The best kept secret to career success

April 30, 2019April 30, 2019 tessaarmstrong.co.uk Career Change, fear of failure, job search, Returning to Work, Uncategorized Career Change, fear of failure, job search, Returning to Work, Stress, unhappy at work

Would you believe me if I said the best career idea for you may be your best kept secret?!

We often reach a crossroads in our career when we have to decide on the best possible career path. To help you decide, you research lots of different ideas and apply for lots of different jobs. You get to the point when you have a list of career and job ideas and need to decide which to pursue. These ideas will be similar to the jobs you have done in the past or may complement these jobs, but I can guarantee there will be one idea missing from your list and that is…

YOUR BEST KEPT SECRET

This is the one wacky idea that you have had in the back of your mind for years. The idea that is your fantasy dream career. The one that excites you the most. The one you dream about on a sunny day. The big idea that you can only dream of because in reality it is completely impossible to achieve and unrealistic. This is why you have kept it a secret. It is your own crazy idea that no one needs to know about as it will never happen, will it? There is no point telling anyone about something that will never happen, is there? However, you do want it to happen. You would like to explore it…..is that so crazy?

Keeping a secret like this is stressful. It takes up a lot of your thinking time and stops you from actually achieving it. You would love this career idea of yours to be real, but you are actively hiding it from people. Even worse, you are putting a lot of energy in to not achieving your ideal career, something that could be the best career decision you ever made. Your best kept secret eventually leads to frustration, unhappiness and poor wellbeing because you are not being true to yourself.

IT’S TIME TO TELL PEOPLE YOUR SECRET

Imagine if J K Rowling kept her book ideas a secret or Monet hid his paintings. Aren’t we glad all those who have wanted to research and discover vaccinations actually did it? We are certainly thankful to Marie Curie for her contribution to cancer treatments. Her humble beginnings didn’t stop her following her passions. Her passions were clear, they were not a secret.

Go back to your list of career and job ideas now and add your secret idea to the list. (Until you have done this your list will remain incomplete.)

Once your list is complete, you are ready for the next step which is to evaluate your ideas and that is ALL OF THEM, not just those that seem the easiest, the most obvious and the most accepting of others, evaluate them all. Ask yourself:

What do you really want?

What more do you need to do to clarify this further for you?

These questions will help to guide you as you evaluate each option:

How much will this cost me? Pursuing a career change can have an impact on your finances. Prepare a budget so that you are aware of any financial limitations.
Will this be a hobby or career? What does work-life balance mean to you? When considering your motivations and interests, distinguish between those you want to include in a job and those you would prefer to keep as a hobby.
What experience do I need? Many people worry about lacking experience. Focus on what you can do and on your transferable skills. If you lack specific advisable experience, consider doing some work experience or voluntary work.
Who can I network with? Carry on networking and asking people for their advice and opinion. This is the best way to increase opportunities that will come your way. Use Social media networking tools to help.

There are going to be lots of questions going through your mind as you evaluate the options and start making decisions about your best fit career. It is therefore really important at this stage to make time to plan and investigate and…

…Remember…

The get out of this rut quickly career idea isn’t always the best one. The best career idea for you is often your best kept secret.

Please do browse through my free career resources for further help.

Evaluate all your career ideas to discover the ideal career path for you (even the secret ones!)

Finding the best career and job ideas when feeling stuck

April 2, 2019 tessaarmstrong.co.uk Career Change, job search, new job, Returning to Work, Uncategorized Career Change, job search, new job, Redundancy, Returning to Work, unhappy at work

You are struggling to enjoy your current job and are feeling a bit stuck for ideas of what to do next. The big question you keep asking yourself is,

“Shall I change career?”

However, you can’t seem to find the answer, and this is making you feel miserable. To cheer yourself up you have decided to throw a party.

The party

This party is a party with a difference. This is because the aim of this party is to help you find an answer to your question, “shall I change career?”.

The guest list is going to be key for this party. You will need to invite carefully selected individuals who you think will be able to help you answer your question, focusing primarily on people who work in fields of interest to you.

You will need to be able to ask these people about their jobs so that you can start identifying different job and career ideas that best suit your personality and broadening your awareness of your marketability for alternative employment.

