designer Roksana on WhatsApp.
In August, after six years spent living in the West Midlands, we moved to Vik’s home country of Canada, so I’m adjusting to working between different time zones.
Between 7am and 8am, I get the boys ready, then Vik takes them to school and nursery, and I’m back on my laptop.
A normal day involves…
Admin, such as paying invoices and accounting, which I hate. I also spend time answering customer emails and speaking to stockists.
Creative tasks like choosing fabric and coming up with designs are my favourite part of the job, but they take up a fraction of my time.
Right now, I’m planning our spring 2023 collection and organising a December pop-up event in London, where most of our customers live.
I rely on word of mouth and social media marketing to grow brand awareness. When I launched in 2020, I offered items to mummy influencers including TV presenter and model Ashley James, who is vocal about breastfeeding.
When she posted, sales spiked. I leave to pick up the boys at 2.45pm and am in mummy mode until 8pm when I either return to the laptop or collapse on the sofa.
The best part of my job is…
How it allows me to be a full-time mum. I’m a dentist by trade, but once I had kids, I needed more flexibility.
In 2020, after breastfeeding Paul for 30 months and being disappointed by the frumpiness of nursing fashion, I took a leap into the unknown to create clothing that empowers women. I have no regrets!
And the worst…
When a dress I think will be a bestseller doesn’t fly. Also, my limited fashion industry experience – though that also gives me an open mind, because I never think with any limitations.
I wind down by…
Playing tennis or volleyball or going for a run. I also like a good podcast like The Diary Of A CEO or The Huberman Lab.
Visit Bumpandmilk.com.
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Karren cannot answer emails personally. Content is intended as general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice.
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