by Fabianna Mueti | Nov 6, 2020 | Career Happiness, Self discovery, Succeeding where you are
Our career journeys differ, based on multiple things; our upbringing backgrounds, access to resources and opportunities, who is in our network, our abilities, luck by design, etc. Many people are trying to figure out what career path best suits their needs, values, and interests, and along this never-ending self-discovery journey, there are a couple of traps to be avoided, lest one finds themselves in a situation where they dug themselves into a hole. We highlight three traps to avoid below.
1. Comparing yourself to others – Ever caught yourself comparing where you are in your career journey to someone else (seemingly more successful), consequently setting career goals that are influenced by this person? They seem to make more money so you set a goal for yourself that you want to make that amount in X period of time? We understand that it can be frustrating to feel like you’re giving it your all and yet, you don’t seem to be advancing in your career as much as the next person. However, it’s important to introspect on what your markers of success are. Is it just money? What about things like a good working environment? Effective communication? Good leadership that also displays empathy? Having ownership of your work and not micromanagement? These are critical elements that can not only make you enjoy what you do and thus motivate you to succeed but also feed into your overall wellbeing. The next time you find yourself comparing yourself to someone else, ask yourself; what is making me feel like this? Are my needs being met? If not, what can I do to change this situation? And set goals that are aligned to what YOU value as success.
2. Believing there’s only one career path for you – Many people believe that there is only one career path for them and that they must therefore perfect their skills and be an expert in their field. And while this is not necessarily a bad thing, it can prevent one from exploring their other interests and discovering new paths they can take on. What if you can be the jack of all trades? You’re allowed to excel in multiple things at the same time. Furthermore, with the world of work constantly changing; certain skills becoming redundant and new ones being needed, why would you want to stick to one thing? 🙂 Don’t get caught unprepared because you failed to explore other skills and interests. Our co-founder Martha wrote about how you can achieve career success by being the jack of all trades, read the article here.
3. Refusing to get out of your comfort zone – “Why would I want to switch careers? It’s such a long process and this is working for me right now”. Ever found yourself uttering these words or thinking this? You’ve considered transitioning into a different career but are afraid it’s going to be an arduous process that may not pay off? This is a valid fear to have, however, choosing not to do anything about your desires can have far more reaching consequences than taking the risk to do something about it. Making a career transition doesn’t have to be a one-man journey process, in fact, it’s one that requires you to seek out a support system, outside of that you’ve already established with your family and friends. It requires that you network outside of your current career field, that you potentially reach out to a career coach that will help you strategize on how to make this career transition, that you potentially offer to volunteer in another organization that’ll provide you with the skills you need to make a successful transition, etc. How will you get out of your comfort zone today and take a step towards achieving a fulfilling career?
Wondering if you’re stuck in a career rut? Here are 5 signs you might be. Looking to make a career transition? Reach out to us at happycareers@edgeperformance.co.ke and join a community of like-minded happy career seekers!
by Fabianna Mueti | Oct 13, 2020 | Career Happiness, Mapping and Transition, Self discovery, Succeeding where you are
Since 2003, millions and millions of people have joined Linkedin; for different reasons – to network, to find job opportunities, to find new talent (for recruiters and hiring managers), to build your personal brand, promote your services/products, etc. While many people have mastered how to effectively use the platform to advance their careers, we’ve come across many dormant LinkedIn profiles when scouring the platform to find desired profiles for the roles we hire for. Now, more than ever, virtual networking, as uncomfortable as it may feel, is a skill many of us will have to grow. Today, we explore 3 key ways you can up your game in how you use this vital platform to grow your career.
1. Finding job opportunities – Sure, job boards are great, LinkedIn however, provides more than one way of finding job opportunities. Apart from advertised positions on the platform, a job seeker may also connect to recruiters and hiring managers to enquire about new opportunities in organizations or in spaces they work in. With the rise of social recruiting through social media platforms and referrals, having existing relationships with recruiters and hiring managers can introduce you to opportunities you were not privy to. Of importance here, is to always make sure you have an updated LinkedIn profile that appeals to recruiters and hiring managers. In this blog post, we discussed some of the things recruiters look for on your LinkedIn profile.
