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.

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

Stop procrastinating and just do it!

May 8, 2018 tessaarmstrong.co.uk Career Change, Coaching, fear of failure, job search, Performance at work, Returning to Work, Uncategorized, work-life balance Career Change, Coaching, fear of failure, job search, Perfectionism, Performance at work, Returning to Work, unhappy at work, work-life balance

Do you procrastinate over making decisions about your career, leaving your success to chance?

A few years ago, I did a seminar for the Coventry and Warwickshire Young Professionals titled ‘A great way to get ahead in your career and it’s much better than leaving it to chance’. It was about developing the ability to step out of your comfort zone and take control to enable you to achieve a fulfilled and successful career, full of opportunities and enjoyment.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? All you need to do is take control and you will be successful and happy.

If only it was that simple. If it was, I would certainly be out of a job! This is certainly a case of ‘easier said than done’, but why? Why is it so hard to take control of our own lives? Why do people need my help?

Procrastination, procrastination, procrastination…

Yes, we procrastinate.

I am sure you have been guilty of procrastinating, finding it creeping into your decision-making process and casting doubt on your great ideas.

Think about it. What was the last big thing you wanted to achieve in your career?

A promotion at work?
A better work life balance? (Given we spend 70% of our waking energy on work, unsurprisingly I hear this one a lot.)
A career change?

What happened next? Did you achieve it?

We all want things from our working lives, but often it stops there. Procrastination takes control and we do nothing about it. We leave success to chance.

However, it doesn’t have to end there. You don’t have to leave your career progression to chance. If you want to get ahead, there is a more beneficial and reliable way….

Just do it….

Do something about it: Become aware of the challenges you face at work and the resources available to overcome them– don’t wait for someone to tell you what to do (it may never happen).

Do try different things: if what you are doing is not working, try something else. For example, if you are constantly running out of time to complete work – research different time management techniques and adapt the way you work. It could be as simple as turning off your emails for parts of the day as emails are a big distraction.

Do think long term – Think to the future. What are you aiming for? Make an action plan to help you to move forward in the most efficient way.

Needing more inspiration? Have a look at this:

Art Williams: Just do it speech

As Art says, just do it! Take control and do it – this is much better than leaving your career to chance.

If you don’t climb the mountain, you can’t see the view (Harvey Mackay)

‘Aiming for perfection is not realistic’

March 6, 2018March 6, 2018 tessaarmstrong.co.uk Career Change, fear of failure, Lawyers and Solicitors, Performance at work, Uncategorized Career Change, fear of failure, Lawyers, Perfectionism, Performance at work, Stress

perfectionism

Is 100% perfection ever possible?

Not according to Winston Churchill,

“The maxim ‘nothing but perfection’ may be spelled ‘paralysis.’” (Winston Churchill)

….and I think my course tutor agreed when she wrote on my feedback form:

‘There is obviously more you could do but aiming for perfection is not realistic (although it is expected of lawyers.)’

This was 10 years ago, yet I will never forget her comments. I have been guilty of perfectionism and have had to learn to lower my high and unrealistic expectations of myself to allow myself a chance to try new things and learn from mistakes I make along the way to improve.

I am, of course, not the only one. Perfectionism is extremely common and continues to trouble individuals as they enter the workplace, as confirmed in a recent article about the rise in perfectionism in young people. This article sets out the characteristics and beliefs of a perfectionist as:

Holding excessive standards and punishing yourself for failing to achieve these standards.
Validating your worth by perfection.
Experiencing guilt and anxiety about unworthiness.

Does this sound familiar? I am sure those of you who are perfectionists will agree that always believing nothing is ever good enough is an exhausting state of mind. It can lead to stress, anxiety and poor concentration as well as other mental health issues.

If you consider yourself to be a perfectionist, there are steps you can take to alleviate the pressure you put upon yourself. Use the following tips to start the process:

Failure is not a weakness – start to believe there is a learning process through which you can gain knowledge and succeed.
Set yourself high achievable standards and realistic goals that do not require perfection.
Get the job done. Do not procrastinate for fear of failure. Take manageable steps instead, taking each decision at a time. Enjoy the process, not just the outcome, and this will open new opportunities you didn’t know existed.

Don’t let perfectionism hold you back. Motivation comes from striving to be excellent, not perfect.

“Strive for excellence, not perfection, because we don’t live in a perfect world.” (Joyce Meyer)

www.tessaarmstrong.co.uk

Unpacking an inspiring career in 2018

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

Can we all find an inspiring career which makes us feel happy and fulfilled?

We all want a career we love but often lack the ability to find the job that inspires us the most. In fact, many people I speak to say they would change career tomorrow if they could but have no idea what motivates them or what they could do. I then wonder, where has their positivity gone? Where has their childlike curiosity disappeared to? Do they really have no idea about what motivates them?

