Taking control of your working life by career planning is a sensible thing to do, but is promotion the only option if you want to feel like you’re making progress?
Put another way, does getting on always mean going up when it comes to your career? Not necessarily. If you want to do more, you have three main routes for career progression – step up, broaden, or deepen and a multitude of options within these.
Continue reading “Career planning – is promotion the only option?”
Even if it’s positive, receiving feedback well can be a challenge – here’s my tips on how not to mess up receiving it.
Most genuine feedback is great information that can help us improve. So being able to receive it, reflect on it and adjust where we need to can help us make huge personal progress.
The clue with feedback is in the name – any kind of feedback conversation should be two-way (‘feed’ and ‘back’). But, even if you’re prepared for it, hearing feedback about yourself can trigger an emotional response. Understanding and being able to manage this is critical.
Continue reading “Don’t mess up receiving feedback – how to take it with grace”
When you’ve finally made it past the first hurdle and secured an interview, you might be thrown by the idea of doing one with lots of other people, so here’s my advice about how to approach group interviews. They are currently common in many graduate processes and some other interviews, so it’s worth understanding how to prepare for them.
Continue reading “How to approach group interviews - advice from a career coach”
It’s a tough market out there if you are searching for a new job; cracking how to stay motivated is a large part of the battle.
There’s been an increase in redundancies recently, and employers appear more cautious about recruiting – likely driven by cost pressures, economic uncertainty created by the US’s Hokey Cokey on tariffs, and higher labour costs thanks to National Insurance and National Minimum Wage increases.
Continue reading “Job searching tips in a tough market – how to stay motivated”
You are not imagining it – job searches are taking much longer than they used to, leading to candidates getting fatigue. A survey of 2,500 people found it takes, on average, 3.8 months to secure a job after investing 6.5 hours a week on searching and sending off 162 applications.
It’s no mean feat, then, to secure your next role, and no wonder people get worn out by the process. Here’s how you can combat job search fatigue and win.
If you’re being made redundant you might have heard the term, but you may not know exactly what outplacement is and what the benefits are.
The word itself is HR jargon used to describe the process of placing someone out of the business. In practice, it’s used to refer to the support provided to people who are leaving the organisation and is sometimes referred to as career transition support.
Continue reading “What is outplacement and what are the benefits?”
Four signs you need the help of a career coach
If you’re wondering why on earth you would need someone else to help you make a change at work, here are four signs you need the support of a career coach.
Independent career coaches can provide a safe space for you to explore your work options even if you haven’t decided that you want to make a change. We can help you feel more in control of your career and working life, and to make the right move (not just any move) if you do decide to look for a new job.
Continue reading “Four signs you need the help of a career coach”
A career break, also sometimes called a sabbatical, is an increasingly popular option with people part-way through their working life.
Like the grown-up gap year, they take some planning and people choose to take the time off for a variety of reasons. So why would you take a career break, and if you’re already thinking of taking some time out of your 9-5, what factors do you need to consider? Continue reading “Career break – grown up gap year or 21st century necessity?”
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”
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”
After the turbulence of the past couple of years, more people than ever now have gaps on their CVs, so this article covers my view about why you shouldn’t be embarrassed about a career gap, and how to explain yours when applying for a new role. Continue reading “Career gaps – why you shouldn’t be embarrassed and how to explain yours”
We’re continuing this series of blogs about taking parental leave with this insight into how to stay connected while you’re off.
I personally found this quite challenging when I took my second maternity leave so I was delighted to be able to get the inside track from Charlotte Speak, founder of Power of the Parent.
Charlotte works to help parents reconnect with their unique strengths, building their confidence and self-worth. She also works with organisations who want to make a positive difference to people by supporting their teams as their families grow. As a parent herself who had a corporate career in recruitment and coaching, she is passionate about the skills and abilities parents bring to the workplace. Continue reading “How to stay connected during parental leave”