2. Increasing your network – As mentioned, virtual networking has been on the rise as more and more social media platforms increase. LinkedIn is especially a crucial platform for those looking to connect with like-minded individuals in their field of work or potential clients for their products and services. It’s also a great place to initiate partnership requests in relation to your work or ask for assistance to learn about specific industries and professions. It’s not just enough to connect to people in your industry, if you’re looking to grow your network, then you have to engage with peers and thought leaders in your industry; comment on their posts, share relevant information, go a step further and invite some of them for coffee, or a phone chat to learn more from them. Check out this blog post, for tips you can use to create meaningful LinkedIn connections.
3. Create your brand – LinkedIn has been able to provide many people with opportunities to build their brands, therefore allowing them to curate an audience niche that relates to and/or engages with their products, services, or content. For instance; if you’re a Career Coach who specializes in helping people revamp their CVs, job hunting strategies, or navigate their career transition journeys, then you’re likely to have many job seekers and professionals looking to transition in your network. The information you share, the way you engage with your audience, who you interact with, etc, are all means of creating your personal brand on LinkedIn. This creates an avenue for the RIGHT people to reach out to you and for you to reach out to them for various opportunities or reasons that can lead to your professional/career growth. Here’s an article on how you can leverage LinkedIn to build your personal brand on LinkedIn.
If you have a LinkedIn profile, consider what information it’s sending out to your visitors. If you’re job hunting, would a Recruiter approach you? If you’re a thought leader in your industry, would people trust your thoughts and opinions based on the information you share? We wrote about 5 ways you may land your next job on LinkedIn here. Part of our Career Acceleration Program is helping professionals revamp their LinkedIn profiles, reach out to us today, and learn how you can be part of our growing community of meaningful and balanced career seekers. Email – happycareers@edgeperformance.co.ke.
by Fabianna Mueti | Oct 1, 2020 | Career Happiness, Self discovery, Succeeding where you are
Why am I getting all these interviews but not getting hired? When will I ever get promoted? How will I transition into a different career? Have you ever grappled with these questions? And have you ever wondered how developing confidence may help you navigate them? Confidence is a critical element of career success. Could it be that you’re great on paper but don’t exude confidence in job interviews? Have you approached your boss about that promotion? Have you reached out for help to figure out how to transition into a different career? In all these areas, and more, confidence is a key ingredient for success. We highlight three ways below, developing confidence can boost your career.
1. You are known for being assertive– Assertiveness is the quality of being self-assured, bold, and confident without being aggressive (Wikipedia). Let’s cut through the chase, you are going to make it only so far in your career if you; don’t stand up for yourself, express your opinions and ideas, make difficult decisions, stand your ground when needed, propose uncommon solutions, reject offers that don’t match your worth, set and communicate your boundaries with your new employer, position yourself as a great candidate expressing your successes and strengths in a compelling manner and so on. Here is an article with practical situations on how to practice assertiveness at work.
2. Getting yourself out of the comfort zone – This one is a tricky one. Often we think we need to be/feel confident in order to get out of our comfort zone. Actually, we don’t. If you talk to many people that have taken risky decisions and bold moves, they did so while still being scared. However, one small step at a time results in increased levels of confidence. So you got to act even when afraid. Confidence is a muscle that only grows with practice. Up-skilling, transitioning to a new field, pursuing a postgraduate degree, volunteering to develop new skills, asking your supervisor to support you in your career development, etc – all of these things will scare you in the beginning, and then they will not. Eventually, you will take more and more steps to evolve, learn, and ask for what you really need to propel your career forward. In case you have been wondering what career direction to take lately, ask yourself these 5 questions and start taking those tiny little steps to get out of your comfort zone!
