Careershifters is a groundbreaking new service for anyone considering or going through a career change. Through a unique mix of free and affordable online resources, regular workshops and an online community of thousands of fellow career shifters, we help people who are stuck, unhappy or unfulfilled in their careers make a successful career change.

Careershifters aims to become the most trusted, authoritative, inspirational community for anyone thinking about or going through a major career change.

What we offer

1. Inspiration, from people who’ve successfully made changes in their own careers and those that are in the process of doing so
2. Confidence, by sharing other people’s experiences and offering access to high quality, practical, no-nonsense advice from some of the best career experts in the business.
3. Connections, by providing links with professionals, with relevant institutions, and with fellow career shifters.

How we do this

1. No-nonsense advice from some of the world’s leading career experts and qualified career coaches
2. Hundreds of inspirational case studies of people who have made successful career changes
3. Online exercises and resources
4. Free consultations with a Shift Doctor
5. Blogs from individuals in the process of shifting
6. Regular affordable workshops
7. An online community of shifters providing information and support.
8. New exciting online tools and features and workshops are planned for later in 2008

Why we're here

Hundreds of thousands of people are changing their careers every year. Many of them are doing so not because they have to, but because they want to. They’re doing so because they’re no longer willing to compromise their values and their dreams in an activity that takes up such a large proportion of their life. They want to find work that’s fulfilling, that gets them out of bed in the morning, that truly excites them.

Careershifters has been created by a group of people and professional coaches who have been through this very process. We know what it’s like. We know the issues that come up. We also know that up to this point, there hasn’t been a dedicated, independent one-stop-shop on the web to help out.

Where we're headed

This is just the start. With your feedback, we will be significantly expanding the functionality of the site over the coming months. We will also soon be offering a membership scheme, workshops, courses, products and events, all designed to further help you find the work that truly fulfils you.

Background

Careershifters was founded by Richard Alderson, an entrepreneur committed to creating businesses that make a difference. It was through his own experience of changing career that he recognised the gap in the market for an affordable, independent and easily-accessible career change service. He brought together a team of like minded individuals to create Careershifters, all passionate about increasing people's wellbeing and contribution to society by helping them to create careers that truly excite them.

Richard said, “Record numbers of people are no longer willing to settle for a job that makes them unhappy. Careershifters aims to help people create careers that make them jump out of bed in the morning rather than dreading the coming day. You could be an accountant who wants to be a polar explorer, or a sales rep with ambitions in journalism. Whatever your dream, we’re here to help.”

Where to start?

Take our site tour, sign up for our weekly newsletter, give us your feedback, or check into our Careershifters blog.

The team

Richard Alderson – Founder & Chair
Previously a management and technology consultant, Richard made a career change to the social entrepreneurship sector in 2003. He conceived the idea for Careershifters while making his change.

Catherine Roan – Managing Director
Cath is responsible for the day to day running of Careershifters as well as developing our plans for the future. Her background in PR and Marketing has also been useful, with Careershifters featuring in the Guardian, Independent, Time Out, Evening Standard, Metro and the London Paper.

Selina Barker – Content Director
Whatever you want from the Careershifters site, Selina’s mission is to provide it. She’ll be hunting down the best practical guidance from experts in the field, highlighting the top tips posted by fellow career shifters, finding the most inspiring shift stories and keeping everyone inspired with regular features and exclusive interviews. Selina was previously the Online and Marketing manager for the Ecologist magazine.

Neil Collman - Creative Director
Neil heads up the user experience and design for Careershifters. A web industry veteran and recent career changer himself (he recently jumped off the corporate treadmill), Neil is passionate about creating a unique and engaging web experience that can really help people make positive changes in their lives.

Chris Dolder
A former management consultant, Chris says, "My biggest fear is looking back on my life and regretting that I didn't do something. That's why I quit my consulting job and went back to university to give myself more options. I now lead expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctica. No more Sunday blues. Tenacity, drive and hard graft gets you places. Nothing ventured, nothing gained...”

Thanks also to...

John Alderson, Boo Armstrong, Sarah Arnold, Kate Atkinson, Oli Barrett, Celine Bellegarde, Jack Butler, Melanie Castles, Mary Chadwick, Devi Clarke, Gabby Cornish, Greice Costa, Marianne Craig, Holly Crane, Neil Crofts, Martha Cuffy, Sandra Deeble, Sarah Dodds, Paul Dunn, Jean Edwards, Steven Fine, Marta Garcia, Pascual Glauser, Marian Goodman, Rohan Gunatillake, Sarah Gwonyoma, Charles Handy, Elizabeth Handy, Eugenie Harvey, Neil Holdsworth, Mags Inglis, Andy Jackson, Peter Jackson, Richard James, Nick Jankel-Elliot, Rob John, Ritu Khanna, Vaidehi Krishnan, Satu Kreula, Mark Leicester, David Lethbridge, Carmel McConnell, Julia Middleton, Isobel Miller, Lisa Mitchell, Rachel Mulvey, Alberto Nardelli, Alma Neville, Michael Norton, Rich Potts, John Rafferty, Jonathan Robinson, Abbie Rumbold, Kati Rynne, Matt Scott, Grant Stapleton, Anthony Tabor, Jeremy Tapp, Brent Thomas, Pooja Warier, Susie Wheeldon, Heather Wilkinson, Nick Williams, Richard Williams, Emma Wodehouse, and everyone at UnLtd.

And particularly to David Gold for being an unstinting mentor, champion and supporter.