talent liberator

Want to improve your career prospects? Part 3 of 3.

March 10, 2013 By // by DigitalJenIPC

Then it’s time to get ‘learning hungry’.

This blog shares 10 more tips and is the third and final blog in a series of 3.

1) Study for a relevant new qualification

2) Learn a language

3) Read an educative book/Kindle download on your commuting bus/train/tube/journey

4) Listen to a relevant personal development download when driving instead of listening to music

5) Follow ‘opinion formers’ on LinkedIn

6) Download free relevant white papers on the web

7) Make time each week to reflect on what you have learnt and what you need to learn next to take you to where you want to go

8) Review your learning and development objectives

9) Think about what you want to get skilled at and ‘model’ someone (i.e. learn from what they are good at and copy/adapt their approach to suit you)

10) Investigate your own learning style, so you can feed your mind and memory in the best way for you.

What tips would you add? Doing just 1 of these 10 tips will make a difference over time to your career prospects. It is easy to do nothing or put it off.

In an increasingly competitive world, it is vital to build your skills, experience and knowledge to ensure that you are marketable and to give yourself choice.

For more useful insights and tips, follow us on Twitter. Click on this link:

https://twitter.com/talentliberator

Want to improve your career prospects? Part 2 of 3.

March 1, 2013 By // by DigitalJenIPC

Then it’s time to get ‘learning hungry’.

What action will you take today to grow and improve your career prospects?

Being in the same role can get a bit stale after a while, even if it feels like you are doing the workload of two people, and it’s important to protect your position with lots of younger, cheaper keen people snapping at your heels for your job!.

You need to take responsibility for your own career development and strategy if you are going to improve your career prospects. This is important to improve your CV and marketability for a new and better job, whether internally or externally.

This blog, part 2 of 3 shares 10 tips, many of them costing nothing but time to improve your career prospects by building your knowledge, skills and experience.

Organise a sabbatical
Do a role swap
Job shadow someone
Get an executive coach
Attend a conference
Get a mentor
Join and be active in a new LinkedIn group
Watch a Ted video
Volunteer for a charity
Work alongside an external consultant

What tips would you add? Doing just 1 of these 10 tips will make a difference over time to your career prospects. It is easy to do nothing or put it off.

As a career, talent, and learning & development strategist and coach, or ‘talent liberator’ I get involved in skill and behaviour change in various contexts with both individuals and organisations.

For more useful insights and tips, follow us on Twitter. Click on this link:

https://twitter.com/talentliberator

Want to improve your career prospects? Part 1 of 3.

February 23, 2013 By // by DigitalJenIPC

Then it’s time to get ‘learning hungry’.

I have always had an insatiable curiosity to learn new things and my career has evolved as a result, leading me into writing books, articles and creating content.

With all these factors at play at present:

economic growth slow;
L&D budgets squeezed;
informal learning growing;
more competition for jobs;
a higher level of skill and qualification for roles than in the past;
employees staying put for perceived security;
digital revolution;
more exacting standards by employers; and
universities starting to offer free courses on-line

you need to take responsibility for your own career development and strategy if you are going to improve your career prospects. This is important to improve your CV and marketability for a new and better job, whether internally or externally.

This blog, part 1 of 3 shares 10 tips, many of them costing nothing but time to improve your career prospects by building your knowledge, skills and experience.

Increase your span of control e.g. decision making
Cover for others on leave
Get exposure to other departments and roles
Do a role swap or Secondment
Do desk/web research about a new knowledge/skill area
Champion/manage change
Volunteer to gain a leadership skill, e.g. raising money for charity, chairing a committee
Take on a stretch assignment
Spend time with managers cross function
Make customer visits

What tips would you add? Doing just 1 of these 10 tips will make a difference over time to your career prospects. It is easy to do nothing or put it off.

Ask yourself these self-reflective questions:

What is my career strategy?
What are my learning objectives?
What competencies do I need to develop to improve my promotion prospects and marketability?
What new skills would broaden my horizons and career options?
How much time am I making each month to build my skills, knowledge and experience?
What’s stopping me from making this a higher priority?

For more useful insights and tips, follow us on Twitter. Click on this link:

https://twitter.com/talentliberator

Starting a new job – success tips part 3

February 2, 2013 By // by DigitalJenIPC

The start of a new job is crucial to make a positive impact, especially if you are on a probation period. Changing jobs and getting used to a new culture, people and systems is a lot all at once.

