Every once in a while, an opportunity comes along that cannot be shunned; a chance to be part of something special that will leave an impression on you for years to come; an opportunity to make a difference.

What am I talking about?

Okay, so I'm talking about sporting opportunities for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. (The UK Talent Team have just launched a recruitment drive.) And these opportunities aren't open to most of us.

But what this represents is that, sometimes, opportunities come along when we least expect them and that grasping them with both hands can make a real difference to our lives.

And all of us, however, do have the opportunity to be a part of London 2012. The Volunteer Programme opens in 2010 and will be a great way to get involved while adding all-important skills and experience to your CV.

Find out more about the Paralympic recruitment drive in The Independent

Find out more about the Volunteer Programme on the London 2012 website

If you're looking to buy a house or looking for a new job, the general consensus is that December is a washout.

But when it comes to jobs, it's very often not the case.

Companies who have new plans or strategies in place for the New Year don't want early delays due to staffing issues and these companies will look for a quick turnaround on their employment needs.

Job hunt while everyone else is out Christmas shopping and you could land yourself with a job which would usually go to someone with more experience... but who was too busy putting lights on the Christmas tree to apply.

Merry Christmas, merry job hunting!

Everyone knows someone like this. They are the person who has a degree and a masters, but choses to work on the check-out at Tesco or as a telephonist in a call centre. And they will balk at any opportunity to become a supervisor or team leader.

The reason I'm writing this blog post about them, not to them, because I don't expect job-plodders to read a career coach blog!

I see these people as close to being lost causes because they're not happy in their job decisions. They see all jobs above the one they've got as potential stressful and too much hard work.

The fact that they have qualifications means they have an intelligent mind, so I'm not talking about the people who can't cope with a different (a harder or more challenging) job; they just can't see the positives that come with a different job.

These people are actually the ones who need my services the most.

They need someone to help them decide what they want out of a job and then direct them in the right direction to get one.

I'd love to help everyone in this situation discover the job that's right for them - because it would be so fulfilling for both of us. Unfortunately, and frustratingly, these people don't want my help.

You are the person that most people envy; you're happy enough in your job to keep at it.

You're happy that you're happy, but you don't care enough about you job to want to improve on things.

For the few people who are life-minded in the way you are, the best thing you can do is stay doing what you're doing.

My job as a career-coach is to help people evolve within their chosen careers or help them discover new ones and assist their journey through it.

Occasionally, my job is to point out the obvious and tell people that it ain't broke, don't fix it. These people are already on the right career path and just need to stick to it.

Only when they get restless, do life-minded people like this need the help of someone like me.