Happen to Your Career

We all have disagreements from time to time, right? Many of us, will voice our concerns to our boss and explain why our way is better. But, it’s not always with the right tone or attitude, so the boss stands his ground. “Our arguments aren't bad. I think of them as either productive or unproductive. And so, really, the goal is to make them from unproductive to productive.” - Buster Benson (today’s podcast guest)

We've helped thousands of people identify work that fits and then make the change. Why not you next? Apply for our Signature Coaching program. We’ll have a conversation with you to make make sure the program is a great fit for you and learn how we can best help.

It can be scary or intimidating when you are looking at making a change. This is one of the reasons you stay in a job and career you don’t like. The fear of the unknown outweighs the pain of your unhappiness. So, what if there was a way you can test out a new career AND keep the risk low? We’ve put together 6 ways you can get some reassurance that your new career is right for you!

So, we all know how the career change process works, right? The problem is that it doesn’t always work the way you may think. In fact, our guest today worked hard to find a great role within her organization. After networking internally, she was finally got the job offer - but then she turned it down. What? It might not make sense now, but turning down that offer was one of the best things she did to advance her career.

Katie only saw one way out: She had to quit. However, in our conversation, I helped Katie see a multitude of options available. Yes, quitting may be one of the solutions, but in my years of coaching people through career changes, I’ve realized jumping jobs or industries isn’t a catchall solution. In fact, many people end up right back in the same career dissatisfaction quickly after their move.

It’s likely that you’ve experienced working in a role for a period of time, and then you get a new boss. Many times, this can cause people to fear that change - unwanted change - is coming. What doesn’t usually happen, is that you take you take the role your new boss previously had. But, this is exactly what Karen did. It started with her taking inventory of her strengths and assessing her options. She realized that it was just a few small changes that could make a big difference in her ca

Don’t wait until you have “total understanding” or you feel like you have a “perfect plan.” Right now, we want to encourage you to put your new knowledge to work. Most people find success in ANY area of their lives by taking IMPERFECT action BEFORE you think you’re ready, and then continue to make adjustments. But what most people do instead is to wait. They think they’re not ready. They make the challenge in front of them SO HUGE in their brains that it’s nearly impossible to move

You know it’s coming, but it still freezes you in your tracks like a deer in the headlights. Maybe it’s right away, or maybe ten or fifteen minutes into your conversation - just when you start to think you might escape this time. But then it hits you. The interviewer flips through your file, folds her hands on top of her desk, looks at you expectantly and says the words that strike fear in the hearts of every job-seeker: “So…tell me about yourself.”

Once you identify your strengths, you can identify what you want in your life. This is the opposite approach that 99% of the world takes. Most people look at what they think their options are and try to make the best of those. They make their own barriers and limits by not considering what they really want and instead focus on what they think is probable or possible. Unintentionally limiting yourself in that way will also unintentionally limit your happiness!

We’ve talked about how your signature strengths aren’t just skills like, “I’m really good with Excel.” There’s more to it: It’s that intersection of things you’re really, really good at with things you really, really love — combined with your experiences, disposition, and a few shakes of both nature and nurture. “Signature Strengths are your unique combination of experiences, skills, knowledge and even the way you’re wired. It’s the stuff that makes you, you.”

It isn’t just things you’re good at, or things you’ve been praised for - although that’s part of the equation. Instead, we see it as the intersection of two things: Your strengths: what you can truly be great at — maybe even the best in the world if you spent the time and energy developing them! And Your passions: what you enjoy and love. Then add in your skills, experiences, knowledge and predispositions… and voila! You’ve got YOUR “signature strengths.”

Maybe you’ve spent time looking at job opportunities online, getting depressed at how few jobs you’re qualified for, interested in, or willing to do for low pay. You might have even taken every assessment, personality test and quiz out there only to find out that you’re still in the same place. You found out the hard way that the knowledge that being a “relator” or “achiever” or “learner” is interesting, but you still don’t have a raise, a new career, or work that makes you happy.

If you look into your past, you’ll see many different experiences, from hobbies, volunteer work, to career experiences. Many times, these different things may seem disconnected. They may even seem insignificant in the scope of your career. But, the threads of your experiences come together to create the person you are. When you discover the connection between these threads, you can begin to identify these “secret” strengths that have always been in your life.

If you want to take more control of your career or create your own position in your existing company, there’s no way around it: You are about to have some awkward conversations with your boss. But, what if a few well planned uncomfortable convos could lead you to everything you wanted out of your work (along with your boss’s stamp of approval)?  Would it be worth it then? My guess is ABSOLUTELY! 

Big Decisions. You know how these work. Our brains usually fight us and want us to stay in our comfort zones. Plus if you’re like me you can turn nearly anything into logic. Yes I know that I’m not loving my work and my boss is a overbearing but there could be another opportunity 4 months from now. Many people find themselves torn... They know and feel deep down inside that something isn't right, and they struggle with taking a chance to actually make a change in their career.