This blog, part 3 of 3, shares 10 tips to make a great impression at the start of your new job.

Identify key messages that you want to give out about your role and contribution
Diarise time each week to get in touch with your stakeholders and build relationships
Apply customer relationship management (CRM) principles with your key stakeholders – take notes after every interaction and refer to them before communicating
Find out who the powerful connectors are internally of information and people
Establish the politics so you don’t unwittingly ‘tread on landmines’
Identify some ‘quick wins’
Make time once a month to reflect on the learnings
Be yourself
Connect/follow key stakeholders on Twitter and LinkedIn
Attend industry/profession networking events to get up to speed with issues affecting the sector

What tips would you add?

For more useful tips and insights, why not follow us on Twitter?

https://twitter.com/talentliberator

Starting a new job – success tips part 2

January 25, 2013 By // by DigitalJenIPC

Starting a new job is an important and sometimes stressful event. It is crucial to make a positive impact and achieve some ‘quick wins’, but not rush in and make too many decisions/changes without consideration or you could ruffle a few feathers.

If you have a probation period when starting a new job and need to prove yourself before securing a full time contract, the first 100 days are especially important.

Starting a new job means getting used to a new culture, people and systems – a lot of change all at once. This blog, part 2 of 3, shares success tips.

Introduce yourself to as many people as possible
Ask advice
Invest time getting proficient at the firm’s IT systems and policies
Establish any ‘elephants in the room’ i.e. things that don’t get talked about even though they are obvious
Set yourself goals for each day, week and month
Get a coach to support you and make the first 100 days a success
Attend any free lunchtime sessions/social events to immerse yourself in the organisation to expose yourself to people
Ask everyone you meet what are the 3 best things about the organisation and the 3 things that if changed would take it to a higher level
Note the dress code and adjust yours accordingly
Reflect on the value you bring after the first 30, 60 and 90 days

Hope you found our blog starting a new job success tips part 2 useful. What tips would you add?

For more useful insights and tips, follow us on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/talentliberator

Starting a new job – success tips part 1

January 19, 2013 By // by DigitalJenIPC

If you have a probation period when starting a new job and need to prove yourself before securing a full time contract, the first 100 days are especially important.

Starting a new job means getting used to a new culture, people and systems – a lot of change all at once. This blog, part 1 of 3, shares success tips.

Listen and learn
Initiate a comprehensive induction for yourself if one hasn’t been created already
Keep a diary of observations, questions and ideas to share at a future meeting with your employer, initiated by yourself
Be curious and ask lots of questions
Learn the language and buzz words of your new employer and use them
Find out the organisation’s values and live them
Find out when and how your key stakeholders like being communicated with
Learn times to avoid contacting people when they are under pressure
Establish the organisation’s key priorities and make them yours
Be discreet

Hope you found our blog starting a new job success tips part 1 useful. What tips would you add?

Read about how coaching helped Hemal create success when starting a new job.

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs193/1102862873131/archive/1112072645153.html

For more useful insights and tips, follow us on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/talentliberator

Career change – an obstacle course?

January 12, 2013 By // by DigitalJenIPC

Making a change in your career always feels daunting, let alone in a downturn with lots of uncertainty about.

You can choose to do nothing or do something.

I remember once laying out an obstacle course on the floor with a client, Duncan Goose who worked in advertising, with each obstacle representing a challenge to overcome.

They went on to win a Greatest Briton award and provide the water at Bob Geldof’s Live8.

Just imagine how many people wouldn’t have had fresh water in their village if they had given up at the first hurdle!

This is their story:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1106786590378.html

Here are four more examples of clients who have taken action and are now smiling and very glad they did!

Ever been at a life AND work crossroads at the same time?

Read Kam’s story:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs193/1102862873131/archive/1112075112149.html

Has a career change ever seemed insurmountable?

Read about Kerry’s successful transition from the public to private sector.

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs193/1102862873131/archive/1112114912854.html

Do you think getting a dream job is a pipe dream?

Read how Emily achieved her dream job:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs193/1102862873131/archive/1112027555365.html

Worried about changing jobs in case it doesn’t work out?

Read how Hemal tackled this:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs193/1102862873131/archive/1112072645153.html

What most scares you about career change and what one action would get you moving forwards?