The reality is that our positivity and curiosity does not disappear but instead becomes buried deeply under a sea of everyday thoughts and beliefs about ourselves, the world and the future. These have formed through past experiences, knowledge and predictions for what might happen.

‘I am not good enough’

‘If it goes wrong it will be my fault’

‘They will think I’m crazy’

It is these negative thoughts that are pushing your positive thoughts under the surface and preventing you from being open to opportunity and fulfilment.

So, how do we allow our positive and curious thoughts to resurface? Well, if you bear with me for a moment and use your imagination to work through the following instructions, I will attempt to help you…

First, pack the interfering everyday thoughts into an old suitcase and secure the case (you can unpack them later if they mean that much to you!).

Your positive and creative thoughts now have room to resurface, retrieve these and pack them into a new suitcase. Use these questions to help your thinking:

What jobs would you like to try for a week?

If all jobs were paid the same, what would you do?

What are the three things you feel most passionate about?

Great! You now have two suitcases, one with new inspired thoughts, the other with old everyday thoughts.

Now imagine both these cases are on an airport conveyor belt. They will pass you once and you must choose just one of them to take home and continue filling, the other will be left behind. Which case are you going to keep, the case of positive ideas and thoughts or the case of old everyday thoughts?

Quick, they are passing you…this is your chance…GRAB ONE NOW!

I am sure you are now getting the point!

Remember, you know yourself better than anyone else. If you actively seek out the thoughts and ideas that will give you the best chance of finding an inspiring career, you will find happiness and fulfilment.

WISHING YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY AND INSPIRED NEW YEAR!

www.tessaarmstrong.co.uk

Tessa’s 2017 career blog round-up – something for everyone!

December 11, 2017December 11, 2017 tessaarmstrong.co.uk Career Change, fear of failure, job search, Lawyers and Solicitors, Performance at work, Redundancy, Returning to Work, Uncategorized, work-life balance Career Change, fear of failure, job search, Lawyers, new job, Perfectionism, Performance at work, Redundancy, Returning to Work, Stress, unhappy at work, work-life balance

Will you be pondering over your future career during the Christmas break? If so, perhaps one of my blogs from 2017 will help to guide your thoughts. I have provided all the links below (please excuse any inaccuracies with the publishing date– these became slightly muddled when I launched my new website in June!).

There is something for everyone – whether you need help with your current job or would like to search for something new. Have a look…..

Stop waiting, take action! (Jan)

How to cope if you are put at risk of redundancy (Jan)

How to get a new job now – The three Ps! (Feb)

Four ways to feel happier at work (March)

Are you tired of being available 24/7? (April)

3 steps to turn your fear of rejection into career success (May)

How to make the first step towards finding a job that suits you (June)

How to stop stress preventing you from pursuing changes in your career (July)

Four focus points to help you make a good impression when starting a new job (July)

Who is the best person to tell you what job you should do (and it’s not me!)? (Sept)

Three steps to overcome your fear of being judged (Sept)

The importance of learning to say ‘no’ (Oct)

Does looking at past events help you change career? (Nov)

Are you fed up of worrying about your career? (Dec)

Five ways to overcome setbacks (Oct – Life Coach Directory)

Is it time to stop feeling so stressed at work? (Dec – Life Coach Directory)

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

www.tessaarmstrong.co.uk

Are you fed up of worrying about your career?

December 4, 2017 tessaarmstrong.co.uk Career Change, job search, Performance at work, Uncategorized Career Change, job search, new job, Performance at work, Stress

When looking back at 2017, were there things you were worried about in your job or career which you now realise were not worth the worry?

Perhaps you were worried about not being good enough for your new job.

Were you anxious about a work appraisal?

Perhaps your family and friends were telling you not to change career making you worried about it all going wrong if you went against their advice.

Were these things worth the worry? Did worrying make you feel happy and positive, driving you towards a fulfilling career, or did it make you feel stressed and tired?

Worrying can make you feel miserable. It stems from negative attitudes and beliefs and can delay decision making and progression. A common belief which causes worry is thinking you are not good enough. This belief frequently stops people achieving what they want to achieve.

If you found 2017 to be a year of worry and would rather make 2018 a year of self-control and planning, then first have a think about your current beliefs about yourself and ensure you adopt an ‘I can’ attitude.

With this new positive attitude, you can then move forward with your career planning, using these questions to help focus your ideas:

Do you still want to be in your current job in 2019? What can you do over the next year to develop within your current role?
Do you want to progress within your organisation? What is your next role and what can you take on to enable you to progress?
Do you want a career change? If so, what is your overall goal and what steps do you need to take to get there in 2018?

