Career Chat!

Is CAREER the new buzz word? Since the pandemic began and everyone experienced a shift in work and how we work, we've heard a lot about careers and work in general. Priorities have shifted for some of us and we've put the things that are most important to us first like family, friends, health, and various interests. Many people in the service industry lost jobs and had to figure out another way to make it financially. Companies had to shift to work from home. Employees began viewing work and careers in a new light. Living through the COVID-19 pandemic caused a lot of us to think differently, move differently, and prioritize what's most import. So let's break down this buzz word; Career.

Let's talk about what a career really is. A career is a series of jobs in a particular industry that offer growth in experience, responsibilities, and increased salary opportunities. As an example of a career, many years ago, I my first job in corporate was as a secretary at a bank. Here I am 36 years later and I'm still working in the banking industry and have grown in this business from administrative work, to customer service management, to operations management, and now to talent acquisition / corporate recruiting. I've grown my career through increased responsibilities, education, and experience.

Why is career talk so important now? Prior to the pandemic, the focus was on work, work, work and grinding so hard at work that that things that are important to us got placed on the back shelf -- family, friends, health, community, and other interests. We barely made time for those things and worked 40-60 hours per week -- well with these hours it leaves little time for anything else. Living through the pandemic and in these times post pandemic, there's been a shift. People have revamped priorities and work is that thing that we have to do to maintain a certain lifestyle but it's not the thing that drives us. We're learning to prioritize family and health and friends...and time! I've seen people who have worked with me for 30+ years finally retire. I've seen people who would normally skip taking time off work for relaxation and real vacations take their time off to recharge. The reason that career talk is so important now is because of what we all experienced and are still experiencing because of Covid-19 and living through the pandemic. Living through Covid, for me -- made me think more about the things that are more important than just work. I also shifted in the type of work that is important to me. I realized that I wanted to use more of my foundational skills, what came natural to me, and what makes me feel more alive!! I spent 4 years in operations (back office support) management when I realized that I wanted to work more with people and having a positive impact on those that I provided service to both at work and in my coaching business. It is important now to examine the type of work you do and if not already aligned with your skills and talents -- take the steps now to discover where you'd best feel alive in your daily work -- what type of work you want to be doing that would be most fulfilling.

How do you know if you should be considering changes in your career? If nothing else, Covid taught us to reposition, rethink, reconsider...shift priorities. If you dread going to work or are just not personally fulfilled with the work that you are doing then you should be considering a change in the work that you do or where you work...or learning how to move up in the company that you currently work at. How do you do this? You begin with one of the 3 tiers that I coach on and that's INSIGHT. What this means is taking a look at yourself and deciding what's important to you, what you're good at, what you want to be doing, how you can get there...what training is needed and researching the types of positions that you're interested in...the type of work that you'd rather be doing and that you would find fulfilling. You may need guidance and help through this process from someone who has the tools to assist and help you see yourself in a different light. That's what a good career coach can do for you...that's what I can do for you. I believe that to make a career shift you have to do some introspection first to help guide you to your next career move.

Once you have a little more clarity on where you want to go and what you would find more fulfilling you then must learn what you need to do to ensure you are prepared. Is training needed. Additional education? Do you need a degree? Do you have the technical skills to do the job? This really helps you lay the groundwork for a strategic career move.

Career is the new buzz word and it's all good!! It's good to know that there are choices and that we have shifted priorities to put those things closest to and reduce stress. The work you do should be as fulfilling as possible.

I remind people that I come across to take inventory often of the the work they do; to do a gut check on what they get out of work too and if you're not fulfilled or don't know what excites you or makes you come alive to take steps to do a little self discovery to prepare for their next career move.