Have you read Who moved my Cheese? by Dr Spencer Johnson? If you haven’t, read it now! If you have, read it again! It’s a great book about making changes (and it is not very long). I read it about 15 years ago and have just read it again with a younger generation. It appeals to all ages, that’s the magic. It is a fun and imaginative story about mice, cheese and a maze with a serious message about how you can look for what you want in life to make you happy. The perfect balance for all! When I was reading it, it made me think about all the changes I have made in my life, particularly in develo ..read more

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.  You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.” Dr Suess It is time for a challenge! I am going to be doing a sponsored skydive for a charity I co-founded, Voices for Life.  Unfortunately, it has now been postponed four times due to low cloud which is extremely frustrating but it will happen! Why am I doing this? Voices for Life is a charity I am hugely passionate about and its programmes take children on missions into space to enable them to aim high and believe in themselves.  It seemed only right that I shoul ..read more

I was asked recently about the typical career path of a career coach and how my career path took me into this line of work.   I think those who asked me were a little surprised by my response! My answer to the first question is that there isn’t one.  Career paths and expectations are different for everyone. The risk is that as soon as we define career paths as ‘typical’ we inevitably start to move away from our own paths and what we want to the expectations and requirements of someone else’s path (and who says they are typical!). My answer to the second question is about to fol ..read more

As we approach the milestone of it being a year since we first went into lockdown, I reflect in this video on my thoughts about how a shift in thinking this year has prompted many to review what makes them happy and how the re-evaluation of career choices is becoming a large part of this review. On the day we, in the UK, are ranked as the 18th happiest country, this video and blog seems highly appropriate! This video is all about what success and happiness means to you and what will make you smile at the end of the day and say ‘yes, that was a good day ..read more

This is the transcript of a podcast Tessa recorded for the International Authority of Coaching and Mentoring with one of her clients about how she works and how coaching benefitted her client, helping her client to feel excited about her career in 2021. Do have a listen to the podcast using the link above or, if easier, have a read of the transcript below. Tessa, tell me about yourself As you said I am an accredited career and performance coach, I specialise in all aspects of careers so redundancy, career change, confidence building, and I often help people return to work after a break.  ..read more

‘Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time.  We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.  We are the change that we seek.’ (Barack Obama) There has been a lot of waiting during this pandemic.  Waiting for lockdown to end. Waiting for the next announcement from the Government. Waiting for announcements at work. However, it is not just the pandemic that has caused us to wait.  Apparently, the average person in Britain spends almost seven years waiting around. We wait 17 months of our life for food being cooked and, this is my favourite, we wait ..read more

‘Don’t confuse having a career with having a life.’ (Hilary Clinton) Do you agree with Hilary Clinton? Are you constantly balancing work and life?    It is unsurprising that I have never coached someone who doesn’t want to achieve a ‘work-life balance’.  It is a well-known fact that a good work-life balance prevents stress and burnout, reduces anxiety, and creates healthy and happy lifestyles. However, I am sometimes challenged by people about whether a work-life balance is possible and this has occasionally made me wonder whether these individuals are right.  Perhaps it i ..read more

Do you worry about being found out at work?  You think you are not as good as people are making you out to be and one day you will be exposed.  You may be suffering from imposter syndrome. What is imposter Syndrome? Read more about it here ‘What is Imposter Syndrome’ in the Happiful Magazine. I recently contributed to an article on Imposter Syndrome in the Happiful Magazine and, while making my contributions, I realised how many of us suffer from this syndrome at some point in our careers. What is imposter syndrome? Imposter syndrome is believing you are not as competent as others be ..read more

“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change” (Albert Einstein)   We are all now starting to look to the future in a post-coronavirus world.  Some of you may already be putting plans in place for your careers, others may still consider it too early to make any decisions or are unsure what to do next. How do you prepare to make changes in your career in a post-coronavirus world? I am finding that career change, flexible working and wellbeing are some of the main areas of change being reviewed by individuals at the moment as they consider the future of their working lives.&nb ..read more

Have you ever thought of presenting your CV in the form of  a cereal box?  One person did, have a look here. As we pass the 100th day of lockdown, I thought I would take a more light-hearted approach to my blog writing and provide you with some fun and creative examples of CV writing that made applicants stand out from the crowd. CVs, on average, are looked at by recruiters for about 7 seconds.  With this in mind, have a look at these examples and see what you think.  What was your first impression? Would you give the applicant an interview? As you will see, it’s all about ..read more