What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘hope’?  I imagine a lot of people think of trust, belief and faith – maybe even those cliche images you see online with the sunset.  For me, hope can be even more powerful than we give it credit for – and it can most definitely help you with your career confidence. Did you know hope is one of the key ingredients for feeling confident?  Hope is defined by the academic Professor C.R. Synder in his Hope Theory as: having a goal having clear pathways to achieve that goal having methods to achieve that goal believing in your ability ..read more

At some point in our careers, 70% of us feel we aren’t worthy of the job we are doing.  Let that sink in. 70% of us! Academic research by Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes reveals that an estimated 2 out of every 5 successful people consider themselves frauds. Take Sally, for example, she’s a successful Senior Designer. Throughout the company she is well respected and valued. She’s constantly outperforming her colleagues and producing a high standard of work.  But she lives everyday in terror.  Petrified that she will be found out to be a fraud. That someone is going to walk into ..read more

Do you work long hours? Do you find rest and downtime stressful? Do you suffer from anxiety? Are you constantly striving for more or to be better? Are you exhausted with the pressure of trying to be perfect? Perfectionism is something that I think is becoming more and more prevalent in the workplace. It is something that is growing, and something that I am hearing more and more about from my clients when they first come to work with me.  Before I go any further, I want to say that there are some benefits. Perfectionistic tendencies tend to make us great at detailed oriented work and we ar ..read more

Happy New Year!! What are your career hopes for 2023? The pantomime season may have just finished but if the genie of the lamp still had a few spare wishes, what would be on your wish list for your career for 2023? The start of a new year is a fab time to focus on what you want for the next 12 months. Be bold, play it big and go for what you want – create a vision for your career and tick everything off your career wishlist. A vision rather than a dream or fantasy is the key to clarity and focus. A dream or fantasy of your ideal job may stay just that because it’s not rooted in reality, but a ..read more

If you know you want to find a new job in 2023 you might feel it’s crazy to start job hunting in the Christmas holidays – what employer is going to be recruiting over the festive season? Well, while it may seem counter intuitive it’s actually a perfect time to use the down time during Christmas and New Year to get job search ready. That way you can beat the rush of applications and be super prepared to get the job you want. What can you do to find a new job? Put the mince pies and chocolates away and follow these tips: Unwrap your Job Search Action Plan It’s worth spending time planning your s ..read more

How healthy is your career? Is it feeling a bit flabby and out of condition? Well now’s the time to get ready to knock it into shape and give it a bit of a workout! Take my festive quiz to work out what to focus on in 2023. The Office Christmas party is tomorrow – are you: Dreading it – it’s the same people every year and the same venue – yawn! Really excited – you can’t wait to have a laugh with all your workmates Going to go for the champagne and canapes but planning on sneaking off after an hour ‘cos you just don’t connect with people there anymore In a state – you’ve got nothing to wear ..read more

You’ve just been told you didn’t get the job after a really tough selection process. In reality we’ve all been there but it can be very disheartening. My client Melanie was struggling to be resilient. She’d just had her 4th ‘thank you but no thank you’ and it was beginning to feel really tough. She’d been down to second interview each time and somehow that was even worse. To be so close and be told she hadn’t secured the role each time made her feel very low and knocked her career confidence. It didn’t help that her current job was making her unhappy and she was desperate to leave. What to do ..read more

What is potential? Potential is one of those words that means different things to different people BUT it can feel suffocating if you don’t feel you’re fulfilling it in your job. Put simply potential is how you feel about your personal and professional growth and the opportunities available to you. We all have undiscovered potential and it’s important that you explore it at a time that is right for you. In a full life, you can’t be exploring your potential all the time! How can you fulfill your potential? Explore your strengths Strengths are a great place to start thinking about exploring and ..read more

Do you enjoy job searching? Finding a new job can take a lot of energy and time. This blog will help you position yourself for job search success. It’s a good time to be looking for a new role, there are approximately1.2 million vacancies in the UK now. In the words of recruiters, ‘it’s a candidate’s market’, although of course, this will vary from sector to sector. Plus as we emerge from the pandemic, we will see more movement in the job market as confidence returns and people make the career moves that perhaps they would have made 2 years ago. Or when the #bigresignation kicks in where some ..read more

Spring is finally here! After a long and cold winter, the warm weather and blossoming trees have arrived at last. Spring is always a great time to check in and do a career review for the first quarter of 2022. Are you achieving what you set out at the beginning of the year? We often feel we don’t have time to stop and spend time thinking BUT it’s really important to build in review time to both celebrate what you have achieved and decide how you want to use the rest of the year to get closer to your goal. What is a 5 Minute Career Review? My 5 minute career review will give you chance to ..read more