Tag Archives: career guidance Brisbane

Simple steps to finding a job you’ll love

24 January, 2018

Finding a job you love and are good at is a common goal. Some may even feel it is some unattainable dream. It doesn’t have to be a fantasy, you can do something you enjoy for a living and excel at it.

To do this you need to identify what your strengths, skills, and passions are. Once you know where your strengths are you can use that information to find a career that allows you to thrive.

Strengths and Passions

There are many ways to find out where your strengths lie and what gets you excited. You could simply make a list of things people tell you that you are good at to start your strengths list. Then take that list and ask friends, or coworkers if you have them, what they would add to it. In terms of passions, try thinking of what you love to do at work and in your spare time. Don’t worry about whether or not it could be something you can do as a career at this point.

Another option is taking a personality test to help you see where your personality lies. These tests ask a series of questions and has you rank your agreement or disagreement to each. 16 Personalities is one of my favorite free versions of the popular Myers-Briggs assessment. Once you take the quiz the site gives you a very detailed insight into your personality.

Connecting with a career counselor to help you to identify your strengths and passions can also be a great idea. It can be hard for us to work out what we are good at and enlisting the help of a professional can be very insightful.

Applying it to a Career

Once you’ve worked out what you are good at and what keeps you engaged and excited, what do you do with that information? If you have found that what you enjoy doing is completely unrelated to what your current profession is, brainstorm some ways you can move into the field you would be more passionate about. What skills or certifications would you need to gain? Is there a way you can start out as a side gig or volunteer to gain the experience you need?

If you took a personality test, there are tons of ways to see career options based on your personality type. Business Insider has a great infographic showing popular career options based on the Myers-Briggs assessment. You will have to do some internal reflection to see which role types align with your passions for the best outcome.

With such a big decision, talking to someone about what you are thinking is a great option. This can be family and friends or a professional career coach. Take in their advice but remember to choose based on what you are truly feeling. We spend the majority of our day at work, so why not make your career something you are great at and love to do!

At Career Vitality, we specialise in helping people find a job they’ll love. Call Judith today on 0400 739 919 if you’d like a chat about your career.

5 Podcasts for Getting Unstuck

16 July, 2017

Are you looking for some career inspiration? Maybe you’ve realised that something needs to change but you’re not sure how to go about it. Perhaps you’re feeling really stuck and it’s paralysing.

Often some inspirational input can help shift our thinking and open our mind to possibilities. In the old days you might buy a book and hopefully you’d find the time and motivation to read it and get inspired. While books still have a place in my life (mostly on holidays), one of my favourite discoveries as a career coach has to be the world of podcasts.

These free, easy to access and digest, bytes of inspiration have the potential to change your life. I can often be found listening to one when I’m straightening my hair, driving my car, eating my lunch or just going about my business really. Many of my clients have given me feedback on the positive difference inspirational podcasts are making to their lives.

Here’s a few of my favourites that could lead to some career inspiration.

Quote-Of-The-Day – I often describe this one as an anti-depressant without side-effects. Sean Croxton pulls together the best of the best to inspire and motivate you. Varying in length from around 5 – 15 minutes this is the perfect daily dose of positivity. You will be introduced to many amazing individuals who you can then explore further depending on who/what resonates with you.

The Art of Charm – this is a great mix of inspiration and skills development for life and career. These young guys interview guest speakers, share their own experiences and respond to listener’s challenges. The average episode is around an hour and they offer loads of value.

Small Business Big Marketing – if you’re really open to what your next career step might be, this one could be for you. Designed to support small business owners with their marketing, Tim Reid’s guest’s will also inspire the potential career changer. Many have made significant career changes to arrive where they are eg. an aerospace engineer who quit his high paying job to become a very successful Uber driver and an even more successful blogger.

Magic Lessons – aimed at aspiring artists/creatives, author Elizabeth Gilbert, helps people to overcome their fears and to achieve their dreams. The guest interviews, case studies and access to experts such as Oprah’s coach, Martha Beck, will be helpful to many who are looking for career inspiration.

The Tony Robbins Podcast – if you’d like to work with one of the world’s best coaches but are not yet earning what you’d need to pay for it, think about accessing Tony Robbins and his high calibre guests through this podcast. Tony opens your mind and challenges you to go after what you want from life.

In case you’re wondering how to set up a podcast on your phone, it’s as easy as downloading an app from your app store. My iPhone automatically came with one (it’s purple and looks like an “i” with circles radiating out) and I’ve seen an equivalent on android. Subscribe to your favourites and check your feed for the latest episodes.

Need a career coach after all this inspiration, give Donna a call on 0419 120 601 or email donna@careervitality.com.au for a free 15 minute phone consultation to get you started.

How to Ace Your Interview Responses

27 March, 2017

One of my favourite activities as a career coach is preparing clients for interviews. They often come to me saying that the very thought of an interview gives them sweaty palms; recalling horror stories of mental blocks as soon as they’re asked a question; oblivious about how to efficiently prepare; and having minimal ideas about the process and what an interviewer is assessing. Fortunately they leave experiencing the opposite and frequently go on to get the job.

In the modern employment market we generally see behavioural or competency-based interview formats which you can recognise by their request for examples or use of words such as “Tell me about a time …” This format is underpinned by the concept that past behaviour is the best predictor of future behaviour, ie. if you have successfully got an outcome in a previous role you are likely to be able to do so in their context.

Preparation is really the key to success. Here are a few tips that can make a big difference to your ability to effectively answer interview questions and stand out above other applicants.

Develop a suite of your achievements/experiences (aka examples) using a model such as CAR (context/action/result) or STAR (situation/task/action/result). It is impossible to know exactly what questions an interviewer(s) will ask but if you have a comprehensive pool of examples to demonstrate the outcomes you have achieved in your roles, you will be well positioned to answer any question they may ask you.
Note the competencies you demonstrated in each of your examples so that you can offer an appropriate example when you identify the competency being assessed by an interview question.
Ensure that you use a specific example. Candidates have a tendency to generalise eg. “I often communicate with difficult people – I ask them what the problem is; listen to their perspective; observe their non-verbal communication; offer my view on the situation, etc.” If you want to maximise your interview results, it is preferable to talk about a specific interaction in more detail – eg. “I have had a number of experiences dealing with difficult people – for example, one of my colleagues at ABC Company frequently spoke to me, and other members of the team, with a dismissive tone which made me feel that he didn’t value our opinions. The situation escalated one day when he did this in front of one of my client managers. It had got to the point that I no longer wanted to work in the team. One day I met with my colleague and told him about my observations and how I was feeling. The colleague was surprised and indicated that he appreciated the feedback. From that point forward the colleague changed his behaviour and we were able to maintain a very effective working relationship.”
Review and refresh your examples in the lead up to your interview, particularly taking into account the competencies required for the role.
Take your notes/examples to the interview with you. While it is perfectly acceptable to refer to them, sometimes just having them can help candidates to feel more secure.

Any questions about this blog, interviews or career guidance can be referred to Donna at Career Vitality on 0419 120 601 or donna@careervitality.com.au. Good luck with your next interview.