Where do you want your career to go?

This is my favourite career question.

It respects your opinion

It asks you to look ahead

It wants what you want

There's real positivity in this question.

Even if you're not feeling on top of the world, this question can help you set that aside and think about what's possible for a moment.

We can't always give a zinger of an answer when it comes to career questions but this one won't let us escape with a downbeat response when others might.

No one wants bad things for their career.

Good things have permission to shine through with this question.

Where you are and where you want to be may be closer than you think

Plenty of career questions ask what you've learned from other people but this one doesn't let you off so lightly. It gives you the space to think and the inspiration to use it.

Other phrasings of this question (Where could your career go? Where should your career go? Where would you like your career to go? etc.) feel a bit wooly and uncertain in comparison.

I like this question a lot and resolve to use it more in the future.

Who knows, one day I might even write a book about asking and answering this question.

Yes, I like it that much ;)

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Do you like being asked career questions?

Is there a career question you like better?

Are there any career questions you don't like?

Where do you want your career to go?

After all these questions, I'm looking forward to some answers...

Have a great weekend wherever you are!

Paul

Who is That Guy?

You know the guy I'm talking about. He's usually on the cover of a book with a smile on his face and a gleam in his eye.

He's got neat hair and white teeth too. And he really, really wants you to be successful. But how important is your personal success to that guy?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he wants you to do badly. I actually believe he wants you to do well. That guy knows what's best for you but there's one thing he can't know, and that's what you want.

That guy will probably sue me*

Figuring out what you want is a big part of career success. That guy did it his way but success at work might mean something different for you. You might value things differently. You might enjoy different things. You may have different priorities when it comes to grooming.

That guy won't ask what you want and really listen to the answer. But he's not all bad. It's not his fault. He is trying to help after all. And there's a great deal we can learn from him about figuring out what we want and getting motivated. He did that successfully after all.

We know his individual story but what of our own?

Maybe it's not up to that guy to ask us this question. Maybe it's up to us to find out more for ourselves.

Why not make it your business to find out what you want. Ask questions and explore your career for yourself. Find individual answers and make important discoveries based on your experience.

Questions like:

What's important to me?

What am I good at?

What keeps me going?

When did work last give me a good feeling?

Where should my career go in the future?

Share your career answers, ideas and questions below if you want to. Jump to That Guy's defence if he has helped your career move forward.

I want to hear what you have to say. That Guy doesn't have a monopoly any more.

All the best for now,

Paul

[*Disclaimer: Any resemblance between the above photograph of my Uncle Brian and any persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.]

What's stopping you?

If we're not careful, we can spend our careers wondering...

Can it be done?

Is it possible?

Can I do it?

What happens if I fail?

But - if you were careful - could you wonder like this instead...

It can be done.

It is possible.

I can do it.

Whatever happens I'll learn something.

What difference would it make to your career if you could?

Inspiration is like a beautiful sunset.

You don't have to be in a beautiful place to experience it.

All the best for now

Paul

Fill the Void

Ending a job starts one of the biggest changes of routine most of us are ever likely to experience.

The place you visited every day of the week disappears overnight. It doesn't matter if you chose to leave or the choice was made for you, a change of routine like this hits just as hard.

Most of the things you did for your job [your - Ahem - skills that pay the bills] are put on ice temporarily. Colleagues and workmates are no longer with you everyday. The guy you bought your coffee or sandwich from, the lady who knew what paper you like, the ticket collector or car park attendant you greeted at the top and bottom of every day. They're all still there but now you're somewhere else.

So where does all this change leave you? What new routine do you adjust to? What are you doing with all of your time? Can anything possibly fill a void like this overnight?

Lots of space to fill: Worry or Opportunity?

[Wailea Horizon - courtesy of Rosa Say on Flickr]

If you're looking for a new job right now, you might have heard it said that, 'looking for a job is a full-time job' but have you ever found this to be true? Has anyone ever found this to be true?

When's the last time the person telling us this spent 8 hours a day at their computer, at the library, on the telephone, reading the job pages of newspapers and everywhere else a job search takes us? Even that 'full-of-good-advice' well-meaning person would have to admit that as a new routine, 'making your job search your new job' isn't a patch on the old one.

What you fill the void with - whatever it is - is up to you. And no-one does it overnight. No matter what they say.

Adjusting to change as big as this takes time and needs a steady, determined approach. You can adjust and you can build a new routine and it can start on day one. But it will work best for you when it's built on small, gradual steps to get your career back on track. You'll do all of things you already know you have to do. You'll also learn plenty of new things along the way. And you can do it without all that pressure and expectation on your back.

The steps we take to adjust to a new routine might seem small and insignificant at first but they all add up. And they can add up to something that fills the void when a job disappears overnight.