These discussions should provide you with enough information to decide whether your current job is worth pursuing or whether a career change is the answer.

The guest list

To work out the guest list, you need to make a list of 15 jobs or careers that you would like to do if you had no restrictions. These jobs may be similar or related to the jobs you have already done, or they may be completely different. Write your ideas down using the following tips to help you:

Think about your personality, skills and interests (read my November blog to help you) to help you think of ideas that will best suit you.
Think about when you last thought to yourself ‘I would like to do that’ or ‘that sounds interesting’ when hearing someone else talk about their job.
Use career books and trusted internet career sites. Cast your eye down lists of jobs and write down ones that jump out at you.

Remember, this is a list where you have no restrictions. You may simply be curious at this point and that is OK.

Research

You have decided you would like to limit your invitations to 5 individuals and so your next step is to work out which 5 ideas most closely match your personality, skills and interests. To do this, start researching your different jobs and career ideas and identify which ones most closely match.

Mark each idea from 1-15, with number 1 most closely matching your personality, skills and interests and number 15 being the one that least matches your profile.

The invitations

Now you have your 5 ideas, you now need to find individuals who work in these areas so that you can identify who you are going to invite. Your guest list may include people you know and people you don’t know. If you can’t think of anyone you know, start researching organisations that employ people in your areas of interest and identify employees you think would be useful to talk to. These are the people to send invitations to.

Conversations

Now, in reality, I realise this kind of party would be difficult to arrange! However, what you can do instead is use this technique to enable you to start having useful conversations with people as you work out what to do next in your career. Contact people you have identified using the approach outlined above and ask if you can have a chat with them to find out more about what they do and the area they work in.

Speaking to as many people as you can is the best way to expand your knowledge about different jobs and careers and decide whether they are a good fit for you. You will then be able to start finding an answer to your question:

“Shall I change career?”

If you are considering a career change, do read my career change help sheet for further guidance.

What do you do when your current job doesn’t suit you?

March 4, 2019 tessaarmstrong.co.uk Career Change, job search, new job, Performance at work, Returning to Work, Uncategorized Career Change, Coaching, job search, new job, Performance at work, Returning to Work, Stress, unhappy at work

In November 2019, I wrote about designing a personal work mug that reflects everything about you to help you to discover suitable career options that best suit your personality. (Do spend time to read this blog as it will help your understanding of this month’s topic.) This month I am going to write about what to do when cracks start to form in your personal work mug, and you are beginning to dislike your life at work as it no longer suits you.

Jobs that do not suit your personality

Cracks will start to form in your mug when you are in a job that does not match your work mug design and therefore does not suit your personality. As written in my November blog, you want to find a job that uses your most enjoyable skills in a field based on your favourite subjects. The design of your personal work mug is crucial as it reflects these things about you.

When cracks start to form, it can be miserable. No one wants to drink from a cracked work mug but, unfortunately, these cracks will not mend themselves and can keep on forming if you don’t do anything about it, making work extremely stressful.

Reality check – does your current role suit you?

Take some time now to review the design of your personal work mug. Compare your personality (the skills, interests and knowledge you wish to use and environments that suit you) to your current role. What is missing from your current role that is included on your personal mug design? Does your current role match your skills? Does it include your interests? Is the working environment one where you can be at your best?

From this information, you can establish whether your current role suits your personality or whether there are any discrepancies. If there are discrepancies, work out whether it is the content of your current job or the working environment that is not suiting you? It may be a mixture of both.

Working environment

If it is the working environment that you are struggling with, first decide whether the issues you face can be resolved. Perhaps you find you are happy with your day to day role but are struggling with team management. Does anyone at work know what you are having difficulties with and can anyone help you? Would a different role within the same company suit you? Alternatively, is it an option for you to look for a similar job within a different company or industry?

Job Content

If it is the content of the job that is not suiting you, you will want to consider alternative jobs or career options. Perhaps you already have some ideas. Perhaps you want to concentrate on your interests more. Perhaps you want a complete career change.

These are all areas to consider as you work out what is your best next step in your job search as you identify what is missing from your current job and explore different ideas that will best suit your personality. Make sure you review all these areas to prevent future cracks appearing in your work mug.

