Category: Dream Career and Life

Career Joy Is A Choice

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Career Joy is a Choice

Career joy is a choice.   But, how does one opt for career joy?  It takes self-awareness, self-appreciation, gratitude, a focus on others, and a determination to control one’s life and career.  Here are a few pointers to get you going:

Self-Awareness of your strengths is the foundation of career joy. The Gallup organization which has created an easy assessment to identify your strengths,  Strengthsfinder 2.0, has defined them as a combination of talent, knowledge, and skills.  When all three are present, the result is a strength.  So, think about whether you are leveraging your talents, applying your knowledge and using your skills on a daily basis.  If you are using your strengths, then you are bound for career success and fulfillment.

If you are not, you probably are unhappy at work, dread Monday mornings, and feel stuck.  If so, determination to take action on a career move is in order.  It’s difficult to make a change because the comfort zone is an easier option.  But, the outcome of lack of career joy is poor performance.  All of a sudden your attitude goes from motivation to apathy.  Two red flags can tell you something is amiss:   an “I don’t care” attitude begins to show in your productivity, attention to detail is waning, and relationship issues begin to crop up.  Also, depression can creep into daily work and can lead to physical symptoms that make you ill.  These signs are an indicator you are very close to the precipice of losing your job.   Instead, be proactive in opting for career joy by making the hard choice to get back into the job market for something better suited to using your strengths.

Self-Appreciation is about understanding that you are unique. Your strengths, personality, and energy force are different from others.  Often we take our strengths for granted because they come easily to us.  How you use your strengths combined with your personality, the experiences you have had, and the way you navigate through challenges will be unlike anyone  Just as every snowflake is different, there is no one like you.  We tend to be tough on ourselves in the pursuit of perfection.  We beat ourselves up for what we did wrong.  We focus on the negatives more than the positives.  It’s important to appreciate what we have done right.  It’s all about progress – not perfection.   A little determination to do more self-appreciation will bring more career joy.

Gratitude takes time; and with busy lives, time is a rare commodity. Be grateful for problems disguised as an opportunity.  Be grateful for co-workers who challenge you, be grateful for families who support you.  Be grateful for the crummy boss who makes you decide to leave, be grateful for the small kindnesses extended your way every day.  Many have found success in keeping a gratitude journal.  Writing down the things that you are grateful for each evening is a great send off to sleep.  Journaling does not come easy for some, but if you have the self-determination, give it a try-on for size.  Then, if you want to go the extra mile, tell those who have helped you in your career how much you appreciate them, whether in person, a call or in a note.  It will bring you both career joy and make the relationship much richer.

Be of service to others in all you do. Careers are made up of relationships.  Building one relationship at a time yields wonderful friendships, often for a lifetime. You can reach out up or down the ladder or laterally.  Make a concerted effort to reach out to three people a week to catch up on what they are doing.  It’s about how you can be of service to them.  Not vice-versa.  Although not to say at some point, they may return the favor.  It is much more rewarding giving than receiving.   It is a dying art of keeping track of people and their lives earnestly.  Facebook and other social media are so much easier to use with a simple “like.”  But, the genuine concern, deep listening, curiosity and being there when needed is best-shown one-on-one.  Sincere relationships and doing for others will build your network into a powerhouse.  Let’s not forget mentoring others as a way of giving back your strength, knowledge, and skills.  Mentoring can change a career life forever.  The determination to keep the momentum of reaching out to three people a week will bring you career joy as you make others feel you truly care.

The inner joy of knowing and using your strengths every day, appreciating your own self, being grateful, and being of service to others will bring career success and fulfillment.  It just takes determination to make the choices that foster career joy.

To Your Career Success,

Katie Weiser

© Katie Weiser, 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Katie Weiser with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Discover Your Ideal Career

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Discover Your Ideal Career

When dissatisfaction with your career begins to gnaw away at you every day, it’s a red flag telling you that you are not in your ideal job or career.  Staying passive and just keeping your head down at work will only frustrate you more. Be proactive and dive into the discovery process.  It requires an investigative mindset to conduct much-needed self-reflection, research on careers and jobs, dialogue with others, and persistence.  It won’t happen overnight with a major AHA moment.  You want to conduct your due diligence to ensure that you are making the right move into a new job or career.  Here are 10 tips to help you with the process of discovering your ideal career:

