How healthy is your career?
Have you ever thought about your career in terms of its health?
How do you know that your career is healthy?
Would you recognise the signs of an unhealthy career?

For many of us we are too busy doing the job to pay any attention to the career itself. Like many physical illnesses its all too easy to ignore the signs until it's too late. Unnecessarily long hours, continually dealing with "urgent" problems, endless to do lists, poor relationships and more unread than read email are just a few of the symptoms of an ailing career.

It is also easy to confuse career advancement or promotion with career health! It's very flattering when you are offered promotion but how many of us give serious thought to the potential consequences of promotion?
Is it what you want? Does it fit with your career plan?
What skills or training needs does promotion raise and how will they be met?
Career creep can often result in a role that you have neither the motivation or skill to make a success of. The good news is that even if you don't have a career plan (we will cover this in a later issue) you can still take control of your career, improve your relationships and enjoy the success you deserve.

Ask yourself the following questions:
    Are you satisfied with where you work? 
    Are you happy with your daily commute? 
    Do you have sufficient opportunity to change your role/job?
    Are you satisfied with what you do on a daily basis?  
    Are you happy with your working hours?  
    Are you happy in your relationship with your Manager/People/Peers?
    Are you confident that you have sufficient skills/training for your role?
    Are you satisfied with the investment in your professional development?
    Are you happy with the level of feedback you get?
    Are you satisfied with the quality of your spare time?
    Do you feel valued?
    Does your role fit with who you are?

'No' answers to any of the above indicate areas where you should take action. Call us or email to arrange a free no obligation 15 minute consultation to discuss your options.

Sell yourself in 2 minutes
(That's all you'll probably get before being interrupted)

Think of three 'chunks':
30 seconds on the most important things you've achieved since leaving education up to 5 years ago.

60 seconds to spell out the 3 most relevant (to the interviewer) achievements in the last 5 years, that's about 20 seconds each. Make sure you state what you actually did, and why it was so important to your company (pounds or percentages will emphasise the point)

30 seconds to give them your three 'Good at's..'. That's only 10 seconds each, so think about the three words/ short phrases that sum you up (make sure they tie in with the 3 achievements). For example 'Identifying Business Opportunities' says so much.

You don't have time to say how wonderful your partner is, how intelligent your children are or that you are really fit for your years. If the interviewer is interested, you'll be asked.

The great thing about this approach is that you have set the direction for the interviewer to follow so have taken the important first steps in managing your interview (managing your interviewer will be covered in later issues)

Prepare well - because you don't get a second chance to make a first impression.