How’s your job going?

 

Maybe you are wondering whether you should find out if there is something better out there for you?

 

Well, keep listening and I will give you 4 questions you can ask yourself that will help you to loosen your thinking about what might be next in your career …

 

Hello and a very warm welcome to Episode No36 of ‘Your Bravo Career’

This podcast is about why your career matters

how you can enjoy what you are doing day each day at work

 

and how to build a great career along the way.

 

Hello again everybody

 

Thanks for joining me again on the podcast

 

In this episode I’m going to be talking about being in that middle place in your job or career

 

You don’t hate it, but you don’t love it either.

 

Maybe it’s a good job, but not a good for you.

 

Or maybe, you just want to have a peek at alternatives but you don’t know where to start ..

 

So, that’s coming up very soon … 

 

But first, and as usual on these solo episodes, it’s time for the news section …

 

 

So, the news this week is about interviews and in particular the interview questions that are most popular right now.
 
The site, Interview Gold – which describes itself as Your Expert Interview Advice provides lots of free tips, advice, questions and answers. 
 
And, they have just updated their Job Interview Questions and Answers You Must Know (UK Guide)
 
These are the top interview Questions you should expect in your interview right now.
 
So, without delay, here are there top 10 interview questions in the UK right now with brief notes about how to answer the question.

 

 

No shock here, this tends to be a go to opening question.

 

The key here is to have a proper structure and a smooth flow that the interviewer can easily follow.

 

 

 

You should use this question to show that your skills match up with the specific requirements of the position. 

 

 

There are four ways to answer this question:

 

Progression – There simply wasn’t enough growth potential to suit your ambition

 

Opportunity – Your current position was no longer challenging or stimulating enough

 

Security – The prospects for a long-term employment and advancement were lacking in your previous position

 

Setting – The travel and commuting has become tedious, and you are seeking a position closer to where you live

 

Make sure that reason you want to leave is positive, and refrain from making any negative statements about your last company, or your superiors.

 

 

This interview question offers a great opportunity for you to discuss how your professional skills are perfectly aligned with the main competencies of the position. It also serves as a chance to convince the interviewer that you are the best candidate for the job.

 

 

A top tip when answering is to turn a weakness into a positive.

 

 

 

 

This question is similar in a way to the question ‘What are your strengths?’ however it goes further as it also encompasses a combination of elements required in the role and your own skills, for example

 

Experience

Knowledge

Energy and

Personal traits

 

Take this as an opportunity to really demonstrate how your past accomplishments and current skill set make you the perfect candidate to hire.

 

 

A good answer is one which shows a positive choice and one where you recognised your talents and the types of careers these best fit.

 

 

 

This is another frequently asked interview question. It comes at the end of pretty much every job interview and gives you an opportunity to find out more about the job. 

 

A word of caution; try to avoid asking questions where the information has already been given either during the interview or in the pre-interview documents. Similarly, if the answers are very obviously on the company website try not to ask as this shows your research has not been very in depth. 

 

Finally, don’t ask about salary and benefits; there will be plenty of time for this when you have been offered the job.

 

So, I’ll link to all this information in the show notes.

 

There’s lots more interview preparation advice on the Interview Gold website.

 

 

About being in that middle place in your job or career.

 

Maybe you have a feeling of being unsure about your job and career.

 

Is it the right job or not?

 

Maybe you feel stuck – in either your job or your career?

 

In other words:

 

 

•       Not being sure whether you should stay in your job, and make it better, or

 

•       Not knowing whether you should look for another job or career

 

•       If you did look, what job or career would suit you?

 

•       Wondering whether it’s normal to feel this way, and maybe thinking you should just get on with it

 

 

So, this might be you right now, or maybe you felt this way in the past.

 

Or this could happen to you in the future, 

 

so, it’s an important subject for us all

 

Why is it important?

