What is the best piece of career advice I’ve received?

Moving towards a purposeful career

Suit: You outside the organisation

At Let’s Talk Talent, we think there is nothing worse than waking up in the morning and gloomily dreading going to work. We’re all going to be working for a long time, and on average 40 to 50 years, so how can we make sure that time is spent doing something motivating, energising and valuable?

For Jo, MD at Let’s Talk Talent, it’s all about finding your passion. And this doesn’t mean we all have to be world-renowned actors, Michelin-starred chefs or cancer researchers. It’s about finding the little things we enjoy doing on a daily basis. But in practice, finding what makes you happy is easier said than done right? We’ve asked a few of our people what advice has helped them truly find their purpose in life and here are the results. 

For Jo, two pieces of advice really stuck with her. First: “Do a good job and the money will come.” And then later on: “A career is a marathon, not a sprint, so what’s the rush?” These tidbits, Jo says, helped her take the time to figure out what she really wanted to do and make choices that would take her closer to her ultimate goal of helping other people find their own purpose. 

For Charlie, it was about being able to say no. According to him, understanding that you can walk away from a role has allowed him to find something that truly fits his ambition as well as his lifestyle. As he says: “You’re not always locked in to the career choice you’ve made. You can change your mind further down the line if it doesn’t work out the way you thought it would.” 

Annie on the other hand took a while to realise that it’s ok to ask for help when you’re struggling: “You don’t have to fix it alone, you’re always part of a team, so take a step back and remember you can ask for support. Whether you’re struggling to overcome a particular challenge in your career, or figure out your next steps, utilise your network.” 

There are many things we could say here, but if you need to get back to your passion, or find out what makes you tick, Coaching Cards are a great way to help you structure your thoughts through introspection. Ask us how to get them here

Career Coaching Cards: Explained

This is a new series of blog posts, that explain our Career Coaching cards in more depth.

Our deck of cards contain 52 questions that help guide better career conversations and connect more with the individuals you’re having these conversations with.

Each week we are releasing a question from our deck with a little more information about why we think this question is a good question and what you are looking to get out of it when you ask it.

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Career Planning Whitepaper

Help you and your team get better at career planning and development. In this whitepaper we have some of our favourite workshops and other practical activities that should get you much further ahead.

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