Leaving behind the worry and taking control of your thoughts will enable you to decide what you want in your career and have the confidence to achieve it!

www.tessaarmstrong.co.uk

The importance of learning to say ‘no’

October 10, 2017 tessaarmstrong.co.uk Lawyers and Solicitors, Performance at work, Uncategorized, work-life balance fear of failure, Perfectionism, Performance at work, Stress, work-life balance

Learning to say no is about making a choice to focus on what is important to you, enabling you to reduce feelings of stress and freeing up time to focus on your personal goals and values.

How often do you check your emails each day? They are really distracting, aren’t they? I find that I must physically close my inbox to stop me looking at my emails, otherwise I am too easily distracted by those unread new arrivals in bold that are shouting at me to respond ‘NOW’.

Responding to emails is a great example of a daily task that prevents you from being effective and is often the cause of time management issues. Let me explain its true impact by relating it to Stephen Covey’s 3^rd habit, ‘Put First Things First’.

In his book, ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’, Covey describes a time management matrix dividing how we spend time in to one of four ways, defined by the importance of the task (does it provide results?) and the urgency (visible tasks):

Urgent and Important tasks – immediate and important deadlines (often a crisis or problem) Focusing on this area can cause a lot of stress.
Not urgent and important – to develop effective personal management – activities that will move you forward in your career.
Urgent and not important – Time pressured distractions such as email. These are not really important but someone wants it now.
Not urgent and not important – Activities that have little value but can be relief from other work.

Checking emails most frequently falls within category 3. However, we often mistakenly think they are category 1 tasks which explains the distractive nature of emails. This misunderstanding usually arises from the expectations of others rather than the email itself being THAT important.

The problem of being consumed by category 3 means that little time is left for the not urgent and important jobs in category 2. Category 2 tasks help personal development, the discovery of new opportunities and provide solutions to resolving problems in category 1. Failing to spend time on this category can lead to neglecting important areas of your life and career.

One way to resolve the heavy focus on category 3, is to learn to say no. Identify your priorities and manage the expectations of others by identifying those emails that can wait. This can relate to any category 3 task. Even if you are asked to do something good, if it keeps you from what you really want to be doing then learn to say no in a respectful and pleasant manner. Keeping a focus on category 2 can make a huge positive difference to the effectiveness of your working and non-working life.

Remember: Every time you say yes to someone else’s priorities, you are saying no to your own priorities.

www.tessaarmstrong.co.uk

Three steps to overcome your fear of being judged

September 25, 2017September 25, 2017 tessaarmstrong.co.uk Career Change, fear of failure, job search, Performance at work, Redundancy, Returning to Work, Uncategorized Career Change, fear of failure, job search, Perfectionism, Performance at work, Redundancy, Returning to Work, Stress, unhappy at work

Everything you want is just outside your comfort zone. (Robert Allen, author/speaker)

I have recently been busy updating my social media accounts, an activity many would find easy as it simply involves updating profiles and sharing useful messages and articles. However, for me, it is not so easy. It takes me right out of my comfort zone and, when I wonder why, I think this is because part of me fears being judged through social media’s power to amplify public opinion.

What will other people think of me? What happens if a negative comment is posted on my LinkedIn or Facebook page for all to see? What happens if someone disagrees with me?

In the end I sometimes find myself procrastinating over the perfect wording to avoid judgments being made. Perhaps that is the lawyer in me requiring 100% accuracy and perfection! However, is perfection possible? Can I really control other people’s reactions in this way? No, of course I can’t, and the immediate and public nature of social media does not allow for this. To be noticed you need to step out of the norm (despite the risk of attracting diverse attention). There is also no time for procrastination when you have a business to run!

As well as procrastination being a risk factor, the fear of being judged can be really debilitating for some people. It can quickly lead to a loss of self-esteem as it causes individuals to become anxious or easily embarrassed. Not many people want to look silly and this can lead to individuals keeping quiet rather than doing what they want to do.

Does this fear sound like something that is affecting you from confidently moving forward with your ideas? If so, use these three steps to help you to challenge your fear.

Be decisive – do you want your fear of being judged to hold you back? Your fear affects your feelings and these feelings affect your behaviour, preventing you from achieving what you want to achieve. Don’t let the opinions of others become more valuable than your own individuality, allowing others to hold you back. You may miss the career opportunity you have always hoped for.
Be curious – think of something more useful to believe. It is your thought patterns around fear which need to change first to enable you to change your behaviour. Instead of holding a fear of judgement, replace your thoughts with curiosity. You may learn new things that help you move forward with your plans and strive towards your goals.
Take action….

…..I am now going to be bold and take action by inviting you to follow me on LinkedIn or to Like my Facebook page. Please also share anything that you believe would be useful to others. I share lots of information to help those wishing to change career, develop their career or improve performance.

I am also thinking about making and sharing short video clips with helpful career tips…watch this space!

Everything you want is just outside your comfort zone. (Robert Allen, author/speaker)

http://www.tessaarmstrong.co.uk