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How to Discover Your Perfect Career
By amandaalexander | Business
This week, our guest post is from Jennifer Baker. Jennifer will also be running a masterclass for The Academy for Talented Women on How to Discover Your Perfect Career. Read how you can join us at the end of the post.
“One of the greatest tragedies of life is that so many men and women go to their graves with the music still in them” Oliver Wendell Holmes (US Supreme Court Justice 1841-1935)
Work is one of the most significant and time-consuming elements of many people’s lives. It is also the area of their life where people most often feel dissatisfied and unfulfilled. The average person will spend 40 to 50 years of their life at work – that is too long to spend in the wrong job.
The last time most of us had any career advice was either at school or university. Discussions were invariably centred on vocational type qualifications and which organisations provided the best graduate training.
We set out on a career path with a clear starting point, a vague mid phase and, beyond that, usually the complete unknown. Yet promotions follow, headhunters call, offers are accepted, and life goes on.
Then at some point – often triggered by a change in personal circumstances, such as a big birthday or significant external event such as redundancy or restructure – we reach a career crossroads.
So, we must take stock of where we are and think about where we would like to be and understand what it will take to get there. We need to examine our skills, marketability and personal preferences, then decide what to do next and develop a strategy to make it happen.
Whether you find there are too many difficult choices or feel that you haven’t found your “niche”, one of the best things you can do to get a bit more clarity is by asking yourself a few incisive questions. Asking yourself these questions won’t magically give you the answer. However, they will get you to start thinking outside of the box.
Our career priorities can change at different times during our life. Many people go through a re-evaluation process, especially after a traumatic event. So if you feel you’ve lost your sense of direction, why not take stock of things? If the day-to-day work no longer fulfills or interests you, it could be time to move on before your morale takes a nose-dive.
To a certain extent the degree of satisfaction you get from your work is within your control – and taking control of itself can cause a great sense of satisfaction.
If a lack of job satisfaction is affecting your emotional well-being, then you need to take decisive action. You need to think about which direction you’d like to be heading in and whether it is achievable, but most of all if will it enrich your working life. Ask yourself what your priorities are in a job.
Think about times when you have felt satisfied – and why – and think of the low points and how you can avoid repeating them.
These are all things to consider.
Research shows that those who are most satisfied and motivated by their work are in careers which reflect who they really are; careers which reflect their true nature and their real passions; careers which draw on their natural strengths and employ their favourite skills; careers which allow them to complement their deeply-held values.
Imagine a virtual “gym”, but a gym where, instead of working on your fitness, you work on your mindset, your skill set and your life! Now imagine you don’t have to travel to that gym and you can access it from anywhere in the World – on your computer, your tablet or your phone.
Imagine that, instead of signing up for a Zumba or a Spinning Class, you could go to a class on, for example..
or even…
And let’s say you could sign up to do that class at the time it’s scheduled. But if you missed it, it wouldn’t matter, because you could simply do the class by yourself, at any time of the day or night to suit YOUR schedule!
The Academy for Talented Women has been created and built by me, Amanda Alexander. And I created it from having coached hundreds of working mums over many years. I know that, for a woman to be successful, there are many elements of her life that have to work – and they have to work in harmony. That’s why I built The Academy is around 3 pillars of a working woman’s life:
– Your Career
– Your Life
– You
I believe that getting coaching with a GOOD Coach is an invaluable investment in your career and your life. It certainly changed my life for the better when I first worked with a Coach back in 2002! But what if funds simply won’t stretch to your own Coach? I get that – even if you’re earning a good salary, after food is paid for, kids’ activities are paid for, the phone bill, the council tax bill and the boiler you’ve just had to replace.. you quite understandably might see coaching as a luxury that you literally can’t afford.
But what if you COULD get access to a GOOD Coach without the usual price tag? In fact, what if you could access not just a GOOD Coach but a multi-award winning, highly experienced Coach who was accredited as Professional Certified Coach with the ICF? That’ll be me then! (You can read more about me here).
That’s why I included a monthly “drop in” coaching call” within The Academy membership. It’s usually held during “lunch hour” from 12.30 to 1.30 pm BST, with the odd evening call at 8.30 pm BST. But if you can’t make it to the call, you still get to ask a question beforehand.
The idea of the coaching calls is – if you’re stuck, you need an idea, motivation or inspiration, I’m here for you.
The Academy has also been created to allow you to access learning, development and support when it suits YOU. I understand how busy you are – so am I! I understand that, for you to invest in yourself and your career, you are probably going to do so in pockets of time, often whilst multi-tasking. So do I!
That’s why I created an online members’ area with all the Academy’s fantastic masterclasses, coaching sessions and online life coaching course under one roof!
None of us can do it alone. Whether your goal is to change your career, get a promotion or even leave your career and go it alone, you need support. Or maybe you’re just struggling to keep up with the fast pace of life – you need support (and practical strategies). You need someone who can be your cheerleader when the going gets tough, who can be your advisor when you’re stuck and who can hold up a mirror to show you how capable you really are, when you have lost sight of the fact.
I created The Academy for Talented Women to give you the support you need in order to be successful. Whether it’s in our warm and friendly private Facebook group, in our monthly coaching calls or even at our annual “Stepping Up” live event (yes, you even get a live event!), The Academy for Talented Women is all about providing you with the right kind of support you need to be successful, fulfilled and balanced.
How do you join?
You pay a monthly subscription via PayPal or your credit card. You can leave at any time. There is no “minimum contract”. There are NO catches. You can get the full details about The Academy and join here.
I look forward to supporting you!
