Career change ideas for retail mgrI need some advice regarding my boyfriend. He has been a retail manager or has worked in the retail industry for over 13 years now and he really is a great manager. Right now, he is stuck in a part time job due to a move to another state where I had a job opportunity and he followed me and had to look for something. All the full time jobs he has had did not work out because of the hours or whatever reason he found to not enjoy them. I have tried everything I could think of to get him motivated to look for employment outside of retail but nothing seems to interest him. He has no passion for anything and just continues to look at retail, which is low-paying and not very exciting to him at this point. My question is, what other industries could he consider that would fit well with his retail management background? I don't know what else to do or suggest that he do in order to find a good paying, full time job and the more I try to get him to do something, the more he gets upset and ends up not doing anything. It is very frustrating and I welcome anyone's suggestions or thoughts on this...thanks for reading!
A very good friend of mine was a retail manager. She has since moved into the Hotel arena. I believe she is also a manager there. I would suggest that you get your boyfriend to seek out a career counselor, If he is not able to identify exactly what it is about retail management he enjoys so much. Perhaps he can take some tests which will identify what exactly about retail management he enjoys, and then be able to take those points and use them in a new jobsearch. Good luck!
Thanks for the advice! I appreciate your response and will definitely suggest this to my bf.... :)
You should consider couples counseling. You can't motive him. He has to motivate himself. He (or so it seems) Likes retail. You want him to be more and do more. He's now followed you to who knows where, and still isn't living up to your expecations. I'm not saying those expectations are unreasonable, but this is a recipe for disaster. You're hoping to change him, it won't be happening. You MAY adjust him a little, but you won't change him. So, get some counseling now while you're still boyfriend and girlfriend instead of husband and wife.
Tess Excellent point, Tess. Lisa, Tess is spot on here. Your boyfriend will resent you for the effort you are putting into HIS career. You mean well, but he will not appreciate it. He needs to WANT to change. Good luck! I understand the frustration. Mel What an interesting situation Lisa. I wonder what's up? When changes happen and although we do them, sometimes to please others, there can be a more subliminal effect on us psychologically, however hard we try. Perhaps he's feeling that although he made a sacrifice for the right reasons, he has some regrets and that is dampening his enthusiasm. I also read that you are concerned that his retail role is poorly paid, although it is where his interest is... I wonder whether he might benefit from some encouragement to get back into a role he feels suits him whatever the pay and then, maybe with your encouragement, which will need to be subtle I add, find out where he sees his career in the medium term. It may be that he needs to see what he will truly love to do and then gradually and step-by-step work his way towards it. This can be a big moment for him (andf by association you) right now, where he has the opportunity to follow his passion (not yours) and generate a career that really is perfect for him - at the moment he sees that for you, but not him perhaps. Hope this helps Martin Haworth | |
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