If you are considering a career change, do read my career change help sheet for further guidance.

Making your dream career a reality

February 5, 2019February 5, 2019 tessaarmstrong.co.uk Career Change, fear of failure, new job, Returning to Work, Uncategorized

Dream Job on Green Highway Signpost.

Today I am going to take you on a journey to experience your dream career and discover how to make it a reality…

Many of you will be familiar with the mad hatter’s tea party in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alice falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world where she meets lots of weird and wonderful creatures and one of her adventures includes becoming a guest at a ‘mad’ tea-party.

Like Alice, imagine for a moment falling down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world. This world is a fantasy world of careers, within which you are only allowed positive thoughts. Everyone behaves positively, thinks positively and feels good about themselves. Furthermore, everyone loves their job and you do too! In fact, you have just started a new job. This is your ideal job and is a dream come true. It is what you have always wanted to do, combining your skills, interests and values within an environment where you will thrive. Life is pretty good right now. You are feeling confident, enjoying life and achieving in what you do.

After your first day at work in your new job, you have been invited to a tea-party. This tea party has some very special guests attending who are really interested in what you are now doing and where your career path has taken you. Before you arrive, they wonder what you have achieved. Have you had a career change? Have you returned to work? Have you progressed successfully in your current role?

It’s time for the guests to find out about your dream job…

During the tea party you are served your favourite cup of tea and given a comfortable arm chair to sit on. You feel relaxed, yet still full of excitement about your new job. The guests are keen to hear every detail about your first day and so you proceed to tell them. Remember, you are only allowed to be positive and you must give your guests every detail!

Take the time now to write down what you told your guests about your first day. Include detail about your day such as what you were wearing, how you got to work, what the surroundings at work are like, who was there, what you did in the morning and in the afternoon. Where did you go and who did you see? The guests are also keen to hear about what you hope to achieve in your job so write this down too. Remember, this is your ideal job and is a dream come true.

What you need to do after the tea party to make your dream a reality…

When returning to the real world, you feel excited having imagined being in your dream job and would love to start making steps towards making it a reality. However, there is a risk your dreams will be shattered, preventing you from trying careers that suit you. The main risk factor to look out for is negative thoughts.

Conquer your negative thoughts

As you step out of the rabbit hole, you are immediately knocked sideways by a voice shouting:

‘I WILL NEVER GET MY DREAM JOB’

You realise it is your own voice. It didn’t take long for the protection of your negative thoughts to kick in, did it? The thoughts that protect you from trying new things and risking failing. The voice that might as well be saying:

‘I CAN’T DO IT’

The first thing you need to do to minimise the negative impact of this thinking on your chances of achieving your dream job, is to replace your ‘I can’t do it’ phrase with ‘I can do it’.

‘I CAN DO IT’

The more you say, ‘I can do it’, the weaker your negative thoughts will become, and you will increase your chances of success and be free to start taking steps towards your ideal job.

(To find out more about tackling your negative thoughts, do have a read of my article ‘Four simple words that can transform your career’ where you will find four steps to help you transform your career.)

Keep fantasizing

The next thing you need to do is keep your end vision in sight. Keep reminding yourself of what you wrote down about your dream career and keep taking small steps towards it.

Your vision combined with an ‘I CAN DO IT’ attitude will help to give you the best chance of achieving the best career path for you.

‘I have heard it said that the first ingredient of success – the earliest spark in the dreaming youth – is this: dream a great dream.’ (John A. Appleman, lawyer)

(If you are finding the fantasy exercise tricky, have a read of my blog ‘How to redesign your career now!’, to help you discover suitable career options that best suit your personality.)

The key ingredient for making a career change

January 2, 2019 tessaarmstrong.co.uk Career Change, Coaching, job search, new job, Performance at work, Returning to Work, Uncategorized, work-life balance Career Change, Coaching, job search, Returning to Work, Stress, unhappy at work, work-life balance

Do you enjoy a relaxing cup of herbal tea to ease the worries of the day? Which combination of ingredients would be your perfect choice of tea? Perhaps your favourite is green tea with strawberry and vanilla or perhaps it’s apple and ginger. There are so many types to choose from, all with a unique flavour made from a combination of different ingredients.