 

Well, it’s important: -

 

•       Because enjoying your job is important, you are going to be spending a long time at work

 

•       When you enjoy your job, you are much more likely to be more successful

 

•       You will also have better health, including mental health

 

•       And you will have a more positive impact on those around you, family and friends for example

 

So, being clear about why you intend to stay in your current role, if that is what you decide to do, or getting clear on what might be next for you, if you decide to leave, is vitally important. 

 

And to be honest, there can be many reasons why we get confused about this stuff, and I’ve talked about these things before on the podcast.

 

 

•       In terms of our education system. We are educated but not educated well on how to manage our careers. 

•       We follow the breadcrumbs of what we are good at at school and college, but we have no way of knowing if what we are good at will lead us to what we will enjoy.

 

Then, when we start looking at career options ..

 

•       Added to which the employment system, the job market, focuses on the efficient use of people resources rather than employee happiness. It isn’t the responsibility by and large for organisations to manage our careers

 

•       That’s up to us. But we haven’t been shown how to do this …

 

•       We don’t know how to look at our options and match these to our intrinsic needs

 

And, on top of all this, and this is a biggie,

 

•       Society sees work as something to be endured not necessarily enjoyed

 

All this can contribute to the feeling that you might not be in the right role, job or career but at the same you’re not sure how to find a role or career that would be ideal for you.

 

If you’re not sure either way, where you stand on all this, maybe just keep an open mind for now.

 

 

I hope all this makes sense?

 

And in the second part of this episode, I will give you 4 questions you can ask yourself that will help you to loosen your thinking about what might be next in your career …

 

 

 

The free resource I am suggesting today is my ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go Guide?’

That question, should I stay in my current role or find something different is one I get asked a lot. Sometimes the grass is greener elsewhere, and sometimes that’s not the case, you should stay put.

But how do you know?

This free guide will allow you to quickly look at your role, then your organisation and finally the industry you work in and decide whether they are right for you or not.

You can find the guide at?

The guide is an ideal accompaniment to what we are discussing today.

If you want a metaphor, then think of it this way. You might be in the right seat on the right bus which is heading down the right highway. 

That’s your role, your organisation and your industry.

Or you might be on the wrong seat, bus or highway, or any combination of those things.

This hugely popular guide will help you to decide what you should do.

Ok, let’s get back to the shoe.

 

Ok, in the first part we talked about the reasons why we get unsure about what we should do in our career.

 

And in this second part of this episode, I’m going to give you 4 questions to ask yourself that will help you to loosen your thinking about what you should do if you are in that middle place in your career …

 

Understanding why you should stay in your current role, if that is what you decide to do, or what you should do if you decide to look at other options. 

 

So,

 

1.   The first questions is: Do you enjoy your job? Do you enjoy your job? 

 

Sounds simple but let’s start here.

 

Because, as we talked about in part 1

 

•       When you enjoy your job, you are much more likely to be more successful, you will have better health, including mental health and you will have a more positive impact on those around you

•       So, do you enjoy your job most of the time? When you review your job at the end of week or month, let’s say, how much enjoyment is there?

•       If the answer is ‘no’ or ‘not really’, or ‘not much’, then could you enjoy your job. By making changes or approaching your work in a different way for example.

•       If the answer is still ‘no’, then it’s time to look at:

 

What are you interested in? or, What could you enjoy?

 

See if you can reconnect with the things that you once loved doing it might help you think about the future direction of your career and how you can get some more enjoyment back in there.

 

We often lose track of who we are, what we are interested in and what we enjoy doing. And this can lead to a disconnect between your career path, the direction you are heading in and what you enjoy doing.

 

When you lose track of these things, it’s easy to feel adrift and that your career lacks enjoyment and is somehow off-track.

 

 

Childhood is often when our deep interests and true passions emerge. So, think about what you loved doing long before you had to worry about your career. 

 

Was there a subject you were particularly interested in? Or an activity that you loved doing. 

 

Also, what were your early ambitions when you were 7, 11 and 14? What things did you want to do when you ‘grow up’?

 

 

 

What hobbies and interests did you have? Or maybe still have?

 

 

 

Often some of our earlier work roles can be the most exciting. What did you enjoy about some of the earlier work roles you had?

