career dreams

Listen to our new podcast, "How To Land Your Next Job," where our host Paul Sandhu, career coach, and guest co-host, Latita Robertson, where we discuss how to land your next job, best practices, websites to use, and how to follow-up. Learn what to do if a recruiter calls you for on-the-spot screening and you’re not ready and preparing for a job interview and what questions you should ask.

Topics we cover in this podcast....

• Landing Your Next Job
• Best Practices (Don’t Play the Resume Game)
• Websites to Use
• How to Follow-Up
• What to do if a Recruiter Calls you for an on-the-spot screening and You’re not Ready
• Preparing for a Job Interview
• What Questions to Ask During an Interview

Are you looking for additional resources or information on our podcast topic? Visit our website to read our recent article, learn more about our services, and learn about our host, Paul Sandhu, career coach!

Connect With Us:
Website: https://paulsandhuindustries.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paulsandhuindustries
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-LjC0A4I37T9fT8EQvlrOw

Your work, your purpose in life, and how to pursue what you are passionate about are issues you may be pondering.  Coach, Shannon Connolly especially loves to work with women who are considering what their next adventure will be.  She is a Soul Evolution Mentor who has created a program called "Discover Your Magic". Shannon will help you reflect on all of your accomplishments and explore your wishes. How wonderful to take the opportunity to move forward in your life in a new way and with the assistance of a coach who will support and guide you to make your dreams come true.

Is it time to get going?

Hello, and welcome to this short episode which is about a mindset issue that many of us struggle with: 

When is it time to take the next step? 

Or to use my favourite car analogy: When is it time to go from “being parked” to “start driving”?

Do you want something else?

For this episode, I was inspired by a conversation with a new client the other day where she shared with me how for several years she had been feeling, well... - not really happy in her job. She had a dream of “something else”, but she had not really been able to articulate that dream. 

And she was also feeling a bit guilty about wanting something else because it was a good job that she was in. She felt she ought to be happy.

The reason she was talking to me about it was that she had finally reached that stage where she knew that she had to act. She could no longer stay in that “dreaming of something else” stage but needed to move to the next stage. She needed to take action. 

Since she still wasn’t sure exactly what that “something else” should be, her first action step was to contact me and get help to figure that out.

Being stuck in the dream stage

And as we spoke, I was reminded of the time when I was in that dream stage (for lack of a better word) myself. 

I spent a fair number of years where I was dreaming of something else, but where I didn’t really know what else to do. 

Because there were many things to be happy about in my job. 

I had great colleagues, a nice boss, interesting work responsibilities and I was working for a wonderful cause. But still, I was not satisfied. And I felt a bit guilty about not being happy. 

When I told people about my job they were impressed. Thought it sounded really exciting. “Yes”, I said. “It is!” 

And I thought: “That’s right. I ought to be happy!” 

And still, I wasn’t. Not because there was anything wrong in any concrete way. But because I needed, and wanted, to move on. Learn new things. Use different sides of my skills. Meet new people. 

It just wasn’t clear to me what that “something else” should be

I often meet clients who are in a similar situation. And I notice that it often also comes up when I speak to people in private contexts. 

So, I have a very important point I want to make today:  

It’s ok to want something else!

 Even if you don’t have a clear career plan.

 t’s ok that you want to quit and move to the next part. Do something else!

Maybe you’re right now longing to move on, but you’re worried about taking that next step. You’re concerned about the unknown.  

Because you know what you’ve got, right? Even if you’re not super happy about what you’ve got.

And quite possibly you’re also exhausted from the daily grind you’re in and find it hard to muster the energy to make a move.

What are you missing out on while you're waiting?

On the weekend a good friend talked about the time when he took up his first management position. It had been a hard transition for him, but also very rewarding. And he reflected upon this and said: “I should have made that move much earlier.” 

The reason why he had waited so long to make that move was that he was so comfortable with knowing his old job very well. He felt very competent there. And very safe. And there’s something to say for that of course. 

