vallierojas: Publishing is in decline ? what can I do?

Problems at work? Need advice? Our agony uncle ? and readers ? have the answers

Is it time to start a new chapter after years in publishing?

I've spent my working life in the publishing industry as an editor and writer of non-fiction books. I started in-house, where I eventually became the manager of a large team. For the past 10 years I've been freelance, working part-time from home, which has fitted in well around bringing up my children.

However, it is now time for a change. The work is drying up owing to publishers cutting back and sending work abroad so, sadly, I do not see a future in this industry. Second, I've been doing the same thing for a long time. Until recently I really loved my work, but now it's become a bit "been there, done that" ? I feel ready for something different. My problem is: what else could I do?

I have a lot of transferable skills: I'm very reliable, efficient and well organised; I'm a good communicator (both written and verbal) and can translate complex subject matter into clear, simple language; I'm creative; I get on well with people and work well in a team; I have good computer skills.

My limitations are that I am, at least partly, tied by my children, as my youngest still has another three years at primary school. On the positive side, I could use this time to take a course or retrain. My own thoughts have been to find something I could do from home that would fit in with school timetables ? maybe something that I set up and run myself. Or, alternatively, something in the workplace that I could, at least start, on a part-time basis. I'd welcome any ideas you have.

Jeremy says

At first glance, your letter has much in common with that of the correspondent below. Certainly, you already seem to have followed the first part of my advice by conducting a thorough review of your skills and qualities. Where your problem differs, is in the priority you need to give to flexibility ? with a preference for working from home.

One of the features of the downturn has been the growth of small start-ups; often operating from home and providing skilled help to multiple small clients on a daily, or even hourly, basis. It is in this area that I believe your proven communications skills could be invaluable.

An ability to translate complex subject matter into clear and simple language is not that common. As is often only too apparent, few small-to-medium-size businesses possess it; and unlike bigger companies, they can't afford to hire full-time advisers. Yet clear and persuasive communication can make all the difference to any enterprise ? internally and externally.

You should explore this avenue optimistically ? in your locality. There's a real need there which you could fill. Start with shops or suppliers you know. Offer to do a sort of communications audit on their behalf. Once you have the first satisfied client on your books, the rest could be relatively easy.

Readers say

? You do have transferable skills, but that is true of many people, so think about your contacts who you meet and talk to who can provide you with opportunities. Think about your local community and invent a business/idea that you can provide, schools do a lot of outsourcing ? do they need a creative publisher to provide workshops, or can you team up with a local web designer to offer advice on publishing work. Don't rely on seeing a job ad, writing a fab CV, doing a great interview and getting the dream job, honestly those days are all but over.You say you're creative, well create your career and good luck. RuthArcher

? On re-training ? the obvious one is training as a teacher. You will have a high standard of literacy, be good at working to a deadline and time constraints, and understand children. But you might wish to consider a related field, such as corporate communications (this is a big gap for many companies) or even training, or moving towards the internet and writing copy and reviews for people. An alternative is working for someone again. This would feel very different and you may be able to up your hours once your youngest is at secondary school. Prepare, though, to have to prove yourself and demonstrate your potential. ExBrightonBelle

I need to shift jobs but will I be ruled out for not having a degree?

I am in my late 20s and work for a bookshop, where I have been for the past three years. I have had a promotion but it is unlikely that I will be able to progress much higher. I went to university but ended up dropping out and leaving with a Certificate of Higher Education, rather than a degree.

Although there are still some enjoyable aspects of my job, I feel it is time to move on as I have grown tired of shift work. I also often work on weekends, which leaves me out of sync with friends and family who are free at the weekends, but not during the week, as sometimes I am.

More than that, there is little prospect of me being able to rise any higher within my company, so it seems only logical to try and get a new job elsewhere ? ideally, I would like to work in a book-related or arts-based job. However, in the current economic climate, where even graduates are struggling to find jobs, is there, realistically, any chance for me to move jobs, especially when I don't have a degree?

Jeremy says

You don't have a degree but you do have experience. There comes a time in most careers when relevant experience becomes of greater interest to potential employers than academic qualifications. Degrees serve as an important filtering device, particularly for first jobs ? but after that, in many cases, their value tends to fade fast.

You'd still, probably, be better equipped to make this job change if you had a degree; but you mustn't let that fact make you feel defeatist. What you need to do is turn the way you're thinking upside down.

At the moment, understandably, you're trying to work out what you want to do: "Ideally, I would like to work in a book or arts-based job." Fine: but park that thought for a moment, and analyse your working life to date.

You've had three years in your bookshop, which included a promotion. Before that, you must have worked elsewhere for at least as long. Almost all work experience has a potential value to someone. So do an audit on yourself ? and work out what you've learnt, good and bad, from your working life so far. Don't restrict yourself to defined skills such as computer competency. Softer skills, such as dealing with demanding customers and predicting changes in consumer tastes can be just as important and maybe less common.

Once you've done all this, ask yourself: what kinds of businesses are most likely to find such a person well worth interviewing? Keep an open mind, and you'll be surprised at the range of possibilities. Some, naturally, you'll find more attractive than others ? but be sure not to revert immediately to your earlier, narrower instincts.

Having been through this rigorous process, you'll be well prepared to construct your CV and write applications. Remember: always stress, not what you want, but what you can offer. And tailor each application very specifically to the presumed needs of the company to which you're applying.

Readers say

? Be careful what you wish for. Yes you will see your mates at weekends. You will also encounter heaving supermarkets, traffic jams, crowded peak trains etc. I also never think it's a good idea to build your life around what your mates and family do because it's not a given that'll be the same forever.Also, it is a cycle. Buy into the 9-5 because your mates who have done it for a decade are doing it and you will probably find it is not long before it is their turn to get off that treadmill ? maternity leave, downshifting, following now-affordable dreams, redundancy etc. They will probably want to do what you do now. You might just hanker to have your current life back when they tell you of their weekday afternoons in the parks or day trips. oommph

? I made a disastrous career change three years ago which I'm still paying dearly for. Don't want to put you off, but I've got an MSc now and it's completely worthless. The only thing its left me is over �5,000 worth of debt, a subject I now have totally lost faith and interest in and a continual struggle to get back into work. My advice would be to ignore other people. By that I mean don't make comparisons between yourself and others. Sounds a total cliche but just do the stuff that you're good at and makes you happy. Even if this starts out as a hobby, who knows what could come of it. People eventually find their own level; some it takes longer than others. Good luck. nullandvoid

? Decide what you want to do and then go about being the qualified, experienced person to let yourself shine for that. But you and only you can say what it is you want to do next. That's the hard bit. auntiebee

For Jeremy Bullmore's advice on a work issue, send a brief email to dear.jeremy@guardian.co.uk. Please note that he is unable to answer questions of a legal nature or reply personally.

Read next week's problems on the Money blog from Monday and post your advice ? we'll run the best of it alongside Jeremy's in next Saturday's column.

Jeremy Bullmore

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