Sharing Great News

I know I should do more of this, especially when there is great news to share…

A good friend to ExploreYourCareer.com (and work/life fusion) has just found and started a new job

Art was one of the first people to sit our Job-Seeker’s Interview last year (you might find it interesting to take a look at his answers, particularly now he has landed this new role)

In the end it all happened in a flash (there were less than 2-weeks between first-contact and his start-date) but a quick turn-around like this hides a great deal of hard work and effort

Today I wanted to celebrate Art’s great result (and rightly so!) but I also wanted to celebrate every single one of those hard-won yards that played a part in this well deserved outcome

If you’re looking for a job right now a story like Art’s might catch your eye

Sure it has the happy ending we might all like to hear (at least every now and then) but I reckon there’s even more to take away from a personal job search story like this...

Art might not have known how it would come (or even where it would come from) but something in his interview answers tells us he knew a result was getting closer

Even when the going got tough (and when is it anything but tough on a job search today?), Art stayed positive, stuck to his task, remembered his value to employers and shared experiences (back and forth) in a small group he trusted

Art’s too modest - unlike me, I'm a blogger ;) - but he might forgive me for saying this in public one more time…

Good on you Art, you’ve earned this. Congratulations once again!

And all the very best for the future in your new job.

Paul

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work/life & belief

Without belief we’re just jobseekers
Just workers, just commuters, just numbers
What we believe brings our work to life
Belief creates attraction around our careers
Belief makes us memorable to others and keeps us true to ourselves.

When we talk about belief (whatever we believe in)
We’re powerful, we get excited and we want to move forward
When we examine, understand and communicate with belief
(And we can do every one of those things)
We take real steps towards our beliefs coming true.

["I believe in the freedom of music." by Chuck Olsen on Flickr]

Some of my career beliefs...

I believe we are the experts when it comes to our careers
I believe our expertise is at its best when we talk and come together with shared aims
I believe work and life have a unique relationship within every single person

(A relationship too complex to separate but the perfect depth to explore)
I believe every moment in our working lives can be better understood
I believe every career has potential and every person has the potential to look forward

(and I am yet to meet the person who disproves that last belief)

All the best for now,

Paul

Snakes & Ladders

Today was definitely a snake day,

Which means I took a slide in the wrong direction.

Sliding backwards and landing with a bump always hurts,

Especially in a world where we like to move forward.

Looking up isn't always such a bad thing :)

Although I might be a few squares further back on the board,

There's no lasting damage and tomorrow is a brand new day.

I've got a new bruise to help me avoid making the same mistake,

And I also learned this for a fact:

No matter how big the snake,

It never takes you back to square one,

And it always leaves new ladders in front of you.

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Have you ever had a snake day?

How did things start looking up for you?

Start a new conversation in a comment box below!

Warm, Soft Facts about Your Career

Why do we talk about the cold, hard facts?

Because they hurt when we get hit by them?

Because we need to feel pain in order to learn something?

I disagree, and if that separates me from the masochists then so be it, they will enjoy being rejected anyway.

Facts are facts. The only coldness or hardness is in the way we give or receive them and we can all do something about that.

Continuing the theme...This place is like a box of chocolates

[Image courtesy of Pablodda on Flickr]

Here are a few facts about work that lose nothing and gain everything when you take them warm and soft instead of cold and hard.

It's an inevitability that one day we will all retire from work. It's also an inevitability that at some point in our retirement we will look back and reflect on the work we have done, the people we did it with and so on. No matter how we divide it up or how many smaller parts we cut it into, we will ultimately package our working life as a whole. We'll do this because of our need to find something simple to define and make sense of our experiences, all the jobs we had, the different things we achieved and the struggles we went through.

If you haven't retired yet, here's a warm, soft fact for you. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing right now, you can remind yourself ahead of time that it's part of a much bigger story. Now that might not sound warm and soft if you're not working, or you're finding it hard to get a job or figure out what you want to do but, right now, whatever you are doing, it's still your career and one day you will know that to be true.

Warm, soft facts like this say to us, Why wait?

When you look back on your career from your future retirement, you'll remember all the moments that were tough to live through. Some of your memories may even give you a chill when you think about them but it's also possible for these moments to be a great source of personal satisfaction. Not just because you picked yourself up and found the energy to move beyond them and turn things around but also because they were the moments and the times that led to new things, that connected your experiences and your life in ways that were unique and special to you.

These times will have played their role in the much bigger story of your work and your life as a whole and they can give you a warm, soft feeling that beats its cold, hard cousin any day.

All the best for now (from a warm, soft place),

Paul

Personal Happiness and Job Satisfaction

Now that work/life fusion has been joined by a brand new Blog, Book & Place to Explore, it seemed like the perfect time for a new voice on the subject of work and careers to join us here too.

So, without any further ado, here's an interesting, thoughtful and generously written new article from a most welcome first-time contributor to this blog, Angela Martin...

