Four rules you need to know for career success

June 6, 2019July 13, 2020 tessaarmstrong.co.uk Career Change, fear of failure, job search, new job, Performance at work, Returning to Work, Uncategorized Career Change, fear of failure, job search, new job, Perfectionism, Performance at work, Returning to Work, unhappy at work

If Neil Armstrong can land on the moon, you can do it too!

Imagine if, on 16^th July 1969, Neil Armstrong sat in his spaceship and refused to launch on completion of the countdown. Doubts had crept into his mind; he had lost his confidence and he could not bring himself to press the final launch button.

‘I can’t do it. The moon is approximately 239,000 miles from the earth, and we have to travel safely – there and back. This is the farthest anyone has ever travelled. Is our equipment good enough? How can this ever be possible? I feel so worried. Let’s leave the launch for another day. ‘

What would have happened if Neil Armstrong had refused to launch into space that day?

Someone else would have been the first person to land on the moon. Neil would have been the person who sat in his spaceship on the ground at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A and went nowhere.

What may have stopped Neil Armstrong from launching into space?

Neil and his team had completed all the learning, preparation and training they needed to do to complete the mission, but Neil had forgotten one thing. He had not worked out how he was going to overcome the doubts in his mind. He was unaware of the power his negative thoughts would have over the achievement of his dream.

Great news!

Fortunately, this didn’t happen and on 20^th July 1969 Neil Armstrong became the first man to land on the moon. Despite not having smartphones, the Internet or GPS and landing on the moon with only 25 seconds worth of fuel left, Neil and his team did it. They faced challenges, overcame these challenges and achieved their mission and their dream.

OVERCOMING DOUBTS IN YOUR CAREER

Astronauts are just like us and will have times of doubt, questioning their ability to succeed. They are also just like us and have a choice. They can choose to let these thoughts and feelings prevent them from achieving amazing things and sit stationary in their spaceship or they can choose to press the launch button.

Wouldn’t you just love to press the launch button in your career now? You may want to launch a career change, apply for a promotion or move towards self-employment.

Follow these rules to keep you on track and help you move forward. After all, no one wants to sit in their spaceship on the launchpad for ever.

Recognise that it is OK to experience times of worry and doubt. Sometimes things happen in our career that make us feel this way.
Notice how you react in times of worry and doubt. Perhaps you ignore it, become irritable and distracted or withdraw from the situation. Does your reaction help you move forward constructively?
Understand that when you are thinking and feeling negatively, these thoughts and feelings are likely to eventually stop you from doing the things you want to do in your career.
Trust that you can take action. Do something about your negative thoughts to make you feel better and enable you to achieve what you want to achieve in your career. You can practise changing your negative thoughts into positive thoughts, you can ask for help, you can try new and different ways of achieving things. Just remember, you can do it!

You have everything within you to achieve, you simply need to press the launch button and do it. Learn to overcome the challenges you face and keep going until you have achieved your mission.

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.

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

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.

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.

www.tessaarmstrong.co.uk

FIND CAREER INSPIRATION NOW FROM OUR NEW SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEWS

May 21, 2018May 21, 2018 tessaarmstrong.co.uk Career Change, Coaching, fear of failure, job search, Returning to Work, Uncategorized, work-life balance Career Change, Coaching, fear of failure, job search, Returning to Work, Stress, unhappy at work, work-life balance

How do you make the first step towards building a fulfilling and rewarding career?

Over the next few months I am inviting others to tell you about their careers in a series of spotlight career interviews. I hope these interviews will provide interesting and inspiring reading to those of you who are feeling unfulfilled by your careers.

I decided to launch this series of interviews because many people I speak to lack the confidence to change career or are finding it hard to work out what they want to do for a job, frequently asking me for true examples of career changes to help them progress with their ideas.

I hope this series of interviews will encourage you to make the first step towards building a fulfilling and rewarding career as well as providing you with new job ideas.

The first spotlight career interview

I am launching the series with an interview that will show you how taking control of your decisions can lead to amazing career opportunities.

By making the first step and trying out ideas, Radha made a successful and inspirational career change from fundraiser to setting up her own adventure travel company, Flash Pack. Do have a read of her interview below. She gives some great advice for those wanting to change career and you may also be inspired to take a holiday!

FUNDRAISER FOLLOWS PASSION AND SET UP SUCCESSFUL TRAVEL COMPANY

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.