3. Making better career decisions – Career growth is filled with a tonne of decisions that need to be made – Should you apply for that job? Should you pay for that online course? Should you work with a Career Coach? Should you share your new idea that could cut costs to your supervisor? Should you approach that hiring manager on LinkedIn to ask about a job opportunity? Should you leave your job despite not having found a new one? All these questions require you to trust you will be able to work through whatever repercussions arise as a result of the decision taken. This type of trust and self-assuredness comes from taking the time to understand ourselves, our needs and values, and clearly knowing what will make us feel fulfilled and successful in our careers. Needless to say, the more you grow, the tougher the career decisions you will need to take!
Find similar content here on our Career Happiness Center. Interested in working with us to help you navigate your career challenges? Reach out to us at happycareers@edgeperformance.co.ke.
by Fabianna Mueti | Oct 1, 2020 | Career Happiness, Mapping and Transition, Self discovery, Succeeding where you are
We’re in the last three months of the year! Can you believe how quickly 2020 has flown by? This years’ events have led many of us on a reflective journey, without doubt, this has included our careers and what this year may mean for our future career plans, or lack thereof, or maybe, what this year means for the next decisions we make concerning our careers. Our co-founder Martha wrote this reflective post on LinkedIn about how we can turn tragic events into gifts, drawing from her own career journey, read it here (ideally before you finish the rest of this email 🙂 ). Have you found yourself almost obsessively pondering about where you are in your career? Reflecting on the skills and knowledge you have accumulated and wondering how you can leverage them for this moment and the future? If so, This post is for you. We highlight two questions you should ask yourself when conducting a career audit, to hopefully help you manage your career in the right direction.
1. Is your skill-set still relevant? – The conversation about the Future of Work has been happening for many years now. To witness so many changes that had been theorized and predicted to happen in the future materialize within a span of months such as mass remote working has been…. quite something. Now, many people find themselves thinking about what this period means for their future careers. Professionals in some of the industries that have been hit the hardest by this pandemic such as hospitality and tourism, have to critically reevaluate how their skill-set can be utilized in new industries, or even, pursue different career paths entirely. Others may find themselves in situations where their skills are no longer relevant in the new world. Answering this question honestly allows you to analyze your strengths, weaknesses and take the necessary steps needed to propel your career to the next level such as taking online courses, or working with a career coach to remap your career journey, volunteering to up-skill among others.
2. What new things have you learned about yourself in the last six months? – Many of us discover new things about ourselves when going through a life-changing experience, and this is one that is being collectively lived by many around the world, so really, we’re also learning a lot about each other, and this can be an opportunity to explore new interests, opportunities, networks, etc. So what are things you have learned about yourself that you didn’t know before? What new interests have you developed and how can you pivot them (if interested) into your career? Has being quarantined made you realize you need to reassess your purpose? If this is the case, the next phase should be to figure out what resources, tools, and possibly professional help, you need to realign your career goals to your new discovered interests and/or needs. Self-awareness is a continuous journey, and we outlined in this blog three ways you can develop it for career success.
For further reading, please check out this post we wrote containing five reflection questions you should ask yourself if you’re wondering about your career direction. If you found this useful, please forward it to your friend or network. Check out more content on our Career Happiness Center. As always, feel free to reach out to us at happycareers@edgeperformance.co.ke if you’re looking to address your most pressing career challenges.
by Fabianna Mueti | Sep 3, 2020 | Self discovery, Succeeding where you are
Our values are the bedrock of the decisions we make concerning our lives. They influence our actions, how we show up in our relationships (personal and work), determine what is important to us, our career decisions and so much more! When your personal values are aligned to your work, you feel a sense of, fulfillment, joy, connection to what you do, and are driven to put your best foot forward. Ultimately such positive feelings are great for our mental well-being. On the other hand, when your personal values are misaligned to your work, your overall well being, productivity, performance, and confidence are negatively affected. Let’s explore further how this happens
1. Lack of performance. A misalignment of values can and does remove your sense of care for the work you’re expected to do. When you don’t feel connected to the values of an organization, you may often find yourself not being accountable, reliable, not delivering quality results, and possibly, not meeting deadlines. It is thus important you critically consider an organization’s values and how these influence their culture, especially when applying for new roles. Check out this blog on how you can assess an organization’s values during the selection process.