Read this blog about career change fears:

http://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/2012/08/12/career-change-fear/

Read this blog about feeling stuck:

http://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/feeling-stuck/

For free career insights and tips, follow us on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/talentliberator

What change do you seek at work?

January 5, 2013 By // by DigitalJenIPC

I have been creating some new ‘inspiring client examples’ this week, having had the time over the break to reflect on last year.

Changing your career can feel daunting and hearing about the successful transitions of other people can help make it feel possible.

One of my favourite inspiring quotes is by Alan Kay: “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” Career change in times of uncertainty can feel scary, but doing nothing changes nothing. And too much analysis = paralysis!

Here are some clients we have worked with – they inspire us so much and we learn a lot from them.

Choose the one(s) that you most relate to:

Escaping from the law:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs193/1102862873131/archive/1112027555089.html

Transitioning from the public to private sector:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs193/1102862873131/archive/1112056859585.html

Wanting to get off the hamster wheel

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1106787631164.html

Child friendly work

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1106786138068.html

Work with meaning and purpose

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1106786590378.html

What would be the headline for your desired career transition this year? Why not get in touch and tell us about your dream/goal? Click on this link:

http://careerstrategies.co.uk/careercoaching/what-next/

For useful insights, tips and more inspiring examples of career change, follow us on Twitter @talentliberator

What next for your career in 2013?

January 1, 2013 By // by DigitalJenIPC

Happy New Year! A new year marks a new beginning. What new career beginning do you want in 2013?

New career beginnings can be small or large, but all beginnings are growth.

New skill. What new skill could you learn in 2013 which would make you more useful and marketable in your work? Skills have a shorter shelf life than in the past and with more competition, individuals need a greater level of skill to have a competitive advantage with more people competing for less work/jobs.

New project. What new project would you love to get your teeth into to stimulate your learning and growth and build the breadth or depth of experience? Moving employers isn’t always the answer; new projects to broaden your experience may exist where you are, or volunteering could give you this.

New career. Is a new career the answer for you in 2013? Many people fall into their career or chose one with no or inadequate careers advice, so their career may not suit them. There are also many more different careers than there used to be, e.g. in the digital area.

New qualification. What studying and qualification could be another string to your bow? A qualification can be a way of showing mastery and could be the differentiator against many candidates. What qualification could be useful for you to study and perhaps could be funded/part funded by your employer?

New thinking. What person could help you to broader your horizons, support you in your career aspirations and introduce you to their network? A career coach, a mentor, someone at work in a different department could be very useful to help you to transition from A to B and achieve a goal.

New attitude. How could you change your attitude to your work? Attitude can make a huge difference to how you feel and what you do at work or in your business. How could you shift your attitude to your job, employer or business?

New something else. A career sabbatical? Go travelling? Set up your own business? Promotion?

In some ways a new year is just a date in the diary, but it is also a mark in the sand to begin again, refreshed having taken a break.

What 3 small steps forward will you take this week to mark the beginning of your career in 2013? Let us know if we can help you – get in touch.

To follow us on Twitter, follow: @talentliberator

Career cul de sac or crossroads?

December 22, 2012 By // by DigitalJenIPC

How’s your career?

Making time to reflect on your career and take a step back can be hard in a busy world.

It is important to do this, because even in uncertain times, you need to create a career strategy and plan. It is a bit like having a horizon towards which you sail, but you might have to tack sideways to reach your destination. You might encounter a storm or two on the way, or head into port for a while to service the boat or do some training for the new digital equipment. Or you might decide to adjust your compass, change your career horizon, and head in a different direction altogether.

Here are some self-reflective questions to reflect on your career.

What have I achieved this year to be proud of?
What has worked less well this year and what have I learnt?
What needs to change to be fit for purpose for a prosperous and satisfying future career?
How much do I really understand my employer/client needs and priorities and how can I understand them better?
What is resistance to change costing me?
What’s working well and what’s working less well?
Where can I improve efficiency and be more productive?
How motivated and engaged about my career am I feeling?
What training do I need to be fit for purpose with the changing work market?
What goals do I want to achieve next?
What’s stopping my career fulfillment and what can I do about it?
What are my values and to what extent is my career aligned with them?
What’s my career plan and who or what can help me to make it happen?

For insights about the changing world of work, why not follow us on Twitter:@talentliberator

Wishing you success and career fulfillment. Let us know how we can help you on your journey.