Holiday Question Time

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So the end of year holiday period is fast approaching and with a fair wind and, COVID allowing, we will all have some precious time to pause, rest, reflect and reconnect with not only our loved ones but also importantly with some of our inner-most thoughts.

The madly spinning roundabout of our daily work activities can often distract us from wider reflections and appraisal of our career journey i.e. what we are doing, where we are headed and why?

Over a long career, all my experience in observing highly successful and fulfilled individuals is that they develop a strong habit of periodically checking-in with themselves and regularly ask some very searching questions about their career and where they are headed. On many occasions this is simply a means of reconfirming that everything is on course but in these times of great turbulence, such a period of reflection and questioning provides a really important opportunity to honestly appraise your progress, review your options and choices and make renewed plans for the future.

Here then are some reflective end of year career questions that you might find useful to help you mull over your career journey during the holiday period.

  • What is my fundamental why - why am I doing what I am doing, is it what I really, really want to be doing and, if not, what am I going to do about this?

  • What are the key stand out elements of my career DNA? In other words what makes me unique, distinctive and marketable?

  • What is my career rap (the journey past) - if someone springs the question “Tell me more about yourself?” what is your succinct and impactful response in 3 to 4 minutes?

  • What is my career future - if someone asks “ What are you looking for next?” - again what is your brief, thought through and impactful response?

  • What is my nagging career itch - deep down is there something else, quite different that I would rather be doing with my career but which I have so far ignored or neglected? Am I brave and motivated enough to do something about this?

  • How fulfilled and valued am I in what I do now? What do I want more of? What do I want less of?

  • If for whatever reason my current role came to an abrupt end, what would be my immediate alternative parallel plan? What would I do, where would I turn?

  • When I think about a time when in the future when my career will draw to a close, what do I want others to say about me i.e. the impact I have made, my contribution to success and my lasting value? What do I need to be doing in the months and years ahead to translate this intent into a tangible reality?

  • And … having addressed these important questions, what now is my plan? How do I dedicate the time and energy in the year ahead to make progress with my renewed career journey?

It can, of course, be really tough to clearly answer some of these self-directed questions; this is one reason why highly successful career individuals also have the habit of engaging regularly with a private coach to keep them honest and focused on these issues. Having someone else hold up a mirror to these issues gives you a different, critical and often very thought-provoking perspective.

Having reflected on these important questions if, in the New Year, you would value some help with these and other important career issues, I suggest you might:

Download our e-publication “Navigating Your Future” here (An E-Workbook & Guide for Assessing Your Career Journey & Planning for the Future).

And/or

Contact us for a brief introductory chat on how we might help with fulfilling your next-stage career aspirations

Wishing you happy reflections, happy holidays and a very happy and safe New Year for 2022!

Tim Chapman

Brosna Career Consulting