What was good about those earlier days in your career?

 

And, next …

 

 

What books do you read, what magazines do you look at? 

These interests provide an outlet for escape and exploration. But they can also be a pointer towards things you might be interested in pursuing in your career.

 

Now, let’s move on to the 2nd Question

 

The 2nd Question is: In your current role, do you get to use the skills that you enjoy using? Do you get to use the skills that you enjoy using?

 

 

We often have skills that we are good at, come on don’t be modest here, and that we enjoy using. These are the skills I’m talking about.

 

Alternatively, you might have some skills that you are brilliant at but, if you don’t enjoy using those skills, well, the day is going to drag isn’t it.

 

And what I've found is that most people tend to underestimate their skills.

I'm sure there are lots of skills you have, and you don't think of them as a skill as such and probably don't see them as an asset to your career.

 

But you should.

 

The 3rd question is Does your current job or role align with your career values

What are your career values?

 

Your career values are the beliefs you have about what’s important in your work and the things you find meaningful in your job or career.

 

Generally, these are the things that are good for you, in your career, in the long run.

 

You find these things desirable, valuable or even essential in your work or life.

 

These are unique to you, we all look for different things in our work. 

Here are examples of Work Values. As you read this list, think about how important each value is to you.

-       Achievement: Doing work allows you to achieve things in your career 

-       Independence: Being able to work and make decisions on your own 

-       Recognition: Being recognised for the work you do

-       Relationships: Working in teams or alongside other co-workers

-       Support: Having supportive culture or manager 

-       Working Conditions: 

-       Autonomy: Having control over your work

-       Helping Others or Helping Society: 

-       Job Security: 

-       Collaboration: Working with others

-       Financial compensation: 

-       Leadership: Managing or supervising others 

-       Creativity: Using your creativity

-       Variety: Having variety in your work

-       Challenge: Having challenge in your work

-       Lifestyle: Having a job that suits your lifestyle

 

Ok, the final question is: Have you considered any job or career alternatives? Have you considered any job or career alternatives?

 

 

I’ve worked with a lot of career changers now and, at the start, the client will normally have a limited view of the options open to them. So, I get them to look at three different kings of alternatives. Let’s do this now, together.

 

Think of some alternative job or career options that are:

 

-       Roles similar to those that you have already done

 

-       Roles that are different but complementary to the work you have done, this is where there is some kind of overlap

 

-       and 

 

-       Breakthrough job ideas which are completely different from anything you have every done before.

 

 

Looking at career alternatives is important because it gets you thinking about whether there is a more enjoyable role or job or even career that would be better suited to you.

 

Sometimes we don’t realise our job is mediocre until we see the possibilities of what else we can do.

 

And, I’ll be honest, sometimes looking at the alternatives re-affirms how much you do enjoy your current role and that’s great as well. So looking at alternatives is a win-win activity.

 

 

Make a note of any ideas and alternatives you might have and use the first 3 questions to guide your thinking. So, 

 

Think about what you are drawn to and what you enjoy doing,

 

What are you the skills you are good at and enjoy using?

 

And, what about your career values, the things that are important to you.

 

Where do these questions point?

 

So, I hope the content today was thought provoking, helpful and that it helped you think a bit more clearly about where you are right now in your career.

 

Please let me know what you thought about the content

 

As this is a new podcast, feedback really does help me to shape future episodes, and make the content as relevant and helpful as possible.

 

You can email me at mark@bravocoaching.co.uk and you can find the show notes at bravocoaching.co.uk/podcast

 

If you are interested in working with me, you can book a free discovery call on my website, here:

 

And to remind you that you can download your free Should I stay or should I go guide at

 

If you have enjoyed the podcast, I would love for you to share the episode with a friend or share on your social media

 

And if you haven’t already subscribed, why not do that now before you forget.

 

That way you won’t miss an episode and it will pop into your feed as if by magic.

 

 I will speak to you all again in 2 week’s time 

 

Bye for now.