What would happen if you made yourself your favourite green tea with strawberry and vanilla, but there had been an error and the vanilla ingredient was missing? It would be a different flavour, wouldn’t it? The tea would have a slightly different taste. Each ingredient of your favourite tea has an important part to play in balancing the flavours to make it unique. When an ingredient is missing, the balance of flavours is disrupted, and it will no longer taste like your favourite tea. You may not enjoy it as much and feel slightly disappointed when you take your first sip. It has done very little to ease your worries.

You are also made up of a combination of ingredients which make you unique. These ingredients are your values, the fundamental principles you live by and are of absolute importance to you. They make up who you are (your unique flavour) and motivate you to achieve what you want to achieve.

Ensuring you are living your life in accordance with your values is an important consideration when considering a career change. This is because when a value is not being fulfilled or an ingredient is missing from your life, the balance in your life is disrupted and you will become less motivated to achieve your goals. You become stuck, feel stressed and lose some enjoyment of life.

If you have lost motivation, now is the perfect opportunity for you to consider your values. Take some time to think about what is important to you right now. You may wish to use headings such as wealth, health, family, work, relationships and fun and recreation to help you. When thinking about each area, consider what positive values you get from this area and start identifying repeated values. Examples of values include love, wisdom, purpose and fulfilment. Remember, each value will mean something different to different people. What is important is what it means to you.

Once you have your list of values, you can identify any that are absent from your life right now and identify ways to incorporate them into your goals, including your career ambitions. Any frustration you have felt in the past may have been due to a conflict with one of your values. You will be more motivated at work if the content of your job and the environment you work in are aligned to your values.

Tessa’s 2018 career blog round-up – something to help everyone’s career!

December 4, 2018December 5, 2018 tessaarmstrong.co.uk Career Change, Coaching, fear of failure, job search, Lawyers and Solicitors, new job, Performance at work, Redundancy, Returning to Work, Uncategorized, work-life balance Career Change, Coaching, fear of failure, job search, Lawyers, new job, Perfectionism, Performance at work, Redundancy, Returning to Work, Stress, unhappy at work, work-life balance

It doesn’t seem that long ago when I was writing my 2017 round up and already we are looking forward to our next Christmas break. I wonder what lies ahead for your career in 2019. Will it be a career change? Will you be returning to work? Are you facing any uncertainty at work, perhaps through redundancy? Perhaps you are contemplating having a break from work? Is there a promotion you have your eyes on?

Whatever your situation at work, I hope my 2018 blogs and articles will provide you will some helpful and insightful information to help you. There is something for everyone…

BLOGS

Unpacking an inspiring career in 2018 (Jan)

Hidden careers you never knew existed (Feb)

How do you choose the right career coach for you? (Feb)

Aiming for perfection is not realistic (Mar)

How to explain a career break (April)

Stop procrastinating and just do it! (May)

Find career inspiration now from our new spotlight interviews (May)

How to tackle the changing job market (Jul)

The easiest way to find a job you actually enjoy (Oct)

How to redesign your career now? (Nov)

GUEST BLOG

CV Pitfalls/setbacks and how to get over them by CV-Library

SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEWS

Fundraiser follows passion and sets up successful travel company

Discover how Radha made an inspirational career change from charity fundraiser to setting up her own company.

Engineer and Mum makes successful career change following career break

Find out how Suzanne made an exciting career change and successfully returned to work after a two-year break to start her own business.

Creating your dream career through a portfolio career

Discover how Toni Sharp has created a portfolio career, combining work as an employment solicitor and her love for travel.

ARTICLES

Three action points to help you change career (Jan – Life Coach Directory)

Taking a career break from work (Jan – Jobsite)

What to do when work gets you down (March – Life Coach Directory)

How to find hidden career opportunities (May – Life Coach Directory)

Top 10 UK Career Development Blog (June)

The secret to finding the best career path for you (Aug – Life Coach Directory)

Getting the most from your career search when times are tough (Oct – Life Coach Directory)

Four simple words that can transform your career (Dec – Life Coach Directory)

I look forward to being in touch again with more blogs and articles in the New Year! In the meantime, I wish you a very merry Christmas!

www.tessaarmstrong.co.uk

How to redesign your career now!