  1. Shed the inner voice that says you aren’t good enough, who do you think you are, or you’re too old. All negative fear-based thinking.  Talk back to the voice to squash it!  Remember, you are unique and have wonderful gifts to give to the world.
  2. Take time to reflect on what you love to do.  Reach back to your childhood and early years – is there something that you have submerged that can be reignited?
  3. Ask yourself – what do people compliment you on?  Often our talents are so innate that we take them for granted.  Others, however, appreciate your skills.  A great way to identify your skills is to use a quick assessment like Strengthsfinder 2.0 by Tom Rath.  It will give you your Top 5 strengths.  That’s important to know so you will look for jobs that require those strengths.
  4. Ask your friends and family – if money was not in the picture, what would they see you doing next in your career?
  5. Review your past jobs.  What did you love about them and what did you dislike?   What are the common themes?  In your next job you want to do what you like most and shed the dislikes.
  6. Carve out time to network. Get to know what other people do. You may find a career path you never thought of before. Volunteering is a great way to network.
  7. Use O*Net Online to research careers and the requirements for them.
  8. Once you have narrowed your career choices down to 3-4, interview people in those professions to determine how they got into the field, what they enjoy about the job, and any advice they may give you.  If you don’t know anyone in that profession, use LinkedIn to see if any of your friends know someone in that industry to talk to.  Most people will be happy to do an informational interview with you – remember this is not asking them for a job.
  9. If you have found a career that requires more education, talk with the chairperson of the department at a local college.  They are a wealth of knowledge on careers and the requirements for entering a degree or certificate program.
  10. Create a support team (family, mentor, coach) who you can share your innermost feelings, brainstorm and hold you accountable.

Honest introspection, following the actions above, and accountability will help you discover your ideal career.  Finding it is never a straight line, it zigs and zags.  Every person you talk with helps you to connect the dots.  So, take the time and stay focused.  Manage it just like any other project with deadlines and the outcome will bring you a new career or job that offers you challenge and fulfillment.

To Your Career Success,

Katie Weiser

© KATIE WEISER, 2018. UNAUTHORIZED USE AND/OR DUPLICATION OF THIS MATERIAL WITHOUT EXPRESS AND WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THIS BLOG’S AUTHOR/OWNER IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. EXCERPTS AND LINKS MAY BE USED, PROVIDED THAT FULL AND CLEAR CREDIT IS GIVEN TO KATIE WEISER WITH APPROPRIATE AND SPECIFIC DIRECTION TO THE ORIGINAL CONTENT.

Create Your Bucket List Now Before It’s Too Late

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Create Your Bucket List Now Before It's Too Late

In 2007, the movie “The Bucket List” was released starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. It is about two men who, terminally ill with cancer, escape from the hospital with their wish list so they can fulfill the list before they die. The title is derived from the term “kicks the bucket” a phrase that dates back to at least 1785. The lesson of the movie is that it’s never too late to live your dreams and desires.

We all have unfulfilled dreams and desires. Why wait till tragedy strikes? Psychologists will tell you that creating a bucket list is actually very good for your mental health!

Even for very successful people, resentment, anger and/or regret may set in when they begin a life review of what their heart really wanted to do. It could be things like “going to Paris,” “kayaking down the Colorado River” or “learning to sail.”

Developing a bucket list is a great way to allay those negative feelings as well as put those wants and dreams onto a big “to do” list.  It’s also a visual way to “see” your dreams on paper and start making them a reality. For many people, just making their list is cathartic and can help to put their mind and their thoughts in a better place. Collaborating on a bucket list with your spouse or significant other can also be a great way to get to know each other better. Indeed, some of the things that you find out about each other might be quite surprising.

This week, create your own career and life bucket list. Even if you’re not close to retirement, I highly recommend setting yourself up for success by thinking long term. Think about your career, what you want to do after your career, and how your current professional life can help support that. Whether it’s through savings, a promotion or changing industries.  Perhaps there is an encore career you wish to pursue.

Creating Your Bucket List

Use this exercise as a visioning, creative process. While there are really no set rules when creating your list, below are some helpful tips. Remember the more specific you are, the more likely it is to happen.

  • Find a quiet place to think and reflect.
  • Take three slow deep breaths and ask yourself “Three years after working non-stop my entire life, I will…”
  • Sit and wait for inspiration to flow through you. It may take time, be patient with yourself.
  • Write down everything that comes to you. Just let your thoughts flow, think big and small. This is your list so do not hold back your desires or edit your thoughts at this point.You can use pen and paper or your tablet or smart phone.
  • You may want to take several days to complete this list as new, more exciting ideas may keep popping up.
  • Once you feel your list is complete, you may want to use a numerical system to denote how important an item is. For example, “seeing Paris” might be number five on the list while “learning to speak French” might be number one.
  • For greater clarity, break it down into years one, two and three.

Creating Your Action Plan

  • Ask yourself what steps need to be in place in order to make these dreams come true?
  • Capture your “activation steps” beside each bucket list item. This turns it into action vs. a static list.
  • Create a timeline for each item. Is it to be accomplished in a few days, months or longer?
  • Keep your list handy. Think of your list as a work in progress. You will always be adding to it over the years.
  • Share it with others. but only with people you trust will support you and your dreams. We all have naysayers in our lives. It’s important to keep them away from crushing your dreams. This also gives you more accountability once it’s public.
  • Finally, be sure to keep your list in a visible place so you can revisit it daily and stay focused on accomplishing what you want.

Have fun with this exercise! Remember, if you’re stuck getting started on any part of your career/life journey, you don’t have to go it alone.  Please contact me for a FREE Strategy Session.  It’s time to put LIFE into your dreams and desires!

To Your Career Success,
Katie Weiser

© Katie Weiser, 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Katie Weiser with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.