Whatever you think of AI it’s unavoidable right now, but how is it relevant when you’re looking for a job and what do you need to do with your CV?
Continue reading “AI in recruitment – what you need to know”
Hints and Tips
Could a side hustle be your next career move
Feeling unfulfilled at work or wish you could start a business but not ready to take the leap – could a side hustle be your next career move?
Starting a side hustle could be the first step to future business success, or at the very least, a happier you as your next career move. Whether you’re feeling unfulfilled and searching for an outlet to exercise your true passions outside of your day-job, looking for an additional income stream or seeking a more permanent escape from your current career, side hustles are an increasingly popular way to switch things up.
Continue reading “Could a side hustle be your next career move”
Considering hybrid working as part of your job search
How to factor hybrid working into your next job search
With a new study confirming that hybrid working has benefits for job satisfaction, productivity and wellbeing, what are the implications if you’re looking for your next role? In this blog I explain how to factor hybrid working into your job search.
Continue reading “Considering hybrid working as part of your job search”
Should you include personal interests and hobbies on your CV?
Should you include personal interests and hobbies on your CV?
I often get asked about whether adding personal interests to a CV is the right thing to do, and as with many things in life, the short answer is: it depends.
In this LinkedIn article, the writer argues that you should always include a bit of personal detail on your CV to make you more 3D. And while I agree it can be valuable, there’s more to think about before you add stand-up paddle boarding to your current CV.
Here are some things to consider if you want to include personal interests and hobbies on your CV.
Continue reading “Should you include personal interests and hobbies on your CV?”
Maintaining your energy during a long job search – the role of grit
With millions of job-seekers in the UK and tough economic conditions, it would be easily to get disheartened if your job search is taking longer than you’d like. There are more unemployed people than vacancies in the UK, according to the latest UK Labour Market Statistics.
Constant rejections, being unsuccessful despite getting an interview and, worse, firing applications into an apparent black hole where you hear nothing at all, can all take their toll when you’re looking for a job.
Continue reading “Maintaining your energy during a long job search – the role of grit”
Growth mindset myths – how growth mindset can be misinterpreted to hold you back
Many people are familiar with the work of Professor Carole Dweck and her concept of “growth mindset”. (Check out her Ted Talk, The power of believing that you can improve for a 10-minute summary.)
The idea is that people who believe their talents can be developed through hard work, good strategies and input from others have a growth mindset. Research shows people with this mindset tend to achieve more than people who believe talent is innate and fixed.
There are a range of misunderstandings and myths around growth mindset which can be misinterpreted, resulting in you holding yourself back.
Continue reading “Growth mindset myths – how growth mindset can be misinterpreted to hold you back”
Preparing your success stories for job interviews
With more than 0.5m university students about to head into graduate scheme recruitment processes or thinking about roles for after graduation, and college students also weighing up whether work or further study is for them, now is exactly the right time to be preparing your success stories for job interviews.
Continue reading “Preparing your success stories for job interviews”
Are your own self-limiting beliefs the reason you don’t feel psychologically safe?
You might not think that you don’t feel psychologically safe, but there are lots of ways that feeling shows up even in a job you think you’re happy in – is it your own self-limiting beliefs which drive this feeling? Here’s an example.
Into my second year as a member of the British Association of CV Writers – the benchmark in high-quality UK CV writing
I am delighted to renew my membership of the British Association of CV Writers for the second year. Continue reading “Into my second year as a member of the British Association of CV Writers – the benchmark in high-quality UK CV writing”
How to get the most out of your end of year review
Annual reviews can sometimes be seen as a box-ticking exercise, a chore to be prepared for, endured and then set aside – but what should be on every employee’s mind is how to get the most out of your end of year review.
Continue reading “How to get the most out of your end of year review”
Giving and receiving feedback
Feedback — making it a positive experience for everyone
Feedback is a valuable — and I would argue, essential — part of working life, but making it a positive experience for everyone takes practice.
None of us can operate in a vacuum; feedback is the only way to discover how you are perceived by others. If we understand how others see us, we gain a vital perspective on our own performance, which can influence our learning and development and that of those around us. As I’ve previously mentioned, author Tasha Eurich’s book ‘Insight’ explains that seeking feedback is a more effective tool than self-reflection to gain insight into ourselves and improve our self-awareness.
I’ve blogged before about the importance of organisations in developing a culture which supports positive, well-considered, regular and constructive feedback and how this can be a brilliant tool for the encouragement of an individual or team. Feedback can help identify strengths and areas of development, as well as skills and future areas of improvement. Practical, targeted feedback can improve performance, raise awareness, build confidence and help career progression.
Delivering feedback in a safe space that is timely, consistent and authentic creates ‘positive feedback loops’ between people, creating healthy, reciprocal relationships and opportunities for them to work towards improving and achieving.
Kim Scott’s Radical candour model — using feedback to build great working relationships
Feedback is undeniably a vital part of managing working relationships. I spoke in my last blog about how both informal and formal feedback can be used to support the learning and development individuals within an organisation. I also discussed how difficult it can be not only to receive feedback, but also to ensure when giving it that it lands with the recipient in a supportive, helpful and constructive manner. Following on from this, I’d like to share some thoughts about how we, as leaders, can develop and enhance our skills in delivering feedback.
Giving feedback requires an enhanced level of self-awareness and specific interpersonal skills. Traditionally, leaders have used psychological models for improving self-awareness in interpersonal communication — for example, the Johari Window model. Developed by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham in 1955, this model helps support a better understanding of your relationship with yourself and others, while improving the trust and insight of a group as whole. Through highlighting issues which are known or unknown by us or by others around us, feedback can be used to gain unknown, potentially enlightening insights into one other.
A more recent model I like to use when I’m training leaders in how to give feedback is Kim Scott’s Radical Candor. Originally published in 2017, the book describes a four-box model which helps leaders create good working relationships through feedback.