But while waiting to take that step, he was missing out on personal and professional development. The excitement of learning and mastering new responsibilities. Have influence. 

Read the full show notes at www.barbarakandersen.com/20

Hello, and welcome to today’s episode which is on a topic that probably ranks among the top 3 most burning issues among my clients. 

And it’s all about feeling stuck in your job.

If you recognize this, it may be because you feel your career has plateaued. Maybe your duty station is saturated when it comes to relevant positions in your area. Or maybe you can’t – or won’t - move to a different duty station due to family reasons.

There can be a feeling that you don’t have a way out. Or don’t see a way forward. 

You have worked hard for many years and maybe there’s also a feeling that recognition is lacking, or that you are being overlooked for opportunities - or in recruitment processes. 

When you’re stuck, there’s a feeling that you don’t have options. And that’s both frustrating and demotivating. 

It can feel like you’ve lost agency over your work life. And that’s a hard place to be in.

I know the feeling of “stuckness” 

I’m not really sure that’s a word, but – here it is.

I know that feeling because that was me too. I went through what felt like a long period of feeling stuck in my career. 

I worked with UNDP - in Human Resources - for many years, and I was very proud to be part of the UN. 

For a long time, I was very excited about my job and very motivated. But over time I started feeling a bit “tired”. Needing new experiences, new challenges.

I knew it was time to start looking for new opportunities. 

But my duty station was saturated when it came to positions in my area. And truth be told, I wasn’t very mobile – which is of course an issue if you want a professional career in the UN.  

And work was busy, so I was struggling to find the energy and time to apply for jobs. 

And in that way, months and years went by and the easier thing seemed to be to stay with what I knew. And which was a very good job, I have to say! With a nice boss and nice colleagues. And a good pay.

So, I was losing energy and momentum in terms of looking for – and noticing – options and opportunities for myself. 

I was clearly in a place where I could use some help.

But unfortunately, it took me a long time before I realized that and took steps to get that help.

In the meantime, I was lingering in a place of feeling stuck, and – honestly - a feeling that “someone” ought to help me move on in my career. That “someone” being the organisation or Human Resources or my supervisor. 

The way I heard about people being promoted or recommended for development opportunities in the private sector.

And guess what? That’s just not really the way things work in the UN. And I knew that of course. I was working in Human Resources myself and regularly had conversations with staff about how to take ownership of their own career development. 

But I still secretly longed for that help because I felt like I’d gotten stuck myself.

Long story short - in the end, I left and started my own business. Which is certainly an effective way of getting unstuck! But today I realise that there are many things I could have done while I was still with the UN. And I’ll share some of those with you.

Time to regain your sense of power over your career development

Because you’re really the only one who can do it.  

You get unstuck by pulling yourself to a place of agency, action and taking control. Maybe just one step at a time. But one step after another will lead you out of “stuckness”. 

Read the full show notes at www.barbarakandersen.com/5. 

In the previous episode, I talked about how you can learn a lot of details about what motivates you and what drains you from your daily work life. That was episode 3, which you can find at barbarakandersen.com/3.

Today, I’ll show you how to take a long-distance view and get a bigger perspective. Because you’re going to take a look at (and hopefully appreciate!) everything you’ve done in your career so far. 

A Trip Down Memory Lane
One of the most popular exercises I use with my clients when we work on their career and work situation is one I call “The Career Journey”. 

My clients like it because it’s a very positive exercise that allows you to remember and rediscover all your achievements, the problems you’ve overcome, the challenges you worked through, the great people you met, etc.

And I enjoy guiding my clients in the exercise because it invariably brings smiles to their eyes and pride in their voices when they take me through some of the important highlights of their career and life choices.

The thing is, that in our day-to-day work we’re so busy focussing on all the boxes we still haven’t checked. The things on the to-do list we still haven’t done and everything else that’s not yet been achieved. 

