Retail Escape Specialist & Career Coach
I help people escape retail and land careers they love.
“There’s no reason to have a Plan B because it distracts from Plan A.”
Entrepreneur, world-adventurer and career coach, Tom John Harris, never planned for a career in retail. It all started as a part-time stopgap while he figured out his “Plan A”. After a few years in retail, he became fairly good at it and it wasn’t long until he was promoted to management. However, this was where his problems began to develop.
You see, Tom fell into the same trap many others in retail have fallen into. He became comfortable. What started as a part-time job had become his “Plan B”, but it wasn’t long until the lack of appreciation, fulfilment and work-life balance got the better of him. He was stuck. Retail was all he knew, and he didn’t know how to get out.
In 2018, everything changed as Tom was made redundant from his 10-year career in retail. He was determined to turn this negative situation into a positive one and use this as his chance to escape retail for good. He decided to get out there and learn what it takes to make a lasting career change. He discovered that, when you knew how, it was actually much easier than he had ever anticipated.
Tom landed a job outside of retail, managing a team of career coaches in the charity sector. Having demonstrated that escaping retail was possible, it wasn’t long before those who had worked with Tom wanted their own retail escape. Over the course of the year, he helped over a hundred people escape retail.
Tom now positions himself as a retail escape specialist. He believes everyone has the potential to land a career outside of retail, and that you don’t need a big life event to make a change.
Tom uses his own experience to help others create their own retail escape plan, so they can go after their own Plan A.
It’s his mission to help over a hundred thousand people escape retail.
Five Years’ Experience as a Business Coach in a FTSE 100 Company
Certified Master NLP Practitioner
Professional Member of ANLP International CIC
Accredited Master Coach
I offer a signature 12-week career change coaching programme: compromising of weekly, 1-hour coaching sessions, CV, Cover Letter and LinkedIn makeovers, interview preparation, regular phone check-ins, and an initial 2-hour deep-dive breakthrough session for £997.
I work online via video session and provide typed notes.
“I’d always wanted to get out of retail and get a better work-life balance (and weekends off!), but something always held me back. I’d tried escaping before but failed and was sceptical if Tom’s methods would be anything different to the other stuff I tried. How wrong I was! Tom helped me escape retail for good and I am absolutely loving my new job, which is Mon – Fri, 9-5, with loads of holiday entitlement! I have such a better work-life balance as a result and I even secured a pay rise. If you’re sitting on the fence, don’t! I wish I had escaped retail years ago!” – Alex
“I’d spent my life in retail and I’d never thought about leaving, but after having 2 children, my work-life balance was becoming really important to me. I only worked with Tom for a short period of time and he delivered on exactly what he said he would. He helped me identify my transferable skills, sorted out my CV, prepared me for interviews and helped me clarify exactly what I could do outside of retail. After just 4 weeks, I landed a job that has given me my life back. I now get to spend more time with my family, without the stress of retail. I’m looking forward to a new chapter in my career. Thank you, Tom, for all your support!” – Lee
“Tom’s career coaching programme gave me the support I needed and made me realise there is more to what I wanted in life than what I thought! Want to make a change in your life but too scared and looking for some support? Tom is definitely the man to go to!” – Sarah
I have spent the last 3 years going to interviews and trying to find a new job. Each time getting rejected, each time I questioned what I have done wrong and what i could do next time to nail the job.
“Tom has coached me through some basics and it was these basics which I was clearly getting wrong. I now feel very positive about going through more interviews (if needed) The three things Tom has helped me with have been approaching a job hunt in a more logical way. Nailing down the interview process. Finally a way to narrowing down a jungle of a job hunt. As a result of this coaching, I now am working for a company that I have wanted to work for most of my life. I would recommend coaching and Tom found a way to get me to adjust the little faults and do things in a more structured way.” – Tim