Pick a question if talking about voids has got you in the mood:

What helped you get back to work when you were searching?

What big changes did you face after leaving your job? How did you handle them?

What did changing jobs teach you about your career?

What new routine are you adjusting to right now?

Comment below and join the conversation...

All the best for now,

Paul

A Good Career Feeling

When things go well at work, you get a good feeling.

We all know the feeling and there are plenty of ways to describe it: satisfaction, fulfilment, self-worth, happiness, success.

But what actually gives us this feeling?

Where does it come from?

When have you had it in the past?

What can give it to you again in the future?

Nothing like a load of questions to kill a good feeling...

You don't have to be an explorer to explore

[Rough Waters=Beautiful Skies: see more at Saundra's Flickr Photostream here]

...Unless they are questions that help you explore your career for satisfaction and success.

Questions like the ones above are worth asking because they have the power to turn a good career feeling into something a little more substantial. Something you can begin to understand, find evidence for, even seek as your answers become more familiar to you.

If you know the feeling I'm talking about, if you have experienced it briefly or even only once in your career before now, you have some real evidence to focus your questions on.

What work were you doing at the time?

Who were you doing it with?

What could have made that feeling last longer?

What would have killed it stone dead?

I hope you do choose to think about the good feelings your career has given you. And how your career always has the potential to give them to you again in the future. Only one person will benefit if you do.

All my best to you for now,

Paul

work/life fusion FAQ

After some of the recent Q&As on this blog I thought an FAQ might be a good idea. So here goes...

What's this blog all about?

work/life fusion is about making decisions that can lead to career and job satisfaction.

Why focus on career decision making?

It's rarely a simple choice like sweet or savoury, strawberry or banana when it comes to our careers. We all face key moments in our working lives and we're under pressure to get our decisions right. There are so many influencing factors, so much opinion and advice to make sense of. Why not explore career decision making in a blog?

Did anyone else hear a tree falling?

[Roots Remain - courtesy of Rosa Say on Flickr]

What are the toughest times for career decision making?

I could say it's always tough but that's an easy answer and you'd never forgive me for it! It's tough when you're on a job search. Knowing what to do for the best has unique challenges when you're facing redundancy or if you have already been laid-off. It's tough when we face any kind of career change at any time in our working lives. Times can get tough but it's still possible to make good career choices.

What separates good and bad career choices?

Career and job satisfaction is the measure that lasts longest. I wouldn't argue if you said success, promotion, financial stability, or anything else you feel passionately about. But I would argue that your personal feelings of satisfaction and fulfilment can outlast anything else you could aim your career at.

Can anyone make better career choices?

Yes! Choices that can lead to career satisfaction have a lot to do with the way you experience change, opportunity and even the odd failure and setback. Positivity is important as it helps us overcome obstacles. Looking inwardly as well as outwardly helps us find a deeper resolve. This in turn gives us more trust and assurance in our own ability to lead our careers forward.

What's the best place to start if I wanted to make better career decisions and aim for job and career satisfaction?

The best place to start is wherever you are right now. Begin by exploring questions like What's important to me?, What am I good at? and What do I want for the future?. This is the best way to start defining career success more personally to you.

Is there a secret to career satisfaction?

Sadly no. There aren't any quick-fixes, short-cuts or easy-answers but you can find out more about career satisfaction and what it means to you, if you are prepared to look for it too. Take a look at some of these career stories if you'd like to read more!

Add your questions, answers, opinions and anything else in response to the above.

Best Regards for now,

Paul

Certainty, Doubt & Your Career

If you begin with certainties, you'll end up with doubts.

If you're willing to start with doubts, you'll end with certainties.*

What did you know for sure when you started your career?

Are you sure about the same things now?

What doubts did you begin your career with?

Which of these doubts have stayed with you over the years?

Why do any of these questions matter to you?

If only there was a film called Certainty...

[Doubt... Bolt - Photo Courtesy of Joanna Young on Flickr]

These questions matter because they help you appreciate what your career experiences have taught you to date. The doubts you have changed to certainties prove just how much you have learned in your career. In a similar way, certainties that have turned into doubts are a good reminder of how much you can still learn.

Whether we work or not, it's true that our certainties and doubts can change over time. But work is one area of our lives where certainties and doubts always have a big impact. For example, if we are certain or doubtful at the wrong time, it can lead to two things that damage careers: doubt in ourselves and other people doubting us.

Sounds a bit bleak, unless that is you return to the statement at the top of this post. If you believe there is truth in that statement, when you find yourself doubting - or being doubted by others - take heart because your journey towards new, meaningful certainties has already begun. I for one am certain of that!

All the best for now,

Paul

[* I've taken the liberty of modernising and paraphrasing Francis Bacon in the above statement. For the purists, FB's original (16th Century) words were as follows: “If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts: but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.”]