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Sometimes when we are not fulfilled in the workplace, it has less to do with our actual work and more to do with our own head or our own heart.

While this is not always the case, sometimes unhappiness at work is an indicator that something else in our life is lacking. Sigmund Freud once said that a person's two greatest needs are to work and to love. It's easy to see how even the most stimulating work can become empty without:

1.) A love for what you do

2.) A love for who you are

3.) A love for the part of your life that exists outside of work

There's nothing standard about this photo of Liège

[Image courtesy of Bert K on Flickr]

A new research study published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology indicates that those who are unhappy in life are not as likely to find satisfaction at work, according to BusinessWeek. In fact, the report supported the idea that personal happiness has a greater effect on work satisfaction than work satisfaction has on personal happiness.

I will provide an example from my personal life, since experience is always the best teacher. I once wrote for a publication in a career that I had been seeking since high school. You would think that I would find some measure of fulfillment there, as I had persevered for many years to attain this career goal. However, outside factors began to affect my personal happiness. My significant other had lost a job around the same time, requiring him to move three hours away. My career required that I move far away from friends and family. I found that I had stopped reading books, which took away another source of personal happiness. Without these vital sources of love and support in my personal life, my work life slowly began to lose its appeal.

I later left that job and found another in the same field that required me to work more hours, yet placed me closer to my friends, family and significant other. I also took up reading again. Even though the job was more stressful and demanding, I surprisingly enjoyed it more. I believe the reason for my sudden job satisfaction was that my personal happiness had dramatically improved. The work itself had little to do with it.

So before you decide to change careers because you find your current work dissatisfying, you may want to evaluate whether or not something outside of work is disrupting your personal happiness.

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This guest post was contributed by Angela Martin, who writes on the topics of Job Search Websites. Angela welcomes your comments at her email Id: angela.martin77(at)gmail(dot)com

Trust in Your Career

What would you say if I asked you to trust the following three things...

✪ You can make informed decisions based on evidence and experience

✪ There's no such thing as an absolute right or wrong answer

✪ You know more about your career than anyone else

Trust means staying together.

[Image courtesy of Jasmic on Flickr]

Trust is a big deal when it comes to work. Careers tend to suffer when trust is broken. We're asked to place our trust in a number of things throughout our working lives. Some companies, managers and experts welcome our trust and work hard to keep it. Others are happier to come and go, taking their promises with them, forcing the things we trust to change. Including some of the things that our careers may have relied upon.

Trust is important, that's why it needs to be based on something that can't and won't disappear. That's why trust should be something we can easily understand and build upon with care. We can all trust something completely different but our careers are founded on trust all the same. We can all trust something that grows with us as we discover more about work and gain new experiences over time

Take another look at these three simple things and ask if they are worthy of your trust

✪ You can make informed decisions based on evidence and experience

✪ There's no such thing as an absolute right or wrong answer

✪ You know more about your career than anyone else

Experience versus Opinion

Experiences stand where opinions fall

"Opinions are like small intestines: every body has one." Anon.

Ask these questions and you'll get an opinion...

What are my options?

Where should I go from here?

What would you do in my place?

Why am I in this position?

Ask questions like these and you'll get much more...

How have you made difficult decisions in the past?

What makes you confident about the future?

What got you through your last job search?

What tough times have you lived through?

The difference is all down to experience...

Nobody ever photographed an opinion

[Image courtesy of EBONY~CAT on flickr]

Opinions that read perfectly on paper or sound just right in conversation don't always work in the real world. When you are job searching or deciding where you want your career to go, opinions can be confusing and that gets in the way.

True experience is always grounded in fact. Good, bad or indifferent, an experience can teach you something. Someone else's experience can be just as valuable to you as it was to them. What you have learned through experience can always be relied upon, it happened to you after all.

Instead of asking someone's opinion, ask what they have done, find out what they lived through, what they rely upon and the lessons they have learned. Find out from them what has worked.

When an opinion just doesn't feel right, seize the opportunity to ask for an experience or share one of your own.

Discover for yourself why it makes all the difference.

Keep Going

So many times I gave up in my head

Called it a day and went back to bed

keep going

[Image courtesy of victorsounds on Flickr]

Experts can talk about tough times for careers. How being laid-off is nothing to worry about. How the knocks and the setbacks on long job searches can be overcome. How to renew ourselves after long periods out of work.

But the choice to keep going is ours.

See that delightful break come your way

Ask Questions

Learn Lessons

Make Gradual Improvements

Keep Going

Time, Space & Encouragement

It may feel like it sometimes

but other people are not in your way

No one is in your way

[Image courtesy of katclay on Flickr]

Along the Way

Careers aren't like train journeys

We spend more time on the way instead of at our destination

There are no return tickets

There's no tea trolley either

The middle of nowhere or right where you want to be?

[Image courtesy of ecstaticist on Flickr]

Careers are like train journeys

They're best when we know where we're going

Even better when we know we're getting there

There's a strong case for self-catering too

On a train, On your career or both

Take a moment to stop and think...