November 6, 2018 tessaarmstrong.co.uk Career Change, job search, new job, Returning to Work, Uncategorized, work-life balance Career Change, job search, Redundancy, Returning to Work, work-life balance

Last month I wrote about the importance of good wellbeing and restoring the balance in your life between five areas (health, contribution, learning, relaxation and relationships) to make your job search easier. This month we are placing your career into the balance by considering the importance of taking the time to think about how you can find a job you enjoy that fits in with these five areas of your life.

The work mug!

Now I know many of you will own a work mug and feel a strong attachment with this mug, especially when others request to use it. Often it is the design of the mug reflecting part of our personality that forms this strong bond. It becomes part of you and who you are!

I want you to now imagine you have two work mugs. Although they are different mugs, the design of each reflects information about you.

The first mug is plain and simple. It has your previous and current job titles written on it in big, bold writing. Your attachment to this mug is strong because you have worked hard for these positions.

The second mug is colourful and has the word ‘Me’ in big, bold writing across the centre. The detail surrounding the word ‘Me’ includes information about your skills, knowledge, personality and interests. However, it does not mention your previous job titles.

You are now going to give two people you don’t know one of your mugs to look at. You give your first mug to Person 1 and your second mug to Person 2 and ask both individuals which careers they think would best suit you based on the design of the mug they have been given.

Who do you think was able to give you the most useful and comprehensive answer?

Perhaps Person 1 was able to give you a good answer. From your previous job titles, they could work out what experience you had. You would also prefer this to be the answer as you have worked hard to get to where you are now and would like your previous job titles to feature in your decision.

In fact, it was Person 2 who came up with the best suggestions. Despite not knowing your previous job roles, they were able to provide you with the most comprehensive answer based on detailed information about you and your life.

The challenge for Person 1 was that a job title says very little about who you are and what you want. Person 1 didn’t know about your interests, the skills you enjoy using, the environments which suit your personality and the extra knowledge you may have.

The second mug is now your focus.

When looking for the best job for you that fits in with your life, it is important to take the time to understand who you are, what you want and what makes you be at your best. Ideally, you want to find a job that uses your most enjoyable skills in a field based on your favourite subjects. Without this information, this job is hard to find. Take the time to understand who you are and design a mug that reflects everything about you. This will enable you to discover suitable career options that best suit your personality.

The easiest way to find a job you actually enjoy

October 2, 2018 tessaarmstrong.co.uk Career Change, job search, new job, Returning to Work, Uncategorized, work-life balance Career Change, job search, new job, Stress, unhappy at work, work-life balance

At a wedding I attended a few years ago, I started chatting to a lady during the reception. The reception was taking place in a marquee in the beautiful countryside and, as expected, everyone was in good spirits. The lady I was talking to was extremely friendly and, having introduced myself to her, I asked:

‘What do you do?’

She looked slightly embarrassed and hesitated. She eventually responded by saying that she didn’t do anything.

Really? Can this be right? Did she do nothing at all?

Baffled by her answer and unsure how to respond, I moved the conversation on as I continued chatting with her. During our conversation I discovered that she of course did do something. In fact, she did lots of things! She was a mother of three children, a housewife, volunteered a lot of time to her local community and enjoyed running.

This lady’s response is not unusual.

For many, work has been such a dominant part of their lives that it dominates their thoughts, feelings and lives. When asked ‘what do you do?’, the only thing they think of is work.

Does this mean without work, we do nothing?

There are risks involved in allowing work to dominate our lives in this way. These risks are created from the presence of a huge imbalance in our lives as we give lots of time and energy to work, leaving little time to attend to all other aspects of our lives. This imbalance is barely noticeable when work is going well. During these times you feel strong and good about yourself. You are achieving. However, we all know that work is rarely good all the time and there is a risk that when it is not going well, or you are not in paid employment, the imbalance can make you feel fragile, unhappy and stressed. It is left to the weaker areas of your life to make you feel good about yourself. While you feel like this, the possibility of finding a career you enjoy moves further and further away as you become increasingly despondent and stressed.