2. Burn out – Ever felt like you’re consistently lacking the energy to meet work KPIs? Find it difficult to concentrate on work tasks? Feeling detached from your work, team members, and even your personal relationships? These are some of the symptoms of feeling burned out. While there are several causes that can lead to burnout, values misalignment can exacerbate stress levels and lead to burn out. If you’re feeling uncomfortable about doing certain work tasks, are afraid of raising concerns you have to your boss(es), don’t feel like your work is being valued and so on, this may cause you to lose your motivation, make you feel exhausted because you’re doing work you’re not finding fulfillment in and of course increase your stress levels ultimately leading to burnout.
3. Stagnation – Just because an organization has certain values, does not mean that they live up to them, or all of them. This is why you should continue assessing the organizational culture and how values are implemented, even after you’ve been hired. Clocking a misalignment in values as early as possible can prevent you from investing too much time in an organization that is, for instance; not stretching your skills and knowledge therefore not allowing you to develop your career. This can lead to you being stuck in a position or job for too long when you could have used that time to seek out new opportunities in other organization s that may be invested in your career growth. An organization that is intentional about upholding its values and meeting those of the employees is an organization that is committed to seeing its employees grow in their careers. Wondering if you’re stuck in a career rut? Read our article to find out.
Still, wondering how personal values lead to job satisfaction? Read this article that further explains the importance of clarifying your values with your work. As always, you can find more similar content on our Career Happiness Center, and you can reach out to us about your career challenges at happycareers@edgeperformance.co.ke.
by Fabianna Mueti | Aug 26, 2020 | Career Happiness, Self discovery, Succeeding where you are
Succeeding in our career paths is a dream many of us have and the journey towards that success is different for everyone. Self-awareness, however, is a common factor that plays into this success. What is self -awareness?
“Self Awareness is having a clear perception of your personality, including strengths, weaknesses, thoughts, beliefs, motivation, and emotions. Self Awareness allows you to understand other people, how they perceive you, your attitude, and your responses to them at the moment.” (Pathway To Happiness)
Our career development journeys are fueled by how best we understand ourselves; what we’re good at, what we aren’t, how we react to different situations, how we form relationships and engage with others along the way, etc. We outline below three ways you can further, develop your self-awareness and how it plays into career success.
1. Personality tests as a foundation – Personality tests help you get a head start to learn more about yourself and how your preferences and talents might influence work results. They help you further understand your personality, your interests, strengths, what excites you, what gives, and what drains your energy. All this information is valuable in deciding what career paths to choose and what jobs offers to take or reject. The more we experience life, the more we evolve, thus we encourage you to take these tests at different levels in your career as with each new experience you become an even better version of yourself. Some of the most popular personality tests you can try are 16 personalities and the MBTI test.
2. Regularly evaluate your strengths and weaknesses – Self-assessment and reflection is a key element of developing self-awareness. This is why it’s important to keep track of your progress; the skills you have learned, your achievements, impact created as a result. This also includes being bluntly honest about your areas of weaknesses and making deliberate steps to improve on them, or, pursuing jobs or careers that align mostly to your strengths.
3. Ask for feedback – A part of understanding your strengths and weaknesses is also asking for feedback. Sometimes, we can be blind to our own weaknesses, therefore, asking people we trust who are interested in our own growth and success (colleagues, bosses, mentors, friends, family) can provide us with additional insights to learn more about ourselves. This is especially useful in uncovering our blind spots where more of our talents and strengths may be hidden.
How else do you improve your self-awareness? Learn more here and share with us at happycareers@edgeperformance.co.ke.
Find similar content on our Career Happiness Center.