And with our eyes fixed on that, we completely lose sight of everything that we have done, all the things we have achieved in life and work. The challenges we’ve overcome. The projects and tasks we succeeded in. 

When you shine a light on everything you’ve done in your past there’s normally a lot of pride, motivation and energy you can reap from it. Pride and energy that can help you in your journey going forward.

And there is also a lot you can learn – or rediscover - about yourself. About your values, your strong and weak points, and the things that drive you. Things you really should take forward. Because the essential elements of your good work experiences (and the less great ones) are key also for what gives you a happy work-life today.

Get Creative
It’s a visual exercise and if you’re just a bit of the creative kind it’ll spark your artistic energies.

But don’t worry, even if you don’t consider yourself creative at all, it’s an easy exercise that will give you a great overview. And this time you’ll do it all in one go – there’s no need to carry a log with you.

Read the full show notes at www.barbarakandersen.com/4. 

Hello, and welcome to the first episode in a small series I’ve called: What Drives You – And What Drains You? 

Most people I talk to are well into their careers. If you’re anything like them, you’ve had years of serious and hard study followed by years of trying to get into your chosen field and maybe your favourite organization. And at the same time, you may also be starting a family. So, life’s been busy. The days of lounging with your friends over coffee chatting and plotting your dream lives and careers probably seem very distant by now. 

The to do list is long, the meetings are many and there really seems to be no time to sit and contemplate career and life dreams. And you’re a grown-up now, so supposedly, you should have it all worked out, right?

It’s just that, when pressed a bit, many I speak to don’t really feel that they have it all worked out. Career and work just sort of happened. There was – finally - an opening here, and then an extension there. You had wanted to move maybe, but then you were offered to be part of an interesting project and didn’t feel you could reject the opportunity. Or you had your first child and now stability became a big factor. 

And so, life happens. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Often, it’s great!

But if you’re harbouring small feelings of: “I want something more” or: “I can’t continue like this many more years”. Then it’s time to take stock.

And I’m a great advocate for taking stock! And for that, it’s very useful to have some concrete data to work with.

Because you probably have some idea of things you really enjoy – or really dislike. But for many of us, a big part of our days and weeks happen in a bit of a blur. And those days and weeks are actually your life!

So therefore, I want to suggest that you shed some light on those days and start collecting data you can use for your onward journey to create a happier career:

How to Get Started on Project You
1st step is to monitor yourself. Just like you’d monitor an important work project. And if a work project is worth some monitoring and data collection, you should be too. Treat yourself as “Project You”!

Collecting Data for Project You
It’s really very simple – just start with a pen and pad of paper. Or, if you want to get advanced, create an excel sheet or a word document with a couple of columns.

• Now write down, for a full day, what you’re doing about every half hour. Don’t only write work time but include also mornings and evenings. 
  
  You don’t have to write lengthy paragraphs, but just putting in “work” or “meeting” won’t give you much to work with when you’re going to analyse your data later on.
  
  
• This will provide useful information in itself, but you may consider adding a bit of additional info: 
  Next to every half-hour slot – or every activity – you put one of 3 smileys. Either a happy smiley, a neutral smiley or a sad smiley. Indicating whether you were feeling happy at the time, neutral or “so-so” – or unhappy.
  
  
• Writing down everything you do may sound incredibly boring and time consuming – and you’re already busy, right? 
  But first of all, it takes only a few seconds every time you note down for the last half hour. The challenge is to remember to write down consistently, so a tip can be to set an alarm for yourself. 
  My own preferred method is to make a table for myself, print it out and carry the piece of paper around with me. Otherwise I forget. And believe me, you won’t be able to remember in the evening, all the details of what you did in the day.
  
  And it shouldn’t be boring, because this is your life you’re observing...

Find additional show notes at https://www.barbarakandersen.com/happy-un-career-podcast/episode-2/