Tag: Career Change

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.

Love Your Career All Over Again?

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Love Your Career All Over Again?

One of my favorite HGTV shows is “Love It or List It”.  The two conceptual questions are:

  1. What changes could be made to your home by a professional designer, based upon your pre-determined budget, would cause you to “love” your current home and stay?
  2. What home could a realtor show you that would meet your requirements and be in your price range that would cause you to “list” your current home and buy the new house?

Case in Point:  These two concepts made me think about so many of my clients who are struggling with “loving or listing” their current job.  If a job opportunity does not arise quickly after previewing and interviewing, what can one do to “love” the current job?

Here are 6 steps you can take to turn your current job into one you want to keep…

  1. Create a blueprint.  Take time to list out on paper what changes would make you happier at work – use your plan to take action steps to propel you forward.  Focusing on what you want is an energy booster and often results in exactly what you asked for.
  2. Deconstruct existing thinking.  What current thoughts and feelings about your work are contributing to bad feelings about your job and leading you to inaction?  What new thought could you use to replace the old thought that would lead you to a different way of feeling about your job which would result in positive action?  Only you can control your thoughts.
  3. Sharpen your saw.  Stephen Covey taught this principle.  Perfect your craft, be excellent at what you do currently at work and be proud.  It could lead to recognition or a promotion.
  4. Build new infrastructure.  Expand your relationships at work.  Take at least one person to lunch a week – preferably off campus.  Volunteer for company events and special community projects.  You will be surprised at the different perspectives there are on life at work and you may make some life-long friends and build your network.
  5. Keep hammering. Even when it seems like the job dissatisfaction will never end; make the decision to invest more of yourself than you anticipated so you can check off the items on your “job happiness” list as done.
  6. Home sweet home.  Take time to think about all the wonderful things about your job.  We often focus on the 3% of what we don’t like about our jobs. What about the 97% that is working for us?

Moral of the story: See if you can fall in love with your job all over again before you “list it.”

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.

The five stages to leave the ‘old’ behind in a career transition

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The Five Stages to Leave the Old Behind in Career Transition

With any change in your life, including a professional change, there is loss – even if the change is good.  And loss must be grieved so you can leave the ‘old’ behind and move into the ‘new’ in a healthy way. Keep this in mind when change happens to you in your career, as well as in your personal life.

Career transitions can have a big impact on us because our jobs can be such a big part of our lives. So be pro-active and prepare yourself beforehand when possible, for a major career transition.

Most grief professionals agree that the grieving process consists of five stages that must be addressed in order to move on.  Here are the five stages:

  1. Denial– Not accepting that it’s really happening.  John was dumbfounded when he learned his two best friends were fired.  He got very caught up in their stories and often said “I can’t believe it” and bad mouthed the company for what it had done.
  2. Bargaining– Believing that with negotiation or adjustment it can go back to the way it used to be.   John was affected directly by additional responsibility which he told his boss he could not take on.  That met with skepticism which made John realize that he had better accept the new normal of wearing two hats.
  3. Anger– Feeling that the situation is “unfair”.  John confided in his wife every night that the firings and the additional work he had to take on was unfair.  She tried to console him, but he was very angry.
  4. Sadness– Feeling lost, alone, or vulnerable.  John’s days at work were lonely without his best buddies around, he missed them.  He found some of the new work was a stretch for him and he worried about whether he could master it.
  5. Acceptance– Realizing that things will not go back to the way they were, and it is time to move on.  Coaching through the above emotions and helping John understand that it is natural to have these feelings helped him to finally accept that he had to get with the program and that it was a new era for the company and for him.  It was okay to feel good about the job again because he was learning new things and ways of doing them.  And, even though he still missed his friends, he realized that commiserating with them, did not help him or them.

Moving through these five phases can take time.  It’s important to first understand that you must go through each of these phases and second, allow yourself to do so.  It is only then that you are ready to move forward.

If you need help with navigating change, take advantage of my 6 part Thriving in the Midst of Change…Career and Life audio series on change which contains over 25 tips on how you can master change in both your career and life.  Each audio is 7-10 minutes long and comes in an MP3 format that is downloadable and accessible on any mobile device.  It’s easy, click here for instant access to Thriving in the Midst of Change…Career and Life!

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.