I may be painting a bleak picture, but I want to highlight to you the risk of allowing work to take over your life and the impact this can have on a job search, or even your performance at work, when it is not going well.

If you find that work is starting to dominate your thoughts, feelings and actions, it is time to restore the balance in your life. Take the time to think about all areas of your life, such as health, contribution, learning, relaxation and relationships, and work out how you can establish a healthy balance between them all each week. Perhaps make some time to learn something new or to help others. Also, ensure you allow enough time to exercise, see friends and to relax. You want to be able to provide a range of answers to the question ‘What do you do?’ so that when the strength of one area in your life is under threat, other parts of your life can help to strengthen and restore it again.

Restoring the balance in your life will improve your motivation, confidence and happiness, making it easier to continue your job search and find a job you enjoy.

Spotlight career interview: Creating your dream career through a portfolio career

September 6, 2018 tessaarmstrong.co.uk Career Change, job search, Lawyers and Solicitors, new job, Uncategorized, work-life balance Career Change, job search, Lawyers, new job, work-life balance

My spotlight interviews return to help and encourage those wanting to find a fulfilling and rewarding career.

My third interview is with Toni Sharp who talks about how she created an inspirational portfolio career spending part of her working week in her role as an Employment and HR solicitor whilst also spending time working as a travel consultant. Portfolio careers are a great way of creating a career which matches your interests and provides flexibility. The increasing range and variety of jobs available allows for a more creative and flexible approach when designing your career path. Toni’s journey in creating her portfolio career is an inspirational read as she details how she made her decisions to find different roles which match her passions, skills and interests.

Spotlight career interviews:

Read Toni’s interview here: Solicitor makes leap of faith and creates her dream portfolio career

Previous interviews:

Returning to work: Suzanne talks about how she made an exciting career change and successfully returned to work after a two-year break to start her own business. Read her interview here: Engineer and Mum returns to work and makes successful career change following career break.

Career Change: Radha talks about how she changed career from fundraiser to setting up her own travel company. She shows how taking control of your decisions can lead to amazing career opportunities. Read her interview here: Fundraiser follows passion and sets up travel company

Relevant help sheets:

Could a portfolio career be right for you?

Career options for lawyers

Transferrable skills for lawyers

www.tessaarmstrong.co.uk

How to tackle the changing job market

July 3, 2018 tessaarmstrong.co.uk Career Change, Coaching, job search, Returning to Work, Uncategorized Career Change, job search, new job, Returning to Work, unhappy at work

‘It has been estimated that 65% of children entering primary school today ultimately end up working in completely new jobs that don’t yet exist.’

I have recently been providing career coaching sessions for secondary school students. Working with this age group is always a good reminder of the importance of being prepared for the evolving job market by initially moving them away from choosing specific job titles and instead creating a career vision. As these young people may not be entering the world of work for another 7+ years, a vision will enable them to be adaptable when faced with different and changing options for progressing their career as well as focussed when making the best decisions for them.

In the same way, when you started thinking about your career the job market probably looked very different to how it looks now. However, at school you were probably presented with a limited list of jobs to choose from: a nurse, a doctor, a teacher, a lawyer, an engineer, the military. Did this list prepare you for the vast array of jobs that are available today? Did any of the jobs really suit you? Did this careers advice prepare you for the inevitable changes that are occurring within the world of work?

Tackling the job market today

Picking a job title, going for it and hoping you like is no longer the best way to start thinking about the best career options for you. There will be all sorts of new types of jobs and career sectors now available (this article may interest you, 10 jobs that didn’t exist 10 years ago) and the best way to discover these is to create a career vision that helps to focus your search. This vision can be adapted to suit you and your circumstances and enables you to remain open to new ideas, rather than limiting yourself to specific jobs.

As you use your vision to search for the best job or career to suit you, your role is to discover and investigate what is available, moving you away from the traditional job search to a more creative one. There will be a job that suits you and, by keeping an open and inquisitive mind, you will find it.

When changing jobs or career, keep an open mind as you look for opportunities that best suit you.

….just one more thing before you go…

My blog was recently selected as one of the Top 10 Career Development Blogs on the web…check out the list.