How beautiful it can be sometimes, along the way.

All the best for now,

Paul

work/life change

Things need to change

I need to change

Things have changed

I have changed

I've no idea where they're going but sometimes I'm still jealous ;)

[Image courtesy of P - A - S on Flickr]

Of course there are differences but making changes and catching-up with change requires the same effort.

What do you think?

What changes do you want to make right now?

What changes are you trying to catch-up with?

All the best,

Paul

Hold that thought!

Whatever it was,

don't let it go just yet.

Where would it take you,

if you held it just a little longer.

Once you let it go it might be hard to get back

[Image courtesy of Jakob E on Flickr]

What is it asking you to explore?

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Just Words

Moral Support for Your Career

What's stopping you?

Just Words

"When all looked sour beyond words, some delightful 'break' was apt to lurk just around the corner.” Amelia Earhart.

This has definitely been true in my experience but they're just words right?

Sometimes you need a lot more to keep going.

When you have tried everything, done everything you can; in that moment it's hard to imagine words that can help.

But these are more than just words.

Simple expressions like this are living experience.

Someone wants you to know what got them through.

They're sharing what they have learned with you.

In the hope that what worked for them might work for you too.

That looks like a good place to aim for.

[Image courtesy of tricky ™ on Flickr]

You will probably have words like these of your own.

When things aren't going your way they remind you that better times will come.

When you feel stuck they remind you that some things are still within your power to change.

When you want to give up they are the words you can turn to.

In my view they are much more than just words.

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So,

Is there a little piece of wisdom you have relied on when the going was tough?

Has a delightful break ever lurked around the corner for you?

Why can't we see round corners?

What experience would you like to share?

They're just words after all, right?

All the best for now,

Paul

Moral Support for Your Career

Where does moral support come from?

Morals? Supporters? Both?

Wherever it comes from, moral support makes a big difference.

It gives you a boost

Makes you feel more confident

Lets you know when you’re on the right track

But can we find moral support by ourselves?

Know the way even when you feel like you're out there on your own

[Image courtesy of Ken Lund on Flickr]

Moral support is out there and you can find it in many places.

The people you trust are an excellent external source.

But moral support is also something we can discover for ourselves and our careers.

Exploring what’s important to you, what you are good at and what keeps you going is a source with great potential for moral support.

And you don't have to look too far.

What would you say about moral support?

Where have you found it the past?
Can you live without it?
What difference has it made to your work/life when you’ve had it?
Could you get into the habit of finding it for yourself?

Happy New Year and all the very best for 2010!

Paul

Can you think of a virtuous circle?

Something that goes around, comes around and is good?

A virtuous circle is opposite and entirely preferable to a vicious circle.

Here’s one example: When we make better career decisions, our experience of work improves. When our experience of work improves, we have more positive influences for our career decisions.

OK, it sounds a bit simplistic but there is evidence to support each step.

For instance, a better understanding in key areas like your VTGs (Values: What’s important to you, Talents: What you’re good at, Goals: What keeps you going) can help you make better career decisions.

And better career decisions are a great way for a virtuous circle to start.

It looks even prettier when you take a take a step back

[Photo courtesy of Swamibu on Flickr]

Big decisions about work and careers can make you feel dizzy.

Your VTGs can slow the whirling carousel and give you more confidence when you have a choice to make.

You start the virtuous circle when you’re ready and on your terms.

Think of a career cycle you’d like to break or any circle you'd like to be less vicious and more virtuous.

There’s plenty of evidence to show it can be done.

All the best for now,

Paul

Where you want to be in 5 years time

The last post on this blog proved nothing.

Not as bad as it sounds because the intention wasn't to prove anything, the intention was to find out what's possible. To ask if there might be a better way to answer this career question: "Where do you want to be in 5 years time?"

Proving and disproving should start with questions worth investigating. Questions that offer knowledge worth gaining. Questions that are worthwhile exploring.

It might seem like an unusual way to try and answer career questions but a mathematical approach does offer certainty. And if I'm not mistaken, mathematical certainties often begin with doubt too.

Maths has this much in common with career decision-making at least!

A worthy exploration or a waste of time?

Your opinion has the same value as anyone else's.

Maybe maths isn't the right discipline to help us as individuals answer this question. If that is ultimately proven (here or elsewhere) then we've all learned something worthwhile.

You don't have to be a maths professor for your opinion to count.

As an outsider to the language of maths, there are some things I am envious of. The importance of what you say, not who you are is one. Pierre de Fermat was a career lawyer not a mathematician after all.

Here's an excerpt from an email I received last week:

There are only two types of question:

1) Questions mathematics has answered

2) Questions mathematics has yet to answer

I took that as encouragement to keep exploring this question.

Special thanks to Steve and Kyle for commenting last week and moving this question forward.

All the best for now,

Paul

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Discover a new way to answer this question for yourself at exploreyourcareer.com

Where do you want to be in 5 years time?