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When things go pear-shaped
Adriana came to see me because she felt her work as a fundraiser in a well-known charity might be under threat. There were cuts, a new manager at the top and she was only working part-time after maternity leave. But she desperately wanted to hold onto the job, as the hours suited her and it was regular money. ‘I need to know how I can impress my new boss. This is the first time I’ve been to a career coach, but I’ve been told you’re good. So what can I do?’ Adriana was always direct. We discussed how she could look for opportunities to expand her value in her current…
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One magic word
Dani had been through a tough time. Her previous employer had really undermined her confidence until Dani began to feel sick when she went to work, and eventually fell ill. She had to take a long period off without pay and then lost her job. When I first met her, Dani told me that she knew she had been going in the wrong direction for quite a while. ‘I took my first job after college because it was offered to me, without thinking too much about it. And my mother thought it was perfect for me. So then I just carried on from there’ Dani admitted. ‘Now I don’t know…
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So many excuses
I was listening to a recording of Dr Wayne Dyer, who inspired a lot of people in his lifetime and continues to do so after his death. He was talking about all the reasons we use for not doing what we really want – how we persuade ourselves not to be who we really want to be. I recognise most of them, from my own repertoire and from the chorus I’ve heard from clients down the years. Here are a few of those. I’m too old I’m too young I’m not clever enough I don’t have the money It will take too long I don’t have the energy I don’t…
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The greatest gift
Lisa is a long time client who I admire very much. She’s always professional, always gives 120% to what she does and tries so hard to fulfil the expectations of others. When I first met her she was working very long hours in an organisation that didn’t really appreciate her efforts. It took a while to help her see that she was nearly burnt out with so much giving, but eventually she took the plunge and left to become a consultant – a great change for her. She decided, a little reluctantly, to allow herself some time out during that period, to review her values and give herself a little…
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Listen to yourself
When I’m with a client, I’m listening very carefully to what they say, of course. And I’m listening to what they’re not saying. It’s a feeling sometimes that there may be something else they want to say but haven’t yet. Or something they don’t think is important enough to mention. Like the time Anna told me about her previous work in marketing for a charity and how she felt about going back to it after her second child. It all seemed very sensible. But I sensed that there was something else, something that wasn’t being said, or that was holding her back. We spoke about the new management and how…
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Your cv is not…
Most of my clients worry about their cv. They really don’t enjoy writing one or refreshing it when the time comes to apply for a new job. And that’s because the idea of a cv has a lot of false ideas around it. About what it should be, how it should or shouldn’t be written and what it’s for. So here are a few things I’ve discovered over the years that might surprise you. your cv is not a full chronicle of your career that must show no ‘gaps’ your cv is not a document that defines or sells you your cv is not a once and for all exam…
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Anything but networking
Most of my clients think the best way to find work is by looking in places where jobs are advertised. These days that would be online. Literally hundreds of thousands of positions are posted on sites every day. Take your pick. Or they might prefer recruitment agencies, hoping that someone there will be able to find them the perfect job. Of course, jobs are advertised and filled online, and agencies or headhunters do place people for companies all the time. But it’s a fact that most jobs are found through some kind of personal contact. A 2016 LinkedIn article states 85%. I’m not sure that there are any accurate figures…
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Why work?
There are many reasons, of course. Money. To feel useful. To be part of something. To share skills, values, a vision. To feel valued, have status in society as a whole. And when we are ‘out of work’ – that is, not being paid in some way for our daily efforts – how do we feel? Often, less valued. Less useful. Invisible, even. When my son was small and I was not ‘working’ for a while, someone asked me at a party what I did. ‘I’m looking after my little boy,’ I answered. ‘Oh, but what do you really do?’ was the response. Not